Amended April 2004
Article I - Name
Section 1. The organization shall be known as the Metropolitan New York AIHA Local Section, Inc. of the American Industrial Hygiene Association. Hereafter, in these bylaws, the organization shall be referred to as the Metro Section.
Article II - Purpose
Section 1. To promote the study, evaluation, and control of environmental stresses arising in or from the workplace or its products in relation to the health or well-being of workers and the public.
Section 2. To increase the knowledge of industrial and environmental health through interchange and dissemination of information and to bring together persons interested in the various phases of industrial and environmental health.
Section 3. To promote the profession of Industrial Hygiene through the encouragement of interest within and cooperation with governmental, industrial, educational, and other professional bodies.
Section 4. To promote the objectives of the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA), as set forth in its Articles of Incorporation, within the geographic boundaries of the five boroughs of New York City, and Nassau, Suffolk, lower Westchester and Rockland counties.
Article III - Membership
Section 1. Full Member. Any member of AIHA, persons engaged in industrial hygiene-related activities and/or such other persons as may be provided in the Bylaws, residing or working within the geographic boundaries of the local section, may become a Full Member of the Metro Section upon receipt of section dues and a completed application. Subject to the approval of the Metro Section Executive Committee, any member of AIHA not residing or working within geographic boundaries of the Local Section may become a Member of the Metro Section by giving written notice to the Metro Section and the Executive Director of AIHA. A member of AIHA may be a member of more than one local section.
Section 2. Student Member. Upon receipt of section dues and completed application, any person actively engaged or pursuing a full-time course of study in industrial hygiene may become a Student Member of the Metro Section, entitled to the privileges of Metro Section membership.
Section 3. Retired Member. Additional classes of membership in the Metro Section may be created with approval of the Board of Directors of AIHA. Retired Membership in Metro Section may be extended to a member who has retired from the practice of the industrial hygiene profession, with approval of the Metro Section Executive Committee. A Retired Member retains all privileges of a member of Metro Section but will not be assessed annual dues.
Article IV - Membership Meetings
Section 1. Time and Place. Meetings of Metro Section shall be held at the time and place designated by the Executive Committee.
Section 2. Annual Meeting. An Annual Meeting, at which installation of officers shall take place, shall be held in the month following the American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition.
Section 3. Special Meetings. Special Meetings shall be called at the discretion of the President, with the approval of the Executive Committee, or in response to the written request of twenty percent (20%) of the members in good standing of Metro Section.
Section 4. Notice of Meetings. Notice of the date and location of planning and technical meetings shall be delivered to the membership not less than ten (10) days before the date of the meeting.
Section 5. Quorum. The presence of ten percent (10%) of the members in good standing of the Metro Section shall be required to constitute a quorum for any Meeting.
Article V - Officers
Section 1. Officers. The officers of the Metro Section shall consist of the President, President-Elect, Secretary and Treasurer. The officers will be advised by a Board of Directors.
Section 2. Eligibility. Only Full, Associate, or Affiliate members of the national AIHA may be elected as officers. No person shall serve as officer of the Metro Section and another Local Section concurrently.
Section 3. Election and Term of Office. Officers shall be elected by the members of the Local Section by a letter ballot. The Metro Section shall give notice of the names and addresses of the newly elected officers to the Executive Director within thirty (30) days of such election. The officers shall serve a one year term unless a successor is elected and installed by a special ballot. The President-Elect automatically shall succeed the President in office upon completion of the President's term of office.
Section 4. Vacancies. A vacancy in office because of the death, resignation or removal of an officer may be filled by the Executive Committee for the unexpired term. If the vacancy occurs in the office of President-Elect, the member appointed to fill the vacancy shall not automatically succeed the President. The President for the following year shall be elected during the next annual election of the Metro Section.
Section 5. Resignation. An officer may resign by oral tender of resignation at any meeting of the Executive Committee, or by giving written notice thereof to the Executive Committee. Such resignation shall take effect at the time specified and acceptance of such resignation shall not be necessary to make it effective.
Section 6. Removal. An officer may be removed with cause at a meeting called for that purpose, by a majority vote of the Executive Committee.
Section 7. President. The President or their delegate shall preside at all meetings of the Metro Section membership and of the Executive Committee and shall perform such other duties as may be directed by the Executive Committee. The President shall appoint a Program Committee, Nominating Committee and such other committees as the Executive Committee may deem necessary for the orderly function of the Metro Section. The President shall appoint members of the committees. All committee appointments shall be for a one year term. The President shall be an ex-officio member of all committees.
Section 8. President-Elect. The President-Elect automatically shall succeed the President in office upon completion of the President's term of office. The President-Elect shall perform any duties delegated by the Executive Committee or assigned by the President and shall serve as Chairman of the Program Committee.
Section 9. Treasurer. The Treasurer shall receive, disburse and be custodian of all funds of the Metro Section. All disbursements shall be made upon authorization of the President. The Treasurer shall prepare a preliminary annual financial report and submit the accounts of the Metro Section for audit at the last meeting of the Executive Committee prior to the Annual Meeting of the Metro Section. The Treasurer shall present a final annual financial report to the Executive Committee at the Annual Meeting of the Metro Section. After the Annual Meeting of the Metro Section, the Treasurer shall transmit to their successor in office, all funds and property of the Local Section.
Section 10. Secretary. The Secretary or their delegate shall give notice of all meetings of the Metro Section and the Executive Committee; maintain accurate list of the members and their membership status; keep a record of the transaction of business that may come before such meetings; and be custodian of the records of the Metro Section.
Section 11. Board of Directors. Directors totaling not more than four (4) shall be recruited from the general membership by the Nominating Committee to serve in an advisory capacity to the Executive Committee.
Article VI - Committees
Section 1. Executive Committee. The Executive Committee shall consist of the officers of the Metro Section and immediate Past President. The Executive Committee shall be responsible for governance and management of the Metro Section and approval of new members. The President shall serve as Chairman of the Executive Committee. The presence of a majority of the Executive Committee is necessary to constitute a quorum for a meeting. The act of a majority present at a meeting at which a quorum exists is the act of the Executive Committee. Each member of the Executive Committee shall be entitled to one vote. Meetings of the Executive Committee may be called at the discretion of the President on not less than five (5) days notice.
Section 2. Program Committee. The Program Committee shall consist of not less than three (3) members. The President-Elect shall serve as its chairman. The Program Committee shall present tentative schedule of programs for the year to the Executive Committee for its approval. On approval of the Executive Committee, the Program Committee will implement arrangements for the programs and provide the Secretary with information to be circulated to the members of the Metro Section.
Section 3. Nominating Committee. The Nominating Committee shall consist of two (2) members appointed by the President at least thirty (30) days prior to the Annual Meeting of the Metro Section. The Nominating Committee shall nominate persons and recommend persons for Directors of the Metro Section, and it shall deliver its nominations for each office in writing to the Secretary. In addition to nominations made by the Nominating Committee, nominations may be received from the members not less than thirty (3) days prior to the Annual Meeting.
Article VII - Local Section Council Representatives
Section 1. Council Representatives. The President and President-Elect shall serve as representatives of the Metro Section on the Local Sections Council of the AIHA provided that neither is an officer or director of AIHA, in which event, the Executive Committee shall appoint another member as such representative.
Section 2. Reporting. The representatives of the Metro Section shall report at the Annual Meeting of the Local Sections Council on the activities of the Metro Section and report back to the Metro Section on the actions of the Local Sections Council.
Article VIII - Public Statements
Section 1. The Metro Section shall not issue or publish any public statement which utilizes any form of the name of AIHA on a policy or technical issue, other than issues which primarily effect the Metro Section, without prior consent of the Board of Directors of AIHA.
Section 2. No public statement on any matter, which purports to represent the opinion of the Metro Section, shall be issued or published, unless that statement has been authorized by the Executive Committee as expressing the opinion of a majority of the members of the Metro Section.
Article IX - Dues
Section 1. Dues. Annual dues for Metro Section membership become payable on the first day of January of each year. Dues will cover the period January through December. The dues per year shall be set by the Executive Committee and approved in accordance with the procedure set forth in Article X.
Section 2. Amount. Full members accepted for membership shall pay thirty five dollars ($35.00) dues for a full year. Undergraduate, full-time students accepted for membership shall pay ten dollars ($10.00) dues for a full year. Retired Members are not required to pay dues.
Section 3. Good Standing and Termination. Any member whose dues are unpaid on March 1st is not in good standing and shall have no vote or other privileges of membership in the Metro Section. For dues paid after March 1st, a late fee of ten dollars ($10.00) shall be assessed along with the regular dues. If the dues of any member are not paid within one year of the date due, the membership of the Member in the Metro Section shall be terminated subject to reinstatement as provided in Section 4.
Section 4. Reinstatement. Any member terminated for nonpayment of dues may be reinstated at any time before the next annual Meeting of the year following termination, by payment of dues in arrears together with a late fee of ten dollars ($10.00), and the dues for the current year.
Article X - Mail Ballot
Section 1. Election of Officers. Officers of the Metro Section shall be elected by mail ballot of the voting members of the Metro Section distributed not less than twenty (20) days prior to the Annual Meeting for the Metro Section which ballots shall specify a deadline for return. The President shall promptly report the results of the election to the Executive Director of AIHA.
Section 2. Membership Referendum. The Executive Committee, at any time, may conduct by mail ballot, a referendum of the membership of the Metro Section in connection with an issue it may consider or action to be taken.
Section 3. Effect of Mail Ballot. Except as provided in Article XII, a plurality of the mail ballots cast in an election of any officer or in a referendum on any issue to be considered or action to be taken shall be effective to constitute the election of a person as an officer of the Metro Section and as a decision or act of the Metro Section with respect to any issue to be considered or any action to be taken. In the event of a tie vote in any such mail ballot, the tie shall be resolved by vote of the Executive Committee.
Article XI - Privacy
Section 1. Use of Electronic Address Information. The use of the membership directory and any email containing member contact information is restricted to official Metro Section business by members in the field of occupational health and safety. It is to be used only for the sole purpose of making individual contacts to further technical and professional exchange. The use of contact information or any email containing member contact information to solicit any business, or advertising of any form, is expressly prohibited and is considered an abuse of this service. Any entity found misusing the contact information in such a manner shall be subject to disciplinary action.
Article XII - Amendments
Section 1. These Bylaws may be amended or new Bylaws adopted by a two-thirds vote of the members of the Metro Section who respond to a mail ballot conducted in accordance with the provisions of Article X.
Section 2. Such amended or new Bylaws shall become effective upon approval by the Board of Directors of AIHA.