Warm Springs establishes TERO

Warm Springs establishes TERO
Created on Wednesday, 16 September 2015 13:08 | Written by Madras Pioneer |
Warm Springs has established a new TERO or Tribal Employment Rights Office, located on the reservation at the Ventures/Construction Office.
The office was established through the support of the Warm Springs Tribal Council, which passed the TERO ordinance earlier this year.
“The Warm Springs Tribal Council is in support of the establishment of a TERO office in Warm Springs,” said Warm Springs Tribal Council Chairman Eugene Greene Jr. “We see the inherent value to our community and surrounding communities through the partnerships we will develop through our TERO projects.”
TERO ordinances require that all construction employers, including Oregon Department of Transportation contractors who are engaged in operating a business on or near reservations, give preference to qualified Native Americans in aspects of employment, training, promotion, contracting, subcontracting and other business activities. TERO offices are established and empowered to monitor and enforce the requirements of the Tribal Employment Rights Ordinance.
The tribes’ authority to enact and enforce Indian/Native employment preference law is grounded in its sovereign status. Inherent sovereign powers derive from the principle that certain powers do not necessarily come from delegated powers granted by express acts of Congress, but are inherent powers of a limited sovereign that have never been taken away.
Tribes have a basic relationship with the federal government as sovereign powers recognized in both treaties and federal statutes. The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs are an original treaty tribe in the state of Oregon.