SECTION 1. Guild membership shall be open to every eligible person without discrimination or penalty, nor shall any member be barred from membership or penalized, by reason of age, sex, race, creed, color, national origin, religious or political conviction or activities, marital or parental status, family relationship, sexual or affectional preference, irrelevant mental or physical handicaps or anything he or she writes for publication.

SECTION 2. The jurisdiction of the Guild for purposes of determining eligibility of members shall be:

(a) The advertising, business, circulation, editorial, maintenance, promotion and related departments of (1) news or news feature publications, (2) enterprises supplying such material or service to publications or distributors which pay for this service, (3) radio companies, television broadcasting companies, on-line services and book publishing companies and any other media enterprises in the United States, its Territories and Possessions, in Canada and in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico;

(b) The informational and publication activities of a governmental agency, bureau or department;

(c) Such other departments, activities or functions of any other enterprise the organizing of which is deemed by the TNG-CWA Executive Council ("E.C.") to be in the best interests of TNG-CWA.

SECTION 3. The following shall be admitted to Guild membership:

(a) Persons gainfully employed within the jurisdiction of the Guild. Admission to the Guild under paragraph (b) of Section 2 shall be allowed only to a unit of employees employed within that branch of the jurisdiction by special permission of the E.C., which if granted shall be extended to the entire unit and membership therein, present and prospective.

(b) Persons working full-time for the Guild, its Councils, Locals, or any other agencies which the Guild may establish.

( c) Persons who perform work as defined in Article II, Section 2, but who do not have collective bargaining rights, or who work on an independent contractor basis, or who are otherwise outside of a traditional employment relationship. Provided, further that:

1. Membership eligibility is dependent upon the Local’s creation of an appropriate unit for such individuals, or upon the creation of a new local union by the TNG Executive Council, as approved by the CWA Executive Board. Where the TNG Executive Council acts to create a new local union, it shall give 60 days’ advance written notice to all affected local unions, who may file written objection or make a claim, in writing, for such members. The Executive Council shall resolve all local objections in the best interests of TNG-CWA. All conflicts between locals shall be resolved in the best interests of TNG-CWA in accordance with the procedures set out in Article XI, Section 18.; and

2. The Local shall have the right to decline membership to any such individual who is actively serving against the interests of the Local, the Guild or CWA. The Local’s determination of ineligibility shall be subject to appeal in accordance with the procedures set out in Article II, Section 9;

3. Locals may adopt reasonable bylaw provisions regarding eligibility for membership that are not inconsistent with this Constitution

SECTION 4. The following shall be eligible to retain their Guild membership, subject to the provisions made applicable to them in the Constitution:

(a) Members who enter the armed forces or any official auxiliary thereof of the United States or Canada or any allied or associated power, or who are drafted as conscientious objectors under the law of said nations into compulsory alternate civilian service, during time of war or national emergency. The E.C. shall determine the existence of war or national emergency, and may extend the provisions of this section to any such member who is for special reasons retained in service past the time of war or national emergency.

(b) Members entering any government employment affected with the national interest during any leave of absence granted by their employers for that purpose.

(c) Members granted leave of absence by their employers.

(d) Members who take employment in another bona fide union or in any other organization with which the Guild is affiliated.

(e) Members who accept full-time paid office or other full-time employment within the Guild.

(f) Members who have become unemployed may retain their membership for one year; honorable withdrawal cards shall then be issued with preferential rehiring rights unimpaired.

(g) Members determined by the E.C. to have suffered unemployment as a penalty or reprisal for activity on behalf of the Guild.

(h) Members who assume public office, elective or appointive, may in the discretion of their Locals and subject to Section 9 of this Article continue in membership.

(i) Guild members who have retired and who are not otherwise eligible.

SECTION 5. Students working on college newspapers, journalism teachers, college students preparing for journalism as a career, and others who are not otherwise eligible under Sections 3 and 4 and who derive a substantial portion of their income from gathering, editing, or creating information shall be eligible for associate membership.

SECTION 6. Persons whose endeavors have significantly advanced the purposes of TNG-CWA, or exemplified the ideals of TNG-CWA and the labor movement, shall be eligible for honorary membership by action of the E.C.

SECTION 7. No persons actively serving the interest of employers or another labor organization as against the interests of the Guild or CWA shall be eligible for membership.

SECTION 8. No Local shall enter into any agreement or understanding with an employer or union determining jurisdiction, without prior approval in writing of the E.C.

SECTION 9. The facts of eligibility under the Constitution shall be determined by the Local in which they arise (except as provided by Sections 4 (g) and 6 of this Article II), and shall be subject to appeal to the E.C. by the person concerned or by any aggrieved member, and thereafter pursuant to the CWA Constitution, to the CWA Executive Board and to the CWA Convention by the Local, the person concerned, or any member. Locals may adopt reasonable bylaw provisions regarding eligibility for membership that are not inconsistent with this Constitution.