| By-Laws
BY-LAWS
of the
LABOR
AND EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS ASSOCIATION
NORTHEAST OHIO CHAPTER
Article I - Name
This non-profit unincorporated
association shall be known as the Labor and Employment Relations Association of
Northeast Ohio, and is affiliated with the national Labor and Employment
Relations Association as a local chapter.
Article II - Purposes
The purposes of this association
are: to provide a forum for the mutual exploration into all aspects of labor and
employment relations by all of the parties engaged in or contributing to
collective bargaining, in an atmosphere of cooperation and academic free
inquiry; to encourage exchanges among labor and employment relations practitioners seeking
a favorable climate for labor-management; to encourage research and
dissemination of results of research in labor and employment relations; to promote the
purposes of the Labor and Employment Relations Association.
This Chapter will take no partisan
attitude on questions of policy in the field of labor, nor will it commit its
members to any position on such questions.
Article III - Membership
A person who is deemed by the
Executive Board of the local Chapter to be either a professional or a student
studying to become a professional in the field of labor and employment relations,
concerned with collective bargaining relationships, may become a member of the
local Chapter upon payment of local membership dues. An organization deemed by
the Executive Board of the local Chapter to be supportive of the purposes of the
association may become a member of the local Chapter upon payment of the
Chapter's organization member dues.
Any member of the national
Labor and Employment Relations Association residing, working, or studying in the
Northeast Ohio area may become a member of this local Chapter upon payment of
local membership dues.
This Chapter shall allow
reciprocity of attendance at its functions (other than Executive Board meetings)
by all members of other LERA chapters without payment of dues. However, the term
"member," as used in these by-laws, applies only to members of this Chapter.
Article IV -
Membership Dues
The annual dues of this Chapter shall be
set from time to time by the Executive Board. The fiscal year will
run from September 1st of one year to August 31st
of the following year.
Any member whose dues are in arrears for three (3) months shall
automatically be considered as having terminated membership.
The dues of the Chapter Officers to the National Organization
shall be paid by the Local Chapter. Article V - Officers
The Officers of this Chapter shall be the
President, two Vice Presidents (one of which is President-Elect),
the Secretary, and the Treasurer. All Officers shall be members of
this Chapter and members of the national Association.
The President shall serve a one-year term. Except for those
elected in 2006, the Vice Presidents shall serve two-year terms,
with one being elected in odd years and the other elected in even
years. In 2006, two Vice Presidents shall be elected. One shall be
designated President-Elect and serve a one-year term. The other
shall serve a two-year term. The Secretary and Treasurer shall
serve three-year terms. While serving as Officers, they shall
continue to represent their respective constituents by filling one
of the six (6) slots allocated to each of the three (3) groups and
two (2) sectors from which they were named as Executive Board
members. The Vice President positions shall be filled
alternatively from each of the two sectors and will be rotated
through the three constituency groups in the following order:
Management, Labor and Other. The group designated as
"Other" shall include Academics, Neutrals (i.e.,
mediators, arbitrators and agencies) and retired members of the
community who wish to continue in the organization as Other.
A Past President shall be referred to as a President-Emeritus
and shall be entitled to non-voting membership on the Executive
Board, so long as s/he remains in the Northeast Ohio geographical
area. Article VI - The Executive Board
The Executive Board shall
consist of five (5) Officers and thirteen (13) other members, and
all Presidents-Emeriti. A good faith effort shall be made to
assure that the eighteen (18) voting members of the Board include
six (6) representatives of Labor; six (6) representatives of
Management and six (6) representing Others and that a balance
between the public and private sectors is maintained. Others may
represent one sector or another, or both.
The Executive Board shall be the
governing body of this Chapter and shall be responsible, among
other duties, for the formulation of a policy for the expenditure
of the funds of this Chapter. A quorum shall consist of at least
five (5) voting Executive Board members of which at least two (2)
shall be Officers. When deemed appropriate, the Board may seek the
advice and counsel of the general membership.
All members of the Executive Board shall serve three (3) year
terms beginning with those elected at the 2006 annual meeting,
except for those persons elected in the first year of the merged
Association. Terms of such persons shall be set so that as nearly
as mathematically possible one-third of the persons representing
each of the three (3) groups on the Executive Board is elected
each year. The length of initial terms among those persons in each
group elected in the first year of the merged Association shall be
determined by the drawing of lots.
Article VII - Nomination and Election of Officer and Executive Board Members
The President shall appoint
a Nominating Committee of four (4) members (two from each sector
and one from each group and an active Past President) of the
Executive Board for the purpose of nominating a Vice President,
Secretary, Treasurer and Executive Board Members. In arriving at
its recommendations for Executive Board Members, the Committee
shall elicit names from each of the respective groups and sectors
referred to in Article VI. Such Candidates must be given primary
consideration by the Nominating Committee. This Committee shall
make its report and recommendations for nominations in March to
the Executive Board, which may make additional nominations.
If there is no contest for an office, a motion
properly made and seconded to direct the Secretary to cast one (1)
ballot for the person(s) chosen by the Nominating Committee will
constitute election of those persons.
If there is a contest for any position, a
referendum ballot of all members will be conducted for that
position by the Secretary and an Election Committee appointed by
the President. The Officers and Executive Board members shall be
installed at the Annual Meeting of the Association which will be
held in the Spring.
Vacancies among the officers and members of the
Executive Board, except in the offices of President and Vice
President, shall be filled promptly by the Executive Board.
In the case of a vacancy in the office of Vice
President, the Nominating Committee shall promptly make its
recommendations to the Executive Board for their approval at a
meeting called by the President for that purpose.
Replacements shall be made so that the balance of
membership on the Executive Board of the three (3) groups and two
(2) sectors, established in Article VI, is preserved as far as
possible.
Article VIII - Duties of the Officers
The President
shall be the Chief Officer. S/he shall preside at all membership
and Executive Board meetings. S/he shall appoint all committees
and be an ex-officio member of each. S/he is authorized to co-sign
all checks.
The Vice President in his or her second year of office is
the President-Elect, and shall act in the capacity as assistant to
the President. S/he shall preside at all meetings in the absence
of the President. S/he shall immediately assume the duties of the
President should the President, during his/her term of office, be
disabled, resign, or for some reason be unable or unwilling to
carry out his/her duties under these by-laws. S/he is authorized
to co-sign all checks. S/he shall serve as Chairperson of the
Program Committee. The Vice President in his or her first year of
office shall be a member of the Program Committee.
The Secretary shall assist and substitute for the President
or Vice President upon request, record minutes of all membership
meetings and Executive Board meetings, keep membership records,
and handle routine correspondence of this Chapter.
The Treasurer is to collect all dues, be custodian of all
monies and property not specifically in charge of another Officer,
keep a complete financial record of receipts and disbursements,
and render a financial report to the outgoing and incoming
Officers and to all members at the Annual Meeting. S/he shall
issue all checks which shall be valid when co-signed by either the
President or the Vice President. Article IX - Committees
The President shall appoint all
committees and all committee chairpersons and co-chairpersons s/he deems
necessary.
Article X - Meetings and Quorum
This Chapter shall not
have any specific meeting dates, times, or places. It will meet
as seldom or as often as the Executive Board deems appropriate.
Program content of meeting shall be alternated between the two
sectors although there may also be one or more meetings in a
year of interest to both sectors. The Annual Meeting must be
held to install new Officers sometime during the Spring. A
quorum for the transaction of business at any membership meeting
shall consist of those present. All meetings of the membership
must be announced at least seven (7) days in advance and include
in the notice the time and the place of said meeting
Article XI - Publications and Bulletins
All members in good standing shall
be entitled to receive any publications and bulletins issued by this Chapter.
Article XII - Compensation
All Officers, other members of the
Executive Board, and committee members shall serve without compensation.
Article XIII - Amendments
Any amendments to these by-laws may
be made by a two-thirds vote of those present in person or by proxy and voting
at a membership meeting especially called to amend them, provided that all
members have notice of such a meeting and copies of the proposed amendments at
least ten (10) days in advance of the meeting at which action shall take place.
Such a meeting may be called only by the President upon the request of the
Executive Board, or a signed petition from thirty percent (30%) of the members
in good standing. In either case, the request for such a meeting shall include a
complete text of the proposed amendment or amendments which are to be considered
at the membership meeting.
Article XVI -
Dissolution
In the event the
Chapter is dissolved, all Chapter funds will default to the
national Labor and Employment Relations Association.
Article XV - Interpretation
Interpretation of these by-laws
shall reside in the Executive Board.
Ratified March
23, 2006
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