If the merger with the IBB is approved by BMWE members, the Convention will still be held but will be modified in accordance with the merger agreement and the IBB Constitution.

If the merger is not approved, delegates to the convention will chart the course of the BMWE primarily through acting on the Constitution and Bylaws. Considering proposed changes will be one of the most important functions the delegates undertake at the convention. The process by which the Constitution and Bylaws can be amended and the dates by which any proposed changes should be submitted to Grand Lodge are outlined below.

How to Change BMWE Constitution and Bylaws

Article XXVII, Section 1, Amendments, of the Grand Lodge Constitution and Bylaws reads, in pertinent part, as follows:

This Constitution and By-Laws may be altered, amended or repealed in its entirety by a majority vote of the delegates present at the Grand Lodge Convention after written notice of proposed amendments, which shall specify the Articles and Sections intended to be changes, which have been timely submitted for publication in the official trade journal of the Brotherhood in advance of the Grand Lodge Convention; provided, however, that the last such notice is printed thirty (30) days before said Grand Lodge Convention; and provided, further, that if, in the usual course of any regular Convention of Grand Lodge, three-fourths of the delegates present, shall agree on the proposed alterations or amendments to the Constitution and By-Laws or the repeal in its entirety thereof, such changes may be made without the above required notice.

In accordance with the foregoing, all proposed changes to the Grand Lodge Constitution and Bylaws may be submitted at any time prior to May 1, 2002. Proposed changes that arrive after April 30, 2002, which is the cutoff date for articles to be printed in the June JOURNAL, will be returned to the member that submitted them and will not be acted upon by the Constitution and Bylaws Committee. However, the member submitting the proposal can give it to his or her local lodge delegate for possible handling at the Convention.

It is important to note that those proposals which have been timely received (prior to May 1) for publication in the BMWE JOURNAL can be acted upon by a majority vote of the assembled delegates. In contrast, any proposed amendment not received on or before April 30, 2002, and brought up on the Convention floor, requires three-fourths of the delegates to vote in favor of such proposal before it is changed.

Proposed changes should be sent to BMWE President Mac A. Fleming at 26555 Evergreen Road, Suite 200, Southfield, Michigan 48076-4225.