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IRRA Executive Board Meeting
June 1, 2004
Gold Coast Room, Hyatt Regency Hotel, Chicago,
IL
Call to Order„Marlene Heyser called the meeting to order.
Present at the meeting were board members Peter Berg, Jackie Blanchard,
Dan Cornfield, Amy Dean, Adrienne Eaton, Peter Feuille (secretary-treasurer),
Ann Frost, Marlene Heyser (president), Sanford Jacoby, Andy Levin,
Wilma Liebman, Anthony Oliver, Stephen Sleigh (president elect), Robert
Taylor, and Paula Voos. Also in attendance were guests David Lipsky, chair of
the Development Committee and president elect-elect; David Dunlop, development
consultant, Jim Auerbach, NPF 2005 meeting coordinator; Charles
Whalen, editor and chair of Perspectives on Work; national office staff members
Anna Mehl and Paula Wells; and Sarah Dolinar, pending national office
staff member. Not present were members Nancy Biagini, Joel Cutcher-Gershenfeld,
Lavonne Ritter, and Art Schwartz, and counsel Stephen B. Rynecki.
Approval of Minutes --President Heyser asked for approval of the minutes
of the January 4, 2004, board meeting held in San Diego, CA. Sandy
Jacoby moved to accept, Jackie Blanchard seconded, and all members were
in agreement to approve.
Committee and Officer Reports
æææææReport on Perspectives on Work„Charles Whalen, chair of the Editorial
Advisory Board and editor of Perspectives on Work (hereafter Perspectives),
reported that the summer 2004 issue would be mailed soon and outlined the
editorial plans underway for the winter 2005 issue, including articles on offshoring,
overtime regulations, privatization, work-family issues, occupational licensing, public sector labor relations, and industry council reports. The
summer 2005 issue will lead with a feature on women in the workplace.
Whalen also discussed plans for the launch of a web version for the magazine;
the mini-issues will fall between the printed issues and will include
overflow or new material. They will reside on the free side of the web for six
months and then move over to the members library. The Perspectives Editorial
Advisory Board is working on plans for a roundtable forum at the 2005
annual meeting, to be followed up by articles in the magazine. Marlene
Heyser thanked Whalen for his work on Perspectives.
Report of the Development Committee„ Chair David Lipsky introduced
and thanked David Dunlop, a consultant and former development officer
with Cornell University, for leading a discussion on strategies and practices
for IRRA development work with the Development Committee. Lipsky
summarized that discussion by first defining the three categories of fundraising
gifts: the regular periodic gift, the special purpose gift, and the ultimate
gift. The committee believes the association should conduct a regular annual
campaign, possibly beginning as early as fall 2004, and has created a subcommittee
to research the feasibility of that. Second, the committee created
a subcommittee to draft a case statement for presentation at a future board
meeting as well as a subcommittee to develop a list of special projects or initiatives
that would be the focus for a multiyear campaign for IRRA. In asking
for board approval of the plans, Lipsky noted that the committee proposes
researching the feasibility of a long-term campaign, which would include a
long quiet phase before going public, not to be undertaken until research is
complete for a measured plan for fundraising and development. Asked to
talk about target audiences for such a campaign, Lipsky listed groups such as
people close to the association who may not be members, senior people in
the field who in the past had a close association to IRRA, institutions that
have an interest in the association, and foundations, such as the Sloan Foundation.
He noted that today most giving for most nonprofit organizations
comes from individuals. Paula Voos added that Lipsky asked that all members
of the Development Committee, as well as the board, foster a culture of
giving by making an annual gift to the association.
Lipsky was asked how the Development Committee proposes linking the
development strategy to the strategic substantive direction of the association,
and he responded that the board be intimately involved in the committee's
development of a case statement and that that statement should ultimately
reflect the vision and purpose of the association and the initiatives that are
integral to the association. Lipsky highlighted that IRRA is the only organization
that provides a forum for all workplace constituencies that come together to discuss all kinds of issues, practices, and policies; that the IRRA
is unique in the workplace makes it a vital and multilateral organization. He
reminded the board that the Development Committee will lean on its members
with experience and backgrounds in development and fundraising and
concluded the report with the Development Committee's recommendation
to establish the Susan C. Eaton Outstanding Scholar-Practitioner Award:
Motion: The IRRA Development Committee recommends to the Executive
Board that it establish the IRRA Susan C. Eaton Outstanding
Scholar-Practitioner Award. It further recommends that the Award be
given annually to a member of the Association who has achieved distinction
as both a practitioner and a scholar in our field.
The motion was passed unanimously.
Report of the National Policy Form 2005 Committee„Steve Sleigh, president
elect and committee chair, summarized the program for the 2005 NPF,
which will include a slate of presentations on the field of healthcare pension,
workers compensation, and the intersection of bargaining and policy surrounding
worker benefits. A report on the details of proposed arrangements
(with the hotel) and a report on the NPF financial history and proposed 2005
budget were presented (attachment C). Sleigh reported he and Marlene
Heyser were organizing a program committee and that Jim Auerbach has
agreed act as coordinator for the 2005 NPF and will work with Paula Wells
and the national office. Auerbach reported that the D.C. Chapter was enthusiastic
and had expressed strong support to do what it takes to make the
forum successful. Hotel Washington, a union hotel at 15th and Pennsylvania
Ave., NW, in downtown Washington, is available with reasonable room rates
and a contract with them was pending approval. The proposed forum dates
are for June 16¿17, 2005. The arrangement with the hotel will include ten
breakout sessions and two plenary sessions, plus limited room availabilities
for the day before, in the case of council or committee meetings.
Paula Voos moved to approve the dates of June 16¿17, 2005, and to grant
authorization for the national IRRA office to enter a contract with Hotel
Washington, and Peter Feuille seconded. The motion passed unanimously.
Report of the 57th Annual Meeting Program„ President Marlene
Heyser, Chair of the Program Committee for the 57th Annual Meeting, recognized
her vice chairs, Bonnie Castrey and Bruce Kaufman, and thanked
her committee for again helping to plan a program of broad interest. Attachment
D provided a listing of the sessions and activities that were accepted
into the program. She reported Walter Gershenfeld and Margery Gootnick had agreed to serve on the distinguished panel and that a distinguished
speaker would soon be announced.
Report of the Secretary/Treasurer and Executive Director„ Peter Feuille
reviewed the midyear estimate, pointing out the grant funds were instrumental
in keeping us in the black. Paula Wells, executive director, summarized
recent activities at the national office, many which were initiated from
the work of the Special Strategic Membership Committee. These included
the Foundations Committee work to write and receive the Sloan grant to
create industry councils and to help further our membership efforts; the creation
and work of the Development Committee, chaired by David Lipsky to
help ensure the association's long-term viability; the institutionalization and
coordination of the Interest Sections and Industry Councils by the new Sections
and Councils Coordinating Committee chaired by Hoyt Wheeler; and
preparing for the upcoming name change. Wells reported membership numbers
continued to trend slightly downward and there were a number of new
membership efforts to be initiated in the late summer through the fall. She
also outlined some of the efforts at the NLMC to stump for membership and
the new industry councils.
Report of the Editorial Committee„ Chair Adrienne Eaton reported she
would be presenting a proposal for the 2006 research volume at the board
meeting in January 2005.
Report of the NCAC„ Committee chair Lavonne Ritter was unable to
attend, and vice chair Anthony Oliver presented several NCAC proposals on
IRRA chapter programming and waiver of chapter dues. There was discussion
on including the following guidelines into the IRRA chapter handbook:
"Given that labor, employment and workplace issues by their very nature
involve conflicting views and interests, the Executive Board recommends
that Chapters provide overall balance in their program development and
avoid problems involving views that are antithetical to promoting conflict
resolution methods compatible with the spirit of employee free and democratic
choice under the law. "Balance" as is used in this resolution should
not be interpreted as necessarily requiring the presentation of conflicting
or divergent views on the same program as long as overall balance is
achieved."
Paula Voos made a motion to accept the language in the chapter guidelines,
Andy Levin seconded the motion and the resolution passed with thirteen
votes in favor and one abstention
Discussion then ensued on verbiage for the waiver of chapter-to-national
dues to be used internally by the staff for allowing dues waivers. The following
criteria were decided upon:
Dues may be temporarily waived for a period of no more than a year for
a chapter that meets one or more of the following hardship conditions:
´ Recent substantial drop in membership, creating a financial hardship.
´ Involvement in chapter reorganization after a period of inactivity
of hardship.
´ Unforeseen financial stringencies such as loss of office or meeting
venue or membership shortfall.
A motion was made, a second was heard, and the motion passed unanimously.
A brief discussion was held on the individual criteria for chapter membership.
After preliminary discussion, NCAC Vice Chair Anthony Oliver
allowed that the NCAC had not fully discussed the topic and recommended
the topic should be referred back to the NCAC for further discussion.
Adjournment
--Marlene Heyser adjourned the meeting at 9:05 p.m. The
next meeting of the executive board is scheduled for Thursday, January 6,
2005, at the Wyndham Philadelphia at Franklin Plaza, Philadelphia, PA.
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