Article 14 – Standing Committees

Section 14.1 – Negotiations Committee

The Negotiations Committee shall be composed to two (2) individual yet interconnected groups, as described below:

14.1(a) 14.1.1 Bargaining Team: When bargaining is ongoing, the Bargaining Team is responsible for engaging in negotiations during all bargaining sessions, scheduling bargaining meetings with administration,and all other activities directly related to bargaining. This committee is chaired by the VP of Collective Bargaining. When GEU is not bargaining, the Bargaining Team will serve as the Labor Management Committee established in Article LABOR_MANAGEMENT_ARTICLE ??? of the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

14.1(b) 14.1.2 Contract Action Team: The objective of the Contract Action Team is to build a campaign to support contract negotiations. The Contract Action Team’s duties may include organizing actions related to an escalation plan, and mobilizing members for participation in the contract negotiation process.

Section 14.2 - Communications Committee

The Communications Committee maintains the GEU newsletter, website, and social media accounts. The Communications Committee is responsible for keeping members informed of all GEU activities, events, meetings, campaigns, and relevant news related to GEU. The Communications Committee is responsible for creating or reviewing all outreach materials, and promotional materials for GEU events and campaigns. When it is necessary to collect information from members, the Communications Committee will collaborate as necessary to disseminate surveys or other data collection tools. All formal statements and publications to the media shall be created by the Communications Committee, with approval from the VP of Communications. The Communications Committee is chaired by the VP of Communications. Committees and members will collaborate with the Communications Committee to produce outreach materials. Any GEU committee or member(s) needing materials reviewed must give materials to the Communications Committee at least five (5) days before materials are needed.

Section 14.3 - Equity Committee

The Equity Committee is committed to building an equitable union that is accessible to all and representative of the graduate employee population at Portland State University. This committee works to ensure that all provisions of the objective of Equity and Justice (Section 2.5) are carried out by GEU members and leadership, and advocate for the same at the administrative level on behalf of all PSU graduate employees and students. When appropriate, the committee will collaboratively identify concrete recommendations to the Executive Board for changes to GEU culture, process, or policies. The Equity Committee will serve as a resource for members and all graduate students at PSU to learn about issues related to labor and diversity, and may organize events or activities to this end. This committee is chaired by the VP of Equity and Inclusion.

Section 14.4 - Political Action Committee

The Political Action Committee coordinates and encourages positive participation in political activity among GEU membership, and mobilizes civic engagement both within the University and in the wider local, state, and federal community. Members of this committee will track policy changes, ballot measures, legislation, and other political matters that could affect GEU, labor unions, graduate students, or higher education in general, and may recommend advocacy or political action on certain issues. The Political Action Committee may also organize political education and trainings as needed. Updates and information about relevant political developments will be sent to the Communications Committee as needed to be relayed to members. This committee is responsible for organizing all referenda information sessions and endorsement hearings and communicating information about endorsement opportunities, meetings, and decisions to the general membership. The Political Action Committee will mobilize members to participate in and support broad political actions such as rallies, public meetings, picketing, and public social events.This committee is chaired by the VP of Politics.

Section 14.5 - Social Engagement Committee

The Social Engagement Committee organizes GEU social events and leads efforts to build a community among the graduate student community in pursuit of Community and Solidarity, as in Section 2.3. The Social Engagement Committee will work with the Communications Committee and Steward Council to promote GEU social events. This committee is chaired by VP of Social Engagement. The Social Engagement Committee, with other officers and committees, is also responsible for coordinating logistics for GEU General Membership Meetings.

Section 14.6 - Grievance Committee

A grievance is a formal complaint raised by an employee against the employer within the confines of the workplace. The Grievance Committee will determine the viability of grievances and track grievances in progress. The Grievance Committee members will be available to attend meetings and carry out tasks assigned by the Grievance Officer or a Designated Representative (see Section 1.5), including Grievance Point Duty as described in Section 5.7.

The Grievance Committee shall have the authority to recommend to the Executive Board whether grievances not resolved during the grievance process (as specified in the Collective Bargaining Agreement) should be taken to binding arbitration. Such decisions shall require a quorum of at least three (3) members. In the event the Grievance Committee decides not to recommend taking a grievance to arbitration, the grievant may appeal the decision; the decision will be considered as affecting GEU members and overall operations, and thus subject to the appeal process in Section 6.2. This committee is chaired by the Grievance Officer.

Section 14.7 - Ad Hoc Committees

Additional committees may be created on an ad hoc basis at the discretion of existing committees and subject to the oversight of the Executive Board.