OREGON CHAPTER OF THE

LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS ASSOCIATION

I. NAME

This non-profit association shall be known as the Oregon Chapter of the Labor and Employment Relations Association and is affiliated with the National Labor and Employment Relations Association.

III. PURPOSES

The purposes of the Oregon Chapter are to:

  1. Uphold and support a high standard of professional practice within the field of labor and employment relations.
  2. Facilitate education, training, and the exchange of ideas among private and public sector labor and employment relations practitioners for all membership components—labor, management, and neutrals—as well as academics in the field of labor and employment relations and related fields.
  3. Promote positive and constructive working relationships between the membership components.
  4. Support the interests, activities, and purposes of National LERA (Constitution and Bylaws, Revised May 28, 2016).

The Association will take no partisan attitude on questions of policy, nor will it commit its members to any positions on such questions.

The Association affirms its support for fundamental worker and human rights in the workplace and for the rights of employees, employers, and their organizations to full freedom to organize and administer their activities and to formulate and pursue their lawful purposes.

III.     MEMBERSHIP

  1. Any person interested in its purposes may become a regular member of the Chapter upon payment of local dues.
  2. There shall be two categories of membership: regular members and student members. Other categories of membership may be established by majority vote of the membership present and voting at a regular meeting on written notice. The amount for annual dues will be established annually by majority vote of the Chapter Executive Board. Every member shall be entitled to receive any bulletins or other publications issued by the Chapter during his/her membership.

IV.  CHAPTER EXECUTIVE BOARD

  1. The Chapter shall have an Executive Board (Board) comprised of sixteen (16) directors and the immediate past president. The directors shall, to the greatest extent possible, include labor, management, academics, and neutrals, and shall represent both the public and private sectors. The Board shall be responsible for conduct of the Chapter’s business, for promoting the purposes of the organization, encouraging membership in the organization, and selection of annual award recipients. The directors shall review the financial records, shall serve on standing committees as proposed by the President and approved by the Board, and shall share information from their component of the labor relations profession (labor, management, or neutrals) with the Board and membership. The President may appoint a replacement to complete the balance of any vacated term of a director, including a vacancy in the term of a director serving as an officer. Filling the seat does not preclude the incumbent from being nominated for a regular term.
  2. Through December 31, 2019, directors shall serve a one (1) year term. Beginning January 1, 2020, directors shall serve staggered two (2) year terms. On or before the 2019 annual meeting, the Board shall determine which one-half of the sixteen (16) director positions shall be elected to two-year terms, commencing January 1, 2020. The balance of the director positions shall serve one-year terms through December 31, 2020, and two (2) year terms thereafter.
  3. The Board shall include the following eight (8) officer positions, which shall be filled by Board directors: President, President-Elect, Regular Programs Vice President, Annual Event Program Vice President, Membership Vice President, Communications Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer. In addition, the Board shall include the position of Immediate Past President, who shall be a nonvoting ex officio director, but who may vote on matters before the Board if necessary to break a tie among the other directors. The Immediate Past President may serve an additional one year on the Board, directly following the Immediate Past President’s term as a director, if the Immediate Past President served as President during the second year of a two-year director term.
  4. Each officer position shall be for a one (1) year term. The duties of the officer positions follow, and officers may be assigned such other duties as may be appropriate to the office.

a. President: The President shall preside at all meetings of the Chapter, shall serve as a co-signatory on financial transactions, and shall be an ex-officio member of all committees.

b. President Elect: The President Elect shall chair the Finance Committee and will assume the office of President upon expiration of the President’s term. The President-Elect shall also assume the position, duties, and power of the President in instances of inability to serve or absence of the President until the cessation of such inability to serve or absence or until expiration of the President’s term.

c. Regular Program Vice President: The Regular Program Vice President shall chair the Regular  Program Committee.

d. Annual Event  Program  Vice  President:  The  Annual  Event  Program  Vice  President  shall  be responsible for the Annual Awards Program and shall chair the Annual Event Program Committee.

e. Membership Vice President: The Membership Vice President shall ensure that a computerized record of current members, their dues status, and their contact information is maintained, and shall chair the Membership Committee.

f. Secretary: The Secretary shall keep the records of all proceedings, including meetings, programs, and elections, of the Chapter.

g. Treasurer: The Treasurer shall have custody of the Funds of the Chapter and shall be a co-signatory on financial transactions. The Treasurer shall be responsible for the collection of dues and other revenues, and payment of bills as approved by the Board. The Treasurer shall maintain the financial records of the organization, including records of all revenues and expenditures, and shall make a report to the Board at each meeting of the Board and a complete financial report to the membership at the annual meeting.

h. The membership may by majority vote of regular members attending the annual meeting determine that the offices of Secretary and Treasurer be combined. Each such vote shall authorize the creation of the combined office of Secretary-Treasurer for the next term only.

i. Communications Vice President:  The Communications Vice President shall have the duties of managing and posting content to the chapter’s website, being chiefly responsible for monitoring email, and sending out chapter information and notices of events.

  1. Election of Chapter Directors, Including Officers

Chapter directors, including officers, shall be elected at the annual meeting of the Chapter. As required by the national by-laws, only members of the national organization shall be eligible to serve as officers of the local chapter. A member interested in running for office may submit his/her name to the nominating committee twenty-one (21) days prior to the annual meeting, and these names, along with any proposed by the committee itself, shall be presented to the general membership prior to the annual meeting.

  1. Legal Authority

No person shall be authorized to enter into contracts on behalf of the Chapter unless authority to sign is granted by a majority resolution of the Executive Board.

V. COMMITTEES

  1. The Chapter shall have such committees as the Board shall establish. To the greatest extent possible, each committee shall include a representative from labor, a representative from management, and a representative of neutrals. In addition to the committees below, the Board may establish such committees as an Administration Committee, a Communication/Outreach Committee, and a Statewide Education and Training Exploration Committee.
  2. The Nominating Committee shall be composed of three members, proposed by the President and approved by the Board.
  3. The Regular Program Committee shall be chaired by the Regular Program Vice President and shall be composed of members proposed by the President and approved by the Board. It shall be responsible for planning periodic meetings throughout the year.
  4. The Annual Event Program Committee shall be chaired by the Annual Event Program Vice President and shall be composed of members proposed by the President and approved by the Board. It shall be responsible for planning an annual program to be held each year in the fall or winter.
  5. The Membership Committee shall be chaired by the Membership Vice President and shall be composed of three members, proposed by the President and approved by the Board.
  6. The Finance Committee shall be chaired by the President-Elect; the Immediate Past President shall serve as Vice-Chair. The committee shall be composed of three additional members from the Board,, proposed by the President and approved by the Board.  The Committee shall be responsible for reviewing the reports of the Treasurer and recommending financial policies and procedures to the Board.
  7. Chapter member committee terms shall be one (1) year. A committee term may be extended by theBoard.
  8. The President may appoint special ad hoc committees, whenever the need arises, subject to the approval of a majority of the Board.

VI. FINANCE

The fiscal year of the Chapter shall be the calendar year.

VII.    DISSOLUTION

Upon dissolution of the Chapter, the Board shall, after paying or making provision for the payment of all the liabilities of this Chapter, dispose of all the remaining assets of this Chapter to any organization, entity or governmental body one of the purposes of which is to improve the cooperation or education of Union or Management regarding employment relations issues including by way of example any of the following: (1) an organization exempt under section 501(a) of the IRC as an organization described in section 501(c)(3) of the IRC; or (2) a successor to the Chapter as long as it meets the other conditions of this Article.

VIII.   MEETINGS

  1. The Chapter shall meet at the call of the President.
  2. The annual meeting of the Chapter shall be the last business meeting of each calendar year, or such other meeting as the Board shall designate.
  3. A quorum shall consist of twenty (20) members or twenty percent (20%) of the membership, whichever is less. Members shall be provided an opportunity to vote electronically, including by email.
  4. The Board shall meet at the request of any Board member.  A quorum shall be a majority of the Board.

IX. AMENDMENTS TO BY-LAWS

Amendments to the By-Laws may be made by a majority vote of the members voting, provided notice of the proposed amendment has been given to the members at least fifteen (15) calendar days in advance.