August General Meeting Report

Legal fees are up but so are sales; a legislative victory for a potential Coop podcast

September 29, 2026

The August General Meeting of the Park Slope Food Coop was held entirely on Zoom, with 216 members signed on by the 7 p.m. start. The evening covered a financial report, a committee election, a proposed podcast and two proposals about how the Coop communicates and votes.

Open Forum

Dalton Gray asked whether the Coop had considered a satellite location or shuttle service for members who live farther away. General Manager Joe Szladek said a committee formed around 2016 studied a second location. A vote was held in 2023 to authorize a referendum sent to the entire membership to decide whether to pursue a second location. That vote failed 64 in favor, 74 against and no referendum was issued.

Yejia Chen asked what could be audited in an anonymous poll. The response was that Zoom compiles data sets following each poll, and that Matt Hoagland would explain the process at the September meeting.

Payroll remains the largest expense. Because health insurance costs are expected to rise, cost-of-living raises have not been implemented.

Alana Wilson asked about the city’s request for proposals for publicly run grocery stores, due in October. Szladek said he had attended a meeting on the subject but that the Coop had not engaged. “The city has a very different model with the way we do things here,” he said.

General Manager’s Report

Szladek reported sales of $29.59 million over the first 24 weeks of the fiscal year, about 0.5 percent above the last year, with net income of roughly $352,000 against a $141,000 loss in the same period last year. “For the first 24 weeks, things are looking good,” he said.

Membership was essentially flat year over year. Between 200 and 250 members left following the boycott vote, Szladek said, with no significant effect on sales. July and August sales ran two percent higher, helped by new members. Roughly 80 percent of Coop labor is done by members.

Payroll remains the largest expense. Because health insurance costs are expected to rise, cost-of-living raises have not been implemented. Instead, every staff member will receive a one-time check in September covering the 3.1 percent they would have earned over the 26-week period, between $800 and $1,000 each. Szladek defended the existing health plan, citing its large network and low deductibles, and said the Coop has ideas for containing costs without reducing quality.

Legal fees were the other standout expense. “After the boycott decision, the Coop received threats of litigation,” Szladek said. “We spoke with our lawyer to make sure we’re responding properly so we can protect the Coop.”

Asked about the tariffs, he said he expected vendors to pass along increases they have so far absorbed. “I’m nervous that we are going to see another round of price increases being passed along to us,” he said. “So I am worried that we will see price increases in the fall.”

Personnel Committee Elections

Valerie Vadala introduced the Personnel Committee, which works with the General Manager and General Coordinators on personnel policy, recruitment, hiring, employee relations and succession planning. Two seats were open, posted in the May Gazette. Roughly 15 people applied. Two advanced through the interviews with the committee and with a separate panel of hourly Coop employees.

 

Tara Montgomery, a member for ten years with a recurring vitamins shift, described a career as a senior director at Consumer Reports and as founder of Civic Health Partners, a consulting practice for health and social impact leaders. She said she had been engaged during Szladek’s first year as GM to facilitate conversations with managers and staff about the Coop’s transition from a founder-led organization.

 

Nathaniel Coburn, a member since 2022, is Deputy Director of People, Resources and Operations at Project Guardianship, a nonprofit serving older adults and people with disabilities. He holds an SHRM certification and a master’s degree in food studies, and works a shift in the membership office.

Asked how they would handle member grievances towards GCs, Montgomery pointed to a policy adopted two years ago giving the committee oversight of the General Coordinators, with access to outside employment counsel. The aim, she said, is to “empower the management team of the Coop to learn to take care of a lot of these grievances internally.” Coburn said he would defer to the committee case by case while offering experience with investigations and disputes. On reconciling HR practice with a pro-worker culture, he described his philosophy as “progressive but compliant.”

One member noted the discomfort of voting when the number of candidates equals the number of seats, and suggested reframing such votes as confirmations.

Discussion turned to the election format itself. One member noted the discomfort of voting when the number of candidates equals the number of seats, and suggested reframing such votes as confirmations. Another objected. “If we’re confirming people who are being chosen, then we’re not electing people,” he said. “The answer to people’s discomfort with not having a transparent and open process is not to rename the process.”

Ann Herpel explained that the current screening process was adopted at a General Meeting two years ago at the request of hourly staff, who now select two of their own to sit on a panel that interviews candidates. General Coordinators do not participate. “There is a chance to vote up or down, and I understand there may be feelings of why that’s limited,” she said.

Both candidates were approved.

Podcast Proposal

Amy Brinker, a member since 2013 who has produced podcasts for Penguin Random House and Wondery, and Rahima Nasa, an audio producer who has worked at WNYC and written for the Gazette, proposed a member-produced podcast drawing on Gazette archives, deep dives into Coop committees, and member stories. Each 30-minute episode would take about eight hours to produce and earn two work credits every six weeks, with a $300 annual budget for hosting fees.

Members asked how episodes would be chosen, whether harder subjects like the boycott and labor disputes would be covered, and whether the show risked becoming a promotional vehicle. “I really disagree that just because we want to tell certain stories that they’re propaganda tools for the Coop,” Nasa said. Brinker said there are no plans for advertising. “It is a passion project,” she said.

The proposal passed, 69 percent to 21, with 10 percent abstaining.

Coop-Wide Email

Rosa Palermo, a member since 2017, proposed language for the membership manual to reserve the Coop-wide do-not-reply email for operational communications, and directing personal opinion, advocacy and commentary on elections or proposals to participatory channels such as the Gazette and General Meetings. The proposal followed a 2025 all-member email that carried an individual staff member’s viewpoint through a channel no one could answer. Asked about enforcement, Palermo said the intent was not punitive. “We are not here to police anyone,” she said. The proposal passed 80 percent to 16, with 4 percent abstaining.

Free and Fair Elections

Sophia Li and Alyce Barr, standing in for George Olken, proposed modeling all committee elections on the Board of Directors process: self-nomination, statements published in the Gazette, candidate forums and a ballot open to every member rather than only those attending a General Meeting. Committees would submit role descriptions in April 2027, candidates would submit bios in May, and forums and balloting would follow in June, administered by a new election committee.

Members asked how many committees would be affected (17 are listed, though several are temporary or are currently unelected committees) and whether the proposal was designed to reduce screening. Li pointed to the evening’s earlier debate. “People are not comfortable coming to what they think is an election and having no choice,” she said.

It was already past 9:30 p.m. when a motion to postpone the vote carried 126 to 104, sending the item to a future agenda. The secretary then presented the minutes from the previous meeting, which were accepted, and the meeting adjourned.

Written by Eric Baldwin, with additional reporting by Liz Welch.