Northwest Horticultural Council

Workforce Committee

Charter

1. Name: Workforce Committee

2. Authority: The Workforce Committee (WFC) is a standing committee of the Northwest Horticultural Council (NHC) and serves at its pleasure. It acts and communicates through the Trustees and staff of the NHC.

3. Function: To help identify, evaluate, and inform policies and regulatory initiatives that improve the availability and viability of the current and future Pacific Northwest tree fruit industry workforce needs. To provide NHC staff with information on industry practices related to the workforce and assist in generating economic data to support NHC efforts. To advise the staff of the NHC on how to coordinate tree fruit industry efforts across local, state, and federal levels and collaborate with allied organizations. To give advice on the relative priority of various regulatory and legislative workforce related initiatives and practices which may be pursued by the NHC. The committee is expected to give advice to the NHC Trustees on other issues that they may refer to the committee from time to time and serve as a resource to NHC grower/shipper associations such as the Washington State Tree Fruit Association and the Columbia Gorge Fruit Growers.

4. Commodities Covered: Apples, pears, cherries, and other deciduous tree fruits, whether fresh or processed, grown in Idaho, Oregon, or Washington, and represented by the NHC.

5. Membership: Committee membership is to be appointed from industry at large in accordance with the following allocations: Six to be selected by the Washington State Tree Fruit Association; three by the Columbia Gorge Fruit Growers; and seven by the chairman of the NHC. The president of the Washington State Tree Fruit Association and the manager of the Columbia Gorge Fruit Growers shall be non-voting ex-officio members of the committee. Additionally, (1) Each state represented by the NHC shall have at least one member appointed to the WFC; (2) Only one member employed by the same industry fruit firm shall serve at any one time on the WFC; and (3) Should a committee member be unable to attend a specific meeting, that member, of his or her employer, may designate an alternate to attend that meeting. Any such alternate will have the right to fully participate in the committee’s discussions and votes.

Total Membership: No more than 16 voting members shall serve on the committee. Membership will be for two-year terms. Members may be reappointed. Members of the committee will commit to paying all expenses, including travel costs, which may be incurred as a result of committee business.

6. Chairman: The chairman of the WFC shall be appointed by the chairman of the NHC Trustees. The WFC’s chairman will be invited to attend each regular meeting of the NHC’s Board of Trustees.

7. Staff Coordination: Employees of the NHC will serve as staff to the committee.

8. Frequency of Meetings: The WFC will meet at least once a year, and at such other times as there is a need and the committee desires.

9. Subcommittees/Working Groups: Resolution of a specific workforce issue, or the development of a policy approach to such an issue, may require more concentrated attention and effort than the full committee can reasonably devote. In such case, the chairman of the WFC may form either a subcommittee or special working group. Appointees to a subcommittee or special working group will be made by the chairman and may be members of the WFC, special technical experts, or from the industry at large.

10. Date of Formation: June 29, 2023