Ben O’Glasser, one of the three members of the Oregon Employment Relations Board, will serve another term after being nominated by Governor Tina Kotek.
The Senate Committee on Rules supported O’Glasser’s reappointment in a Feb. 10 hearing, sending his name — and dozens of other appointees to state boards — on to the full Senate with a ‘yes’ vote recommendation.
The Employment Relations Board (ERB) handles labor disputes and union representation efforts for public employees in Oregon. The board administers Oregon’s Public Employee Collective Bargaining Act (PECBA), the Oregon public employee equivalent of the National Labor Relations Act.
When selecting ERB members, the governor is directed to consider the interests of labor, management, and the public. That typically means one member has a background representing management, one representing labor, and one representing the public. O’Glasser is the management member.
O’Glasser was a pro tem judge in the Multnomah County Circuit Court before joining ERB. Before that, he was a partner at Bullard Law, representing public and private sector employers in employment and labor matters.
Still, unions including American Federation of Teachers-Oregon, PROTEC17, Oregon Education Association and United Food and Commercial Workers Local 555 endorsed O’Glasser for the position before he first took office.
O’Glasser has served on the board since May 1, 2023, with his first term set to end June 30, 2025. ERB members serve four-year terms, but O’Glasser started mid-term after his predecessor, Lisa Umscheid, took a position as assistant attorney general in the Oregon Department of Justice.
