Considering the Proposed Bylaws Changes
If you're a Common Ground member, you've no doubt heard about the proposed changes to the co-op's bylaws - the legal document that governs our organization or, as I explained to someone recently, "what's under the hood".
Membership in an organization like Common Ground assumes the member has some interest in the co-op's well-being, whether it be fiscal (supporting a local business/cooperative with your dollars), operational (interest in what happens in the store from day-to-day), or in terms of governance (making sure your voice is heard via elections, or becoming involved with the Board). The proposed changes to our bylaws are hugely important and will affect the way the co-op does its business for years to come. The changes are long overdue, and the support of long-term members as well as the many new members we see every day at the store is vitally important.
Common Ground needs longer-term members to become familiar with the proposed changes. As the co-op stays ahead of an uncertain economy and continues to serve not just its members but the community, the support and participation of longer-term members is crucial. The experience and historical context provided by these members is priceless as we move forward.
Common Ground needs newer members to become familiar with the proposed changes. The energy and fresh perspective of newer members are highly valuable as we make changes to our structure. A solid side-by-side reading of the current bylaws and the proposed bylaws by these members can be a) instructive as far as "what's under the hood/what will be under the hood" - and b) provide some insight as to why their votes are necessary to help us progress as a co-op.
In the coming months, all members will have several chances to educate themselves and to provide feedback regarding the bylaws. Board members will be out in front of the store several Saturday mornings this summer, and a final feedback session will be held in early September before the vote in October. Please click here for a full schedule of events.
This is a terrific example of how important members' voices are to Common Ground. If you joined the co-op to support it with your dollars,
THANK YOU! Governance isn't always exciting, but bylaws changes are huge and important and RARE and we need everyone to consider getting familiar with both sets of bylaws
and providing us with your feedback.
Thanks.
Bylaw Changes
Am I the first one to post something here on the bylaw changes, or am I in the wrong place??
One of the reasons mentioned for some of the changes is that it makes things more democratic. This may be true about the change in the requirement for quorum. But, the change that requires 50 signatures (up from 20) to call a special meeting, or 25 signatures (up from 10) to add something to the agenda does the opposite of that. It makes it harder for a member to affect the business of the co-op. That's anti-democratic.
In fact, it may be impossible for a member to get something on the agenda. Section 3.3 of the new bylaws indicates that meetings don't have to be announced until 30 days prior. But, section 3.8 says a petition to put something on the agenda has to be submitted 45 days prior. How can I collect & submit signatures 15 days before I know there is going to be a meeting???
I would hope that the bylaws of an organization like the co-op would be set up to make it as easy as possible for members to participate in governance. I think these issues should be amended in the new bylaws.
Hi Steve, Sorry that your
Hi Steve,
Sorry that your comment took so long to appear...we have to moderate comments because of the amount of spam that comes through, but it took longer that normal for someone to notice that their was a comment in the queue.
With regard to the number of members needed...the reason this has been increased is that the size of the co-op's active membership has more than doubled since the last bylaws were in put into place, and it was felt that it was actually more democratic (and not less) to require around the same percentage of members to reach a threshold where the entire membership would be affected by business conducted at a special meeting. There is a legitimate concern that the wishes of a couple thousand could be hijacked by the wishes of 10.
With regard to the agenda setting timeframe, your point is taken, and we can certainly discuss this at our next meeting. I believe the idea is that if you have something you would like to appear on the agenda, you can email the board at any point prior to the release of the agenda, even months before, and ask if that issue is planning to be covered. It's hard to imagine how the content of the agenda would inspire an addition, because it is almost always the same at the yearly meeting, and certainly not contentious in nature. (See below.) You could also attend our meeting to let us know that you have a concern you'd like raised, or to discover what's planned to be released in the agenda, as meetings are open to the public.
If that doesn't work, and you don't get the signatures in time to add your issue to the agenda, you can also get signatures to hold a special meeting to address the issue, which might be preferable if it is something that really needs separate attention, as the general membership meeting is generally(!) seen as the yearly meeting to review general topics like "how have we been doing" and "what are we planning over the next year" and such.
That's only my personal opinion though. Thanks for your comments!