• Chairs Local Lodge Meetings
  When the membership meeting is called to order, the President and the Executive Board should have ready a prearranged agenda of business that they will bring up. They should have discussed major issues beforehand, and formulated their collective recommendations to the membership on what should be done. In chairing the meeting, the President should act as the referee of the game, rather than a participant. The President must be fair and impartial during the meeting, letting everyone be heard and encouraging the Lodge to make decisions democratically for the benefit of all.
   

• Signs Vouchers and Checks
  The President must make sure that all checks are properly drawn and that the bills being paid have been approved by the membership. All checks and all vouchers are signed by the President. As chief executive officer of the Lodge, the President is responsible for the constitutionality of every motion that is passed by the Lodge. Any motion that would expend money unconstitutionally should be ruled out of order.
  It should be noted that the Constitution gives the President double veto power over any expenditure that is illegal or unconstitutional. The President is required by the Constitution to countersign both the authorizing voucher and the check. By not signing either instrument, payment thereof can be stopped.
   
• Appoints Committees Not Otherwise Provided For
  The President appoints all Committees except when the Constitution or bylaws provide that a Committee shall be selected some other way or when the membership decides to select a Committee in some other way.
   
• Administers the Obligation to New Members
  It is one of the President's duties to see that the obligation is administered to new members in keeping with the procedure set forth in the Ritual.
   
• Appoints Committees Not Otherwise Provided For
  The President appoints all Committees except when the Constitution or bylaws provide that a Committee shall be selected some other way or when the membership decides to select a Committee in some other way.
   
• Administers the Obligation to New Members
  It is one of the President's duties to see that the obligation is administered to new members in keeping with the procedure set forth in the Ritual.
   
• Enforces the Bylaws and Constitution of the IAM and the Lodge
  It has always been IAM constitutional law that the President of the Lodge was responsible for enforcing the Constitution of the IAM applicable to local lodges and members. Since the passage of the Landrum-Griffin Law this duty has now become a legal responsibility under civil law in the U.S. only.
  The President is legally responsible for the faithful performance of his or her duties and is bonded for this. Therefore, any act, or failure to act, may be the basis for a complaint to the Department of Labor by a dissatisfied member in the U.S.A. Because of this it is important that the Lodge have full and accurate minutes of the actions taken by the Lodge during each meeting, so they can be referred to if there is disagreement.

While chairing the meeting, the President must help the Recording Secretary take accurate minutes. The President is responsible for the correct wording of a motion. The intent of the mover should be clarified by the President, so that the person who made the motion and the President agree that the wording used expresses clearly what the mover intended to say.
A motion is not subject to debate until the President states the motion to the Lodge. The manner in which it is stated to the Lodge by the President is the manner in which it should be recorded in the minutes.

Officers