Section 1
The Executive Council shall consist of the President, the Secretary-Treasurer, the Executive Vice President and the Vice Presidents.

Section 2
The Executive Council shall be the governing body of this Federation between conventions. It is authorized and empowered to take such action and render such decisions as may be necessary to carry out fully and adequately the decisions and instructions of the conventions and to enforce the provisions contained in this Constitution. Between conventions it shall have the power to direct the affairs of the Federation and to take such actions and render such decisions as are necessary and appropriate to safeguard and promote the best interests of the Federation and its affiliated unions, including the organization of unorganized industries by means most appropriate for that purpose.

Section 3
The Executive Council shall meet upon the call of the President at least twice each year at a time and place designated by the President.

Section 4
A majority of the members of the Executive Council shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of the business of the Council.

Section 5
The Executive Council shall monitor legislative measures directly affecting the interests of working people, and shall initiate legislative action as appropriate.

Section 6
The Executive Council shall prepare and present to each regular convention a report of all matters of interest to the convention and of the ­activities of the Federation between conventions.

Section 7
The Executive Council shall have power to make rules to govern matters consistent with this Constitution.

Section 8
(a) It is a basic principle of this Federation that it must be and remain free from any and all corrupt influences and from the undermining efforts of authoritarianism, totalitarianism, terrorism and other forces that suppress individual liberties and freedom of association and oppose the basic principles of our democracy and of free and democratic trade unionism.

(b) The Executive Council, when requested to do so by the President or by any other member of the Executive Council, shall have the power to conduct an investigation, directly or through an appropriate standing or special committee appointed by the President, of any situation in which there is reason to believe that any affiliate is dominated, controlled or substantially influenced in the conduct of its affairs by any corrupt influence, or that the policies or ­activities of any affiliate are consistently directed ­toward the achievement of the program or purposes of authoritarianism, totalitarianism, terrorism and other forces that suppress individual liberties and freedom of association and oppose the basic principles of free and democratic trade unionism.

(c) Upon the completion of such an investigation, including a hearing if requested, the Executive Council shall have the authority to make recommendations or give directions to the affiliate involved and shall have further authority, upon a two-thirds vote, to suspend any affiliate found guilty of a violation of this section.

(d) Any action of the Executive Council under this section may be appealed to the convention; provided, however, that such action shall be effective when taken and shall remain in full force and effect pending any appeal.

Section 9
(a) Subject to the provisions of Article III, Section 4, the Executive Council shall use every possible means to assist affiliated unions in the organization of the unorganized and to organize new national and ­international unions, organizing committees, and directly affiliated local unions.

(b) Until such time as it is feasible to form a new national or international union composed of directly affiliated local unions or to affiliate such unions with an existing affiliated national or international union within whose jurisdiction they might properly come, the Executive Council may group such directly ­affiliated local unions, in a particular craft or industry, into national councils or organizing committees that shall be under the direct supervision and control of the Executive Council and the President.

Section 10
In carrying out this Article the Executive Council shall recognize that both craft and industrial unions are appropriate, equal and necessary as methods of trade union organization and that all workers, whatever their race, color, creed, sex, national origin, religion, age, disability or sexual orientation, are ­entitled to share in the full benefits of trade union organization.

Section 11
The Executive Council, at the request of and in consultation with affiliated unions, shall have the authority to establish Industry Coordinating Committees in industries (or geographic, employer-based, occupational or other appropriate subdivisions thereof) strategically important to labor movement growth, for such term and in accordance with principles, rules and procedures as established by the Executive Council.

Section 12
The Executive Council shall have the power to file charges and conduct hearings on such charges against any Executive Officer of the Federation or other member of the Executive Council on the ground that such person is guilty of malfeasance or maladministration, and to make a report to the convention recommending appropriate action. The Executive Council must serve such officer with a copy of the written charges within a reasonable time before the hearing.

Section 13
The Executive Council shall have the further power to refuse to seat or to remove from office any member of the Executive Council, or to remove from office any officer, who is found by the Council, by a two-thirds vote after notice and hearing, to be ineligible to serve under the provisions of Article V, Section 6. Any action of the Executive Council under this section may be appealed to the convention, provided, however, that such action shall be effective when taken and shall remain in full force and effect pending any appeal.

Section 14
In any case in which an affiliate has been suspended by the convention, or by a two-thirds vote of the Executive Council in the cases set forth in Section 8 of this Article, and in which it is shown that the cause for such suspension no longer exists, the Executive Council shall have the power, upon a two-thirds vote, to terminate such suspension.

Section 15
No affiliated national or international union or organizing committee shall be permitted to change its title or name without first having obtained the consent and approval of the Executive Council or the convention.

Section 16
The Executive Council shall be authorized to reimburse members of the Council for necessary expenses in performing their duties for the Federation.

Section 17
The Executive Council shall be authorized by a two-thirds vote to: (i) adopt an ethical practices code that covers the executive officers and employees of the AFL-CIO and the state, area and local central bodies and to establish an appropriate enforcement system and appropriate sanctions for violations of such code; and (ii) require trade and industrial ­departments and national and international unions ­affiliated with the AFL-CIO to adopt and enforce within their own ­organizations ethical practices codes that are consistent with the AFL-CIO code and to establish appropriate sanctions for non-compliance with this requirement. In the event the sanctions provided for by the Executive Council include suspension from the AFL-CIO or from AFL-CIO office, that sanction may be imposed only by a two-thirds vote of the Council after an appropriate hearing.

Section 18
(a) There shall be an Executive Committee of the Executive Council, chaired by the President.

(b) The Executive Committee shall be comprised of a Vice President from each of the 10 largest affiliates (as determined on February 1 of each year based on the average monthly number of members on which per capita tax was paid for the prior calendar year), the three Executive Officers (who, except for the President, shall be ex-officio and nonvoting members) and up to nine additional Vice Presidents from affiliates not otherwise represented on the Committee, who shall be appointed each year by the President, in consultation with the Executive Committee and with the approval of the Executive Council, to ensure that the Committee reflects the diversity of the labor movement, including its women members and members of color, as well as its sectoral breadth. In the event of an affiliation with the AFL-CIO of a presently unaffiliated national or international union, the President may, in consultation with the Executive Committee and with the approval of the Executive Council, expand the Executive Committee by one or more Vice Presidents.

(c) The Executive Committee shall be the governing body of this Federation between meetings of the Executive Council. It is authorized to establish the annual budget for the Federation, upon the Finance Committee’s recommendation. The Executive Committee shall make recommendations to the Executive Council regarding proposed voluntary mergers of national and international unions, and shall consider and recommend new charters for approval by the Executive Council in accordance with Article III, Section 4.

(d) The Executive Committee shall meet upon the call of the President at least four times each year at a time and place designated by the President.

(e) A majority of the members of the Executive Committee shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of the business of the Committee.

(f) The Executive Committee shall report to the Executive Council on its activities and recommendations.

Section 19
There shall be an Appeals Committee of the Executive Council, composed of five Vice Presidents appointed by the President with the approval of the Executive Council. The Appeals Committee shall hear and decide such matters as are designated in this Constitution and as the Executive Council directs.