Thank You Bob, Since we are talking finances, is it ok within a local to use dues money to pay for cell phone and overage charges for a member, not elected to office, but is on a committee, not elected, but appointed? [/QUOTE]
I'm not exactly sure of what you are asking but I'll give it a shot.
If a member incured expenses that were union business related, whether appointed or elected, it would not be unreasonable for the board to agree to reimburse the member. If at all possible it should be decided upon before the expense is incurred.
The question that really needs to be asked is "Does the expenditure benifit the members and the Local and how"?
Since the person would be doing business for the union and paying dues he should not have to bear the additional expenses that come along with the job of doing union business, he should not profit off it either.
If cell phones and lap tops can offset lost time and increase communication then they are a good investment, if they are being used for personal use and video games then its abuse of the members dues.