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IRRA Executive Board Meeting
January 2, 2004
East Coast Room, Holiday Inn on the Bay, San Diego, CA
Call to Order --Paula Voos called the meeting to
order. She introduced Gail Pesyna of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Gail
briefly discussed the grant provided by the Foundation to the IRRA for
the purpose of starting up industry councils within the association and
encouraged the Board to think boldly in its use.
Present at the meeting were board members Nancy
Biagini, Jackie Blanchard, John Burton (past president), Dan Cornfield,
Joel Cutcher-Gershenfeld, Tia Schneider Denenberg, Adrienne Eaton, Peter
Feuille (secretary-treasurer), Ann Frost, Cindy Gramm, Marlene Heyser
(president elect), Sanford Jacoby, Andy Levin, Wilma Liebman, Lavonne
Ritter (NCAC), Dennis Rocheleau, Art Schwartz, Stephen Sleigh (president
elect-elect), John Truesdale, and Paula Voos. Also in attendance were
committee chairs Cheryl Maranto (Education) and Hoyt Wheeler (Sections
and Councils), David Lewin (Nominating); and new board members Peter Berg,
Amy Dean, Anthony Oliver and Robert Taylor; and national office staff
members Suzi Millas and Paula Wells.
Paula Voos welcomed the new board members and
thanked and recognized those board members who will be ending their terms
following the conference, including: Ron Blackwell, Tia Denenberg, Cindy
Gramm, and Dennis Rocheleau. Marlene Heyser then thanked Paula Voos for
her service and presented a token of the board's appreciation.
Approval of Minutes --President Voos
asked for approval of the minutes of the June 14, 2003 board meeting held
in Chicago, IL. John Burton moved to accept and all members were in agreement
to approve.
Committee and Officer Reports
Nominating Committee --David Lewin, chair,
reported the slate of candidates on behalf of members of the nominating
committee. The 2003 Committee included: Ruth Milkman, Iain Gold, Ralph
Craviso, Dale Belman, Bonnie Castrey and John Burton. Lewin announced
David Lipsky as unanimous selection as president elect for 2005. The slate
of nominees was discussed. Tia Denenberg made a motion to accept the slate
as proposed by the committee, Nancy Biagini seconded, and the motion was
unanimously passed by the board.
Foundations Committee --Chair Joel
Cutcher-Gershenfeld listed the roster of the committee and reported on
the issues discussed in the meeting including the Sloan Foundation Grant,
a list of foundations that Hoyt Wheeler had constructed that might be
targeted for smaller more focused funding requests, and the idea that
the committee might expand to include creating links to other associations
with IRRA such as the ACR, PERB, FMCS, LEL of the Bar, NBER, EPI, and
many others. Joel suggested liaisons from the IRRA be designated by the
president to deal with these specific associations. The need for an appropriate
structure for the committee and liaisons idea was further discussed when
Voos asked the board for feedback. Jacoby mentioned the need to prioritize
which outside organizations the IRRA should partner with, and that this
might need to be dealt with separately from the Foundations Committee.
The board delayed further discussion on such linkages pending recommendations
from the Foundation Committee on whether to break this out for another
committee.
Sections and Councils Committee --Hoyt
Wheeler stated that the committee meeting included many representatives
from the IRRA sections as well as the entire committee. He provided documentation
to the board regarding the purpose and structure of the sections and industry
councils. He asked that the board consider approval of the ideas and recommendations
within the documentation including: the issuance of a charter to be granted
by the board for 5 years: with organizational structure of the councils
at their discretion but with tripartite leadership and balance; and that
councils operate under a consensual basis. Councils would not be allowed
to participate in lobbying without consensus of the members and approval
from the IRRA Board. Burton pointed out the issue of lobbying on the part
of the councils could place our nonprofit status at risk, and the question
of the legitimacy of this activity required further discussion at a later
time.
The issue of the charter period was further
discussed and amended to 2 years. Other changes to the documentation included
the provision for revocation of a charter, as well as removal of the wording
"partisan basis" from the documentation, as well as the requirement of
council members to be national association members. Voos asked for a motion
to accept, Lavonne Ritter moved to accept the new document regarding the
purpose of the IRRA Industry Councils, and the motion was unanimously
approved.
Wheeler also asked for approval to continue
with existing interest sections (grandfathered in with a 2-year charter)
and to require new sections: to have at least 10 members with an initial
2-year charter; to provide documentation regarding their structure; to
elect officers every 3 years, to report to the board or one of the official
committees on their structure and governance; and that they may or may
not collect dues. Lavonne Ritter moved to accept the proposal and the
motion was passed.
Development Committee --This report
was not made due to David Lipsky's absence.
Report of the Secretary/Treasurer, Finance and Membership
Committee and Executive Director --Peter Feuille mentioned
the report provided to the board prior to the meeting, pointing out the
slight increase in membership, but that this was not a large enough increase
and that the association needed to continue building membership. Regarding
the budget, he discussed the revised budget including the deficits in
2002 and 2003. Feuille asked for approval of the 2004 budget proposed
in the report reflecting the addition of another staff member to the national
office, funded by the Sloan Grant and turnaround to the bottom line. The
finance and membership committee approved the budget and asked for board
approval. Lavonne Ritter moved to approve and the 2004 budget was unanimously
approved.
Feuille also reported on the recommendation by the Finance and Membership
Committee to continue or maintain the 2004 dues rates for the year 2005.
John Truesdale moved to approve and the motion was unanimously passed.
Peter thanked Paula Wells and Joel for their work to obtain the Sloan
Funding, and he emphasized the need to continue to look for other means
of funding. Voos emphasized that board members should also be financially
supportive of the association.
NCAC Committee --Lavonne reported that
the NCAC would make recommendations on two topics. The first was the name
change. The consensus of the committee was to support the idea of the
name change, but in the context of the comprehensive change efforts purported
by the SSMC--that is, that the board continue to aggressively address
systemic changes needed to revitalize the organization. Chapter liaisons
would work to disseminate pertinent information and work towards this
goal.
The second recommendation was the dual membership.
The proposal for dual membership included the national office promoting
and processing chapter memberships to all national association members
and prospect lists and collecting a small fee from the chapter for each
new member passed along. The NCAC recommends the collection of data regarding
other associations with a similar dues structure by a new committee or
subcommittee, and that possibly some of the larger, more successful chapters
be involved in this process and provide information regarding perceived
benefits or added value for the chapters. Whatever action would be taken
should not result in the decrease in revenues for any chapter.
Education Committee --Cheryl Maranto
reported that the committee suggested the addition of a practitioner based
award in the area of teaching excellence, and that the committee would
look to Sue Schurman and Pat Greenfield for guidance. Board members generally
expressed support for the idea.
Editorial Committee --Adrienne Eaton
reported that the committee discussed a proposal for the 2006 Research
Volume, and that the proposal was rejected. The committee discussed the
idea of David Lewin editing the 2006 volume and Eaton said they would
be receiving a proposal from him in the future with a recommendation to
come up to the Board in June or next January.
The length of the Annual Proceedings was discussed while the current session
structure at the annual meetings was to be maintained, only 4 papers per
symposium would be published; symposium organizers would be responsible
for determining which papers would be presented. Eaton mentioned that
discussant comments would continue to be published.
Policy Forum 2004 --Marlene Heyser
reported the NPF would be held in conjunction with the FMCS National Labor-Management
Conference, June 2-4, 2004 at the Grand Hyatt Regency in Downtown Chicago.
The program will feature 6 IRRA Industry Council workshops and the IRRA
will sponsor the Thursday morning breakfast. The next meeting of the executive
board will be held Tuesday, June 1, 2004 at the Hyatt.
Program Committee 57th Annual Meeting --Marlene
Heyser reported that the program committee vice chairs would be Bonnie
Castrey and Bruce Kaufman. The topic of the number of papers to be presented
was discussed with emphasis on decreasing the number of papers per session.
Submissions must be received by the end of January 2004 for review by
the committee. The meeting location in Philadelphia should provide a larger
venue for preconference meetings and sessions. In addition the meeting
would be held the second week of January, the 6-9 and that could increase
attendance.
New Business
2003 Awards Report --Paula Wells reported
on the awards to be presented at the General Membership Meeting on Sunday,
January 4, 2004.
Special Strategic Membership Committee --The
IRRA to LERA name change was discussed in relationship to declining membership
in the national association. John Burton provided a history of the SSMC
and the committee's past activities, including the development of ad hoc
committees currently in existence including the Development, Sections
and Councils and Foundations Relations Committees.
Burton pointed out to new board members that
the name change had been deliberated for many years, with many recommendations,
and the general consensus has been that the name IRRA does not appropriately
describe the depth and activities of the association and actually creates
a misconception among many people regarding the nature of the association.
The name Labor and Employment Relations Association was accepted by the
board, for recommendation to the general membership, in June 2003. Feedback
since then from the membership had been mixed, some positive and some
negative. Burton said the name change would be further discussed at the
general membership meeting on Sunday, and as planned would go to the entire
membership for a vote in the summer.
Hudson Valley Chapter Meeting/New York AFL-CIO Response
--Voos reported on a controversy that arose earlier in the
year when several labor members expressed concern about an HV chapter's
monthly meeting guest speaker. Voos asked NCAC Chair Lavonne Ritter for
comment. Ritter stated that the NCAC was only an advisory committee, not
a regulatory committee, and that the committee could deliberate and provide
advice to chapters on specific issues such as balance in programming.
She stated the NCAC could develop and recommend guidelines on chapter
programming but that programming controversies should be referred back
to the individual chapter's programming committee for action.
Steve Sleigh, who had spoken to one of the concerned parties regarding
the matter expressed that the party was worried that the lack of guidelines
in relationship to chapters could be detrimental to the national IRRA.
Some board members agreed the NCAC was in a good position to provide advice
to chapters, others suggested that the NCAC should be careful to make
sure they were only providing guidelines to chapters. Tia Denenberg moved
that the matter be turned over to the NCAC for further review and that
they look into the development of programming guidelines for chapters.
All board members voted in the affirmative.
Other Business --The Board went into
Executive Session to discuss the national staff annual reviews.
Adjournment --President Voos adjourned
the meeting at 10:40 pm. The next meeting of the executive board is scheduled
for June 1, 2004, at the Hyatt Regency in Downtown Chicago.
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