Spring 2021 Labor Party Convention (Welcome, Delegates!)

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

x Scott, former Vice President

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

A Message From The Former Vice President

livestreamed on all State Labor websites

image of Mark Udall from CSPAN

MC: And now, folks, I'm proud to give you... the former Vice President of Atlasia, Scott!

Thank you! Thank you all!

Good evening Ventura, good evening Frémont, and good evening to the great people of Atlasia!

Well, here we are, Atlasia. After a year of hardship, a year of loss, a year of pain, here we all are - together, as patriots and as the stewards of what we in Labor call the New Great Society.

When I re-entered the Atlasian Senate early last year, our government was immediately tasked with combating this invisible enemy, COVID-19. I worked with then-Speaker thumb to introduce the first of what would be many stimulus measures, intended to keep our economy afloat, our citizens fed and living under a roof, our essential workers safe, and even a UBI pilot program that may serve as the impetus for a long-term reform.

We acted swiftly in the face of a crisis. And in the process, we've laid the grounds for new infrastructure projects in the post-COVID economy. We renewed the Depression-era Civilian Conservation Corps, specifically to provide living wages to workers emerging from the pandemic, which will result in unprecedented improvements to our infrastructure and new opportunities for Atlasians in cities and rural areas.

Right now as we speak, your Labor Congress is deliberating legislation that will apply to the World Trade Organisation for a patent waiver on coronavirus vaccines and treatments. The House is on the cusp of passing the High Speed Rail Act, which will connect cities, states, and regions throughout our Republic.

Labor has led these efforts, many with bipartisan support, to modernize our infrastructure and expand our safety net, especially in these trying times.

We passed the Red-Green New Deal, which passed by a mere 4-2 party-line vote in the Atlasian Senate. I was there when we passed that bill, and as I've said so many times over the course of my campaign in the states, from Texas to Wyoming, that vote was one of my proudest as an Atlasian Senator.

And we're going to carry that battle onward, from Nyman to Lincoln to the South to my home region of Frémont! And we will resist any attempt to undo the progress that we have made thus far. We're going to put the elites and liars in their place, regardless of what party they hail from.

And yes, folks, our own party is no exception to that.

To those in our party not from Frémont, welcome to Ventura! This is where we formally outline our vision for the future of our country. This is where we put forward our new plan for Atlasia in a post-pandemic nation. This is where we formally mark this great new era in social progress.

My friends, the New Great Society is here to stay, and we'll keep fighting for every supporter, for every last vote we can get.

Good times are here again! And so is a much-needed return to normalcy and stability.

Thank you, Ventura! Dave bless you all, Dave bless this great land of ours, and Dave bless the people who make it great!

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

When it is appropriate, I would like to introduce a motion to officially change our party's color from maroon to red.

This is not for ideological reasons. No, Labor is not a generic center-left party, but by keeping our current color, the maps just look off.

I understand that some in Labor strongly oppose my idea, but I would like to subject it to an up-or-down vote and I will respect the outcome either way.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

An alternative to red is crimson, if you don't like maroon and red.

The problem is that isn't an option in the new EVC.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

After consultation with fellow Laborites at gunpoint, I am officially withdrawing my motion.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

wxtransit

[    ] Aye
[ X ] Nay
[    ] Abstain

Ishan

[ X ] Aye
[    ] Nay
[    ] Abstain

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

If I may suggest a change to our by-laws (and this can be handled after the elections for Chair, Vice Chair, and General Secretary of course), should NPC Coordinator be an official position? That seems to be the case with the Democratic Alliance.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Chair

[X] MB
[ ] OBD

Vice Chair

[X] Kaiser Dave

General Secretary

[X] FalterinArc

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Now that officers have been elected, I move to sponsor Ishan's amendment for the updated by-laws and to run for the new NLCC spot.

Party Bylaws

I. CREATION & AMENDMENT OF PARTY BY-LAWS

1. Any Party Member may introduce changes to the by-laws. Changes shall be presented and discussed during the allotted time slot at the Convention.
a. If there are no objections within 24 hours, the by-laws will be automatically approved.
b. If there are objections, 24 hours will be given for the Members to discuss and make changes as a group; more time can be given by the Politburo if necessary.
c. Following that, a 72 hour vote will take place to approve or reject the by-laws.

2. Outside the Convention, changes to the by-laws shall be presented and discussed in a place designated by the Chair. They shall subsequently be approved or rejected by Party Members according to the procedures set forth in Section I-1.

II. CREATION & AMENDMENT OF PARTY PLATFORM

1. The Politburo, and any number of appointed Party Members, will have the initial task of creating the party platform and will be in charge of initial changes in subsequent Conventions. The platform shall then be presented to the Members, who will then be allowed to make objections and suggest changes to the platform.
a. If there are no objections within 24 hours, the platform will be automatically approved.
b. If there are objections, 24 hours will be given for the Members to discuss and make changes as a group; more time can be given by the Politburo if necessary.
c. Following that, a 72 hour vote will take place to approve or reject the platform.

2. Outside the Convention, changes to the platform shall be presented and discussed in a place designated by the Chair. They shall subsequently be approved or rejected by Party Members according to the procedures set forth in Section II-1.

III. ESTABLISHMENT & MANAGEMENT OF CONVENTIONS

1. The Labor Party Convention will start five weeks before the Atlasia Presidential Election, with the location of the Convention rotating among the three regions of Atlasia in alphabetical order.

2. Establishing the next Labor Party Convention shall employ the following process: Each Member is given 24 hours to nominate one city in the given region assigned for the next Convention, with the top three (3) nominations being placed on the ballot. Members will be given 24 hours to select their choice.

3. Each Labor Party Convention will have the following agenda:
   a. Updates and amendments of the Party by-laws
 b. Updates and amendments of the Party platform
   c. Endorsements for the upcoming Atlasia Federal Elections and subsequent-month regional elections
   d. Special and irregular business put forward by the Politburo
   e. Establishment of the date and city for the upcoming Convention
   f. Election of new party leadership

4. The schedule of the convention shall be as follows:

(Note: "-7" refers to the seventh Friday before the presidential inauguration, "-6" to the sixth, and so on.)


-7: Convention opens, sign-in. Work on and edits to the bylaw and platform through the week.
-6: Bylaw/Platform work and other business of the politburo, and campaigning for the presidential primary.
-5: Presidential primary begins, to last three days.
-4: Downballot endorsement primary begins, to last three days, after a four day request period.
-3: Final week prior to election
-2: Federal election begins
-1: Politburo election cycle begins (conducted in accordance with Article IV)
0: New leadership takes office at the start of the day, Federal gov't at noon.
1: Endorsement primary for following-month elections, after four day request period, and convention site vote.
2: Convention must close by this date.

IV. ELECTION OF THE POLITBURO

1. Members will have 48 hours to declare that they wish to seek the following positions, beginning on the final Friday of February, June and October: Chair, Vice Chair, General Secretary, & National Local Campaign Coordinator. There will then be 72 hours for campaigning, followed by a 48 hour election.

2. In the event of resignation or vacancy of the Chair position, the Vice Chair shall immediately assume the role on an interim basis. A special declaration period, campaigning period & subsequent election shall be held beginning on the first Friday at least 168 hours from the time of the Chair vacancy, with the same time-frames for each period as outlined in IV-1.

3. In the event of resignation or vacancy of the Vice Chair, or General Secretary or National Local Campaign Coordinator positions, the Chair shall appoint Labor Party Members to these offices for the remainder of their terms.

V. ROLES OF THE POLITBURO

1. Chair
a. The official leader of the Labor Party, unless there is a Labor Party President
b. Is in charge of the Convention process
c. Officiates Party voting
d. Gives the Vice Chair and the General Secretary goals and objectives for their given jobs
e. Is in charge of Party political strategy
f. Is allowed to create and/or appoint other Party officials as he or she sees fit
g. Ensures insubordination by other Members of the Politburo is handled within the caucus
h. Is in charge of GOTV operations for both the Party and allied factions, which includes supporters not officially registered with the Party

2. Vice Chair
a. Takes over for the Chair temporarily if the Chair requests a leave of absence or has been absent for 72 hours
b. Is in charge of Party recruitment in order to grow the Party
c. Responsible for keeping up with business at the Federal and regional levels, and makes sure that the Labor Party has an official stance on each issue; this will be done in collaboration with the rest of the Politburo and the advice of the Party
d. Deals with logistics and personnel

3. General Secretary
a. Takes over for the Chairman or Vice Chair if either the Chair and Vice Chair both have requested a leave of absence or both have been absent for 72 hours
b. Is in charge of candidate recruitment for all levels of government
c. Serves as a Congressional Whip, working with Members of Congress to find common ground and support for bills proposed by the Party

4. National Local Campaign Coordinator
a. Takes over for the Chairman, Vice Chair or General Secretary if either the Chair, Vice Chair and General Secretary both have requested a leave of absence or both have been absent for 72 hours
b. Is in charge of leading the party in the NPC Elections
c. Responsible for encouraging people to participate in the NPC Elections

VI. ENDORSEMENT PROCEDURE

1. Endorsement elections will take place two (2) weeks before the respective election. Voting will last 72 hours.  An additional primary for elections during the subsequent inauguration month shall take place beginning one week after Inauguration Day.

2. All Labor Party candidates in compliance with Sections VII-2a, VII-2b, & VII-2c are automatically endorsed by the Party.

3. If there are not enough Labor Party Members running in a given election, the Party may then endorse candidates from other parties who agree with the Party's principles and values, allowing our Party to endorse a maximum number of candidates, equivalent to the number of open seats in an election.

4. In order to be eligible to receive the Endorsement of the Labor Party, the non-Party candidate(s) must declare that he or she wishes to receive our Party’s Endorsement during the Endorsement suggestion period, which begins three weeks before the election and ends two weeks before the election. The candidate must also have a Laborite second the Endorsement nomination in order to be placed on the Endorsement Ballot.

5. Endorsement voting will begin immediately following the Endorsement Suggestion Period and will last for 72 hours. Votes for each non-Party candidate shall be cast and counted either as an affirmative, negative, or abstention. An abstention ballot is counted against a candidate's affirmative percentage as it applies in Section VI-6.

6. A non-Party candidate must receive affirmative preference from at least 60% of all Endorsement Ballots cast in order to receive the Endorsement of the Party. In the event there are more candidates with 60%+ affirmative preference than available Endorsements, they will be awarded from highest percentage affirmative preference downward. In the event of a tie in affirmative preference percentages between 2 or more candidates, the candidate or candidates who declared their intent to receive the Party's Endorsement first shall receive the Endorsement.

VII. PRIMARY PROCEDURE
 
1. Primaries will take place two (2) weeks before the respective election for all non-presidential races, and three (3) weeks before the respective election for presidential races. Voting will last for 72 hours. An additional primary for elections during the subsequent inauguration month shall take place beginning one week after Inauguration Day.
 
2. All Labor Party candidates are automatically endorsed by the Party, except for the following situations in which there will be a Labor Party Primary:
   a. There are multiple Labor Party Members running in a single-seat election
b. A Labor Party member is a presidential or vice-presidential candidate on a cross-party ticket

3. If there are multiple presidential/vice-presidential tickets consisting of Labor Party Members, but only one ticket is led by a Labor Party member then that ticket shall be endorsed.

d. In all other situations, a Primary shall be held in concurrence with the provisions outlined in Sections VI & VII
e. In the event there is a reasonable doubt about the qualifications or intent of the preferred presidential ticket as selected via Section 3a, 3b, or 3c, the automatic Endorsement can be suspended by a unanimous vote of the Politburo, with a Primary being held to select the winner
 
4. The loser(s) of a Primary are strongly encouraged not to run as an independent, as doing so will result in a loss of position within the Politburo, a denial of access to Labor primaries and the Endorsement of the Party in the subsequent three (3) Federal elections.

VIII. VOTING

1. All Members of the Labor Party who were registered with the Census Bureau as such at least 336 hours (two weeks) before the opening of any vote in a Convention, Primary, Endorsement, Politburo election, or expulsion are eligible to vote. The 336-hour registration requirement does not apply to persons joining the game as new citizens.

2. Voting in a Labor Party Convention, Primary, Endorsement, Politburo election, or expulsion will proceed in the following manner:
 
a. Voters shall mark their ballot with an “X” in the case of single-choice elections, and shall rank their preferences in the case of multiple-choice elections
b. In the event of a tie, a runoff election shall be held 24 hours following the end of the election, and shall last for 48 hours
c. In the event there is a tie in a runoff, the first person to request an Endorsement shall be the winner (in the case of non-Party Members) and the person with the highest number of [1] preferences shall be the winner (in the case of Party Members)

IX. MEMBERSHIP AND EXPULSION
1. Members whose actions are judged inappropriate or unbecoming of the Party may be subject to expulsion, initiated by a motion consisting of two (2) Party Members and one (1) Member of the Politburo.

2. A simple majority of those Party Members voting in favor of expulsion shall be sufficient to expel a Member, assuming the total number of Members voting in favor of and against expulsion is at least one-quarter (25%) of the Party's Membership.

3. All persons registered under the Labor Party with the Registrar General shall be granted membership in the Labor Party, unless they have been expelled via the procedures detailed above.

X. CONGRESSIONAL LEADERSHIP

1. The Congressional Leader is in charge of ensuring unity and cohesion among the Labor caucus in the House of Representatives Senate as well as serving as the highest-ranking Labor Party elected official in the absence of a Labor President or Vice President.
a. Should the Speaker of the House of Representatives be a member of the Labor Party, the Speaker shall be designated the Congressional Leader.
b. Should the Speaker of the House of Representatives be a member of another party, the designation of Congressional Leader shall fall on the longest continuously serving Labor Party member of the House of Representatives.

2. The Senate Leader is in charge of ensuring unity and cohesion among the Labor caucus in the Senate as well as serving as the second highest-ranking Labor Party elected official in the absence of a Labor President or Vice President.
a. Should the Senate President Pro Tempore be a member of the Labor Party, they shall be designated the Senate Leader.
b. Should the Senate President Pro Tempore be a member of another party, the designation of Congressional Leader shall fall on the longest continuously serving Labor Party Senator.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Objecting to Scott's bylaw, since I don't see why to institutionalize an NPC director

Because maybe if we have an official NPC director, the people who are supposed to be conducting our NPC campaigns will be sitting on their hands less?

Or, if one person is going to be doing the majority of all campaigning, perhaps that slot is warranted.

(OBD was on vacation last month, but not everyone has that excuse. Although he at least fit a few events in.)

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Objecting to Scott's bylaw, since I don't see why to institutionalize an NPC director

Because maybe if we have an official NPC director, the people who are supposed to be conducting our NPC campaigns will be sitting on their hands less?

Or, if one person is going to be doing the majority of all campaigning, perhaps that slot is warranted.

(OBD was on vacation last month, but not everyone has that excuse. Although he at least fit a few events in.)

I understand that people can feel the need for the creation of new labor executive positions. And I don't even oppose the creation of a NPC administrator in the bylaws.

But I need to point out that "Labor" politburos positions have never meant anything in labor. For example, the chair isn't necessarily the person leading the party. Like regarding the position you want to create, regardless whether or not it is going to be created, and regardless whether this is you or someone else who end up getting this position, in the end de facto this is you who will be considered as the "NPC administrator".

A crown doesn't give any power, actions and management do, and this is what you are actually doing, with the creation of this office or not.

This is true, and we often strategize as a party regardless, but activity was very low in the last cycle and I want people to keep in mind that the NPC campaigns are part of the game now, too.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

I move for a vote on the amendments.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Eh, voting soon?

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Amendment 1 (Scott)

[X] Aye
[] Nay
[] Abstain

Amendment 2 (Solid)

[] Aye
[X] Nay
[] Abstain

Amendment 3 (Falterinarc)

[X] Aye
[] Nay
[] Abstain

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

With Amendment 1 having been adopted, I would like to run for National Local Campaign Coordinator, if allowed.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Can windjammer post his amendment first?

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

I'm nominating Madison, Wisconsin.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Staten Island, Fremont

Thank you for recognizing the integrity of our region's borders. The continued occupation needs to end!

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

1. Madison, WI
2. Barre, VT
3. Providence, RI
4. Dixville Notch, NH
5. Marquette, MI
6. Springfield, IL
7. New York, NY
8. Chicago, IL
9. Morristown, NJ