Committees: their purpose and how they work.
At Local or National Board meetings, ideas and proposed actions are often first referred to the appropriate committee, if one exists, to research and/or discuss the proposal, and report back to the Board at a future meeting with a recommendation of whether to approve the proposed action and/or how to implement the idea. The Board discusses the topic, and votes. It is under no obligation to agree with the committee’s recommendation. The Board always has the final say.
Committees may be further divided into subcommittees to focus on one specific aspect of the committee’s jurisdiction.
For example: The Los Angeles Local Board decided to provide craft and industry education for its members, so it established a Conservatory Committee tasked with overseeing those operations. A staff liaison was assigned to attend all committee meetings and carry out the decisions of the committee.
Subcommittees were created to produce an annual large-scale intensive educational event and to oversee the curriculum and vetting of instructors. Both subcommittees report to the main committee, which must approve any significant actions.
Committees and Subcommittees have a leader, appointed by the President, called a Chair, who runs the meetings, and sets the agenda. There may also be Co-Chairs or Vice-Chairs to share responsibility or fill in if the Chair is unavailable.
Members of a committee may be full, voting members, or alternates who fill in for absent voting members, and so that the meeting has quorum - the minimum number of members that must be present to make the proceedings of that meeting valid.