Dear Editors,
I do not know Joe Holtz well. In more than 30 years as a Coop member I have had exactly one conversation with him, about a proposed environmental policy, on which we disagreed. Nevertheless, when I learned of his suspension from the Coop my first thought was, “that sounds completely fascistic,” and my second thought was, “the Personnel Committee is trying to push him out.” I don’t know who is on the Personnel Committee, which in and of itself is problematic in any organization, but especially in a member-owned nonprofit that should be completely transparent.
Joe is owed a public apology and every penny of his salary that was taken away. Unfortunately, the emotional damage can’t be undone. The personnel committee and all coop committees must start operating in the daylight which, as they say, is the best disinfectant.
Cooperator Regina Rae Weiss