I’m gonna keep shopping at the Coop because the groceries are great but our collective core is taking a bad hit if the June GM is any indication. The agenda item to make a public statement of support for the movement for Black Lives should have been voted on, and not stalled via process designating it a discussion-only topic. This is not a new problem. Our rules say an item can be submitted for a vote, but the agenda committee routinely slots proposals into a two meeting odyssey with a nonvoting discussion presentation and a second GM presentation required to take voted on action, against the wishes of the members submitting the proposal. I came across this same problem two years ago when I wrote a proposal to get Camelbak water bottles off our shelves because the parent company makes AR-15s and ammunition, and donates heavily to the gun lobby. It wasn’t a big operational plan that needed months of staff support and member discussion, just like making a collective statement in support of Black Lives Matter doesn’t need more than one meeting and one membership vote to be decided.
I share the concern that only members should attend and vote at the GMs. Perhaps the vote mechanism can be behind the firewall of Member Services. I understand that a Zoom poll—since any member with the meeting link could share it—leaves our governing body open to someone trying to stack a vote. Time for a technological equivalent to our all members mailings of paper ballots.
In cooperation,
Lisa Guido