Can Plasterers and Cement Masons (OPCMIA) locals vote online?

Can OPCMIA locals vote online?

Short answer: Not under the current text. The OPCMIA Constitution (as revised at the 53rd Convention, 2024) provides for secret-ballot elections with a voting room and observers at the polls; absentee or mail balloting needs a membership request and the General President's permission (Art. 16, Secs. 2-3). Electronic voting is not mentioned for elections.

Verdict	Lists methods that don't include electronic voting
Ratification / strike votes	Leaves the method to local bylaws (strike votes: Art. 24 requires a vote of the Local Union membership but names no method; no method is specified for contract ratification)
Confidence	Medium
Last verified	21 October 2026

What the text says

How local officer elections are run

"All Local Union Officers shall be elected for a term of three years in a secret ballot election. All elections will be by plurality vote."

— Art. 16, Sec. 2(A) (Nominations and Elections), p. 79

"The notice shall set forth: (1) the date, place and time of the nomination meeting; (2) the offices which are to be filled; (3) the date, time and place of the election itself; and (4) the date, time and place of any run-off election, if necessary."

— Art. 16, Sec. 2(A), p. 80

"The Election Committee shall supervise and safeguard the secrecy and honesty of the election. They shall prevent nominees from campaigning in the voting room and they shall preserve order and enforce all the election rules."

— Art. 16, Sec. 2(B), p. 80

"Absentee or mail balloting may be authorized in Local Union elections of officers under the following conditions. The Local Union membership shall, at either a special or regular meeting, by appropriate motion, file a request with the General President for permission to use the absentee or mail ballot."

— Art. 16, Sec. 3(A) (Absentee Ballots), p. 81

"The General President may, in his discretion, for the best interest of the Local Union and the International Association, grant or deny any such request. In addition, the General President may, in his discretion, for the best interest of the Local Union and International Association, order an election of Local Union officers be held by mail ballot in the absence of a request from the Local Union membership."

— Art. 16, Sec. 3(A), p. 81-82

"Each candidate shall have the right to designate a member of the Local Union to act as an observer at the polls and at the counting of the ballots."

— Art. 16, Sec. 4(B) (Campaign Literature and Observers), p. 82

"Nominations and election to be held within 60 days of the vacancy for a manual election or 90 days of the vacancy for a mail ballot election."

— Art. 15, Sec. 7 (vacancies in full-time salaried office), p. 76

Electronic, internet, phone or remote voting

"The International Association, State and Provincial Conferences, District Councils and Local Unions shall endeavor to conduct their operations by digital and/or electronic means, including the use and acceptance of electronic forms and electronic signatures."

— Art. 34, Sec. 9 (Electronic Documents and Records), p. 127-128

"The General Executive Board may act by telephone call, letter, fax or electronic transmission, and any action taken in such manner shall have the same force and validity as though the General Executive Board had acted in formal session."

— Art. 6, Sec. 4(H) (General Executive Board), p. 49

International approval of local bylaws or election rules

"The General President shall prescribe rules and regulations controlling the use of the absentee or mail ballots so that the integrity and secrecy of the ballot box may be safeguarded."

— Art. 16, Sec. 3(B), p. 82

"Local Unions shall adopt a Constitution and By-Laws for the governing of the function and operation of the Local Union. A current copy of each Local Union's Constitution and By-Laws must be submitted to the General Office. The Constitution and By-Laws adopted by Local Unions cannot conflict in any way with the International Association Constitution."

— Art. 9, Sec. 2(A), p. 57-58

"The General President shall supervise the entire interests of the International Association, interpret the Constitution and laws of the Association and have the power to enforce such interpretations and shall decide all questions of law arising thereunder"

— Art. 6, Sec. 1(C) (General President), p. 42

Contract ratification and strike votes

"No strikes may be called or terminated except by vote of the Local Union membership."

— Art. 24, Sec. 1(A) (Strike Votes), p. 100

"Members must be in good standing to vote in an election or on contract ratification, or to enjoy all other privileges of membership."

— Art. 34, Sec. 1(B) (Good Standing), p. 125

Open questions

Local officer elections are described as a secret ballot election with an election meeting, voting room and polls, plus absentee/mail ballots only with General President permission or order; electronic or internet voting is not mentioned (the list may be read as exclusive - counsel to confirm), while Art. 34, Sec. 9 generally directs Local Unions to 'endeavor to conduct their operations by digital and/or electronic means' without addressing voting, and the General President interprets the Constitution.

Context

LMRDA (private-sector) union; the constitution also governs Canadian Local Unions, which the LMRDA does not reach.

The federal rules still apply

Federal law sits on top of every constitution. For unions covered by the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA), officer elections must meet Title IV's secret-ballot, notice and observer requirements however members vote. The Department of Labor's Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) addresses remote electronic voting in its Compliance Tip Electing Union Officers Using Remote Electronic Voting Systems (updated December 10, 2024). The Tip describes safeguards for secrecy, observation and records, says it "does not offer unions safe harbor," and says each system is evaluated case by case. Federal-sector unions follow 29 CFR Part 458, which applies the same standards; postal unions are covered by the LMRDA. Locals made up entirely of state or local government employees are generally outside Title IV and follow state law and their own rules. OLMS Compliance Tip

Sources

Constitution of the Operative Plasterers' and Cement Masons' International Association of the United States and Canada, AFL-CIO (OLMS attachment 'OPCMIA International Constitution-August 2024.pdf', 'Constitution, Bylaws and Other Attachments', filed with the LM-2 for 2024 by PLASTERERS AND CEMENT MASONS AFL-CIO National Headquarters, OLMS file no. 000-132, received 2025-03-14) — Revised and adopted by the 53rd Convention held August 12 to 16, 2024, Las Vegas, Nevada; reviewed and approved by the General Executive Board. https://olmsapps.dol.gov/query/orgReport.do?rptId=70642&rptForm=attachment (accessed 2026-10-21)

Not verified: Obtained 2026-10-21 from the DOL OLMS OLPDR (OPCMIA national HQ = file no. 000-132; constitution attachments: 2024 edition (70642), 2019 (19544), 2014 (7795), 2009 (2708/2802)); curl with the Entrust intermediate appended to a copy of the CA bundle, verification on. opcmia.org (Resources, Convention 2024 pages) checked by headless Chromium: no constitution or local election manual posted. No International local-election manual or rules issued under Art. 16, Sec. 3(B) were found. The 2024 edition is current (conventions are held every five years; next expected 2029). Page numbers are printed page numbers.

This page summarizes the published text of a union's governing documents. It is not legal advice and not an official interpretation by the union. Constitutions change at conventions, and locals' own bylaws matter. Confirm with your International and your counsel before changing how members vote. Spotted an error or a newer edition? Tell us at info@votem.com and we'll correct it.

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