| 1 | | MF/PL Leadership Committee Meeting |
| 2 | | 2012-11-15 |
| 3 | | See you soon at 9:00 am Mexico City/10:00 am New York time! |
| 4 | | |
| 5 | | Interpretation - Roberto/Enrique |
| 6 | | |
| 7 | | dkg and joseph will take notes on etherpad in english; enrique in spanish? |
| 8 | | Roberto asked who needs interpretation |
| 9 | | dkg and joseph asked for interpretation of spanish |
| 10 | | jamie calls off the skype experiment, and wants us to use a conference call number |
| 11 | | roberto asks for people to identify themselves when they speak, and keep it short |
| 12 | | |
| 13 | | Introductions |
| 14 | | |
| 15 | | Jamie McClelland - co-founder, personal member, and member through employer PTP, director |
| 16 | | cofundador, miembro en lo personal y miembro |
| 17 | | Alfredo Lopez - co-founder, ex-co-director, currently staff, individual member and member through employer praxis |
| 18 | | |
| 19 | | Hilary Goldstein - individual member, staff (membership coordinator), video education work |
| 20 | | |
| 21 | | Juan Gerardo Dominguez Carrasco - individual member, recent |
| 22 | | |
| 23 | | Aaron Moysen Garcia - individual member, happy to be here! |
| 24 | | |
| 25 | | Enrique Rosas - member for a year, on staff, and a supporter in mexico |
| 26 | | |
| 27 | | Mallory Knodel - has been on staff and LC, is individual member, and my employer APC just joined recently, in montreal |
| 28 | | |
| 29 | | dkg - I'm an individual member, as well as a couple of other projects I work on. I'm also on the Support Team. |
| 30 | | |
| 31 | | Joseph Lacey - I'm an individual member and a member with mwith Palante Tech. I'm also on the Support Team. |
| 32 | | Roberto Tijerina - individual member in Durham, NC, but is currently in ATL |
| 33 | | miembro en lo individual |
| 34 | | Rasha Abdulhadi - I'm in ATL, with project south (org. member) as tech and communications organizer in the south of the USA |
| 35 | | miembro a través de Proyect South desde Atlanta |
| 36 | | Josue Guillen - I'm one of the co-founders of MFPL, I'm an individual member and through my employer, the PRogressive Technology Project. |
| 37 | | Fundador de MFPL |
| 38 | | Lourdes Godinez Leal - communications coordinator in CIMAC, a feminist communications organization in Mexico and Central America |
| 39 | | absent: |
| 40 | | Jack Aponte -- continuing LC member, member through Palante Tech |
| 41 | | |
| 42 | | Mike Lee - from Philadelphia, lawyer with NLG |
| 43 | | Jamie |
| 44 | | Meeting is planned to be an hour and 15 minutes. |
| 45 | | Welcome everyone. This is the second elected leadership committee and an important step in the democratization of the organization |
| 46 | | Ofrece la bienvenida esta es la segunda ronda de participación de un comité de dirección |
| 47 | | This year our elections were competitive and the membership did elect everyone froma larger pool. I personally take that responsibility very seriously and I'm sure everyone here does as well. |
| 48 | | I'd like to take a few minutes to review the democratic process and open the discussion for that. Our democratic process is in its infancy. One of the most important projects of the LC this year is to develop this process and codify it. The process now is that the membership defines the general priorities of the organization and the it's the job of the LC to interpret those priorities and direct the staff in its project work. Last year the membership approved 6 priorities and the LC 8-9 projects for the staff to carry out. I'll be sending out to the email list a link to this list of projects, so new members of the LC can see that list and use it as a base for determining the projects for this year. |
| 49 | | In addition to proposing and approving this year, I'd like the LC to more active by creating subcommittees to address certain projects, e.g. |
| 50 | | * outreach (decide which conferences to attend) |
| 51 | | * formalize democratic process |
| 52 | | Welcome to Lourdes! |
| 53 | | Rasha: I wanted to ask about structures of how we expect to operate, what the time commitment is |
| 54 | | Jamie: A commitement to come to one face-to-face meeting, which has normally been one day but perhaps we want to make it a two-day meeting. MFPL would pay for travel. We would probably pick New York City but we'll want to choose a location based on logistics, getting the most members in attendance. In addition, I believe the LC should have a minimum of 4 phone calls, of which this is the first. I expected LC members to spend 5 hours per month reading and responding to emails. And additional participation to subcommittees and taking on smaller tasks throughout the year. |
| 55 | | Lourdes: first of all, my apologies for being late. i'm here and have a lot of questions. I want to know specifics about what the role of the committee is and what exactly we'll be doing in the next year. |
| 56 | | Jamie: are there more specific questions about the relationship between the LC and the rest of the organization? |
| 57 | | Anything former LC members want to add to the relationship between the LC and the running of the organization? |
| 58 | | Juan: Besides the things jamie mentioned, the LC has a responsibility to define the political and ideological direction of mayfirst |
| 59 | | Jamie: Yes! |
| 60 | | Roberto: I wanted to ask about the possibility of the LC meeting not being in NY, since the membership meeting was just in NY. |
| 61 | | Jamie: are you asking about the membership meeting or the F2F LC Meeting? |
| 62 | | Roberto: LC meeting |
| 63 | | Jamie: LC Meeting should be in the place that makes the most sense logistically -- both in terms of cost of travel and in terms of visas. New York City isn't a requirement, but might be the best option considering these. |
| 64 | | Roberto: I was thinking if going to be inviting folks to the US, there may be other places in the US that might be easier/cheaper for hosting members from outside the US. |
| 65 | | Jamie: MFPL can pay for travel, but if LC members can take that on, that's welcome, but we want to get as many folks to the LC meeting in person as possible. |
| 66 | | El compromiso de MFPL para lograr la reunión anual del Comité de Dirección es reunir a sus miembros una vez al año, la reunión sería en Nueva York y MFPL podría pagar el viaje |
| 67 | | Jamie: i'd like to discuss the decision-making process, and how the selection of the directors works. |
| 68 | | Debemos discutir el proceso de toma de decisiones y cómo será la elección de los directores |
| 69 | | Jamie: anyone on the LC can make a proposal and set a date for the decision to be made by. the date must be at least 72 hours *after* the proposal is made. |
| 70 | | Cualquiera en el Comité de Dirección puede realizar propuestas y fijar una fecha para la toma de decisiones |
| 71 | | Jamie: people can vote by phone if we have a scheduled phone call, or can vote by e-mail |
| 72 | | Jamie: 50% of the LC (8 people) must vote in order for us to have quorum, and a simple majority can approve. |
| 73 | | Jamie: we don't have a process for dealing with a tie. |
| 74 | | Josue & dkg: practically speaking it does not pass. |
| 75 | | Jamie: any LC member can delay a vote for up to 5 days if they feel it needs more discussion. |
| 76 | | Alfredo: What is the procedure for an LC member to make a proposal? Can you clarify that? |
| 77 | | Jamie: an e-mail sent to the leadership_committee@lists.mayfirst.org or a phone call at anytime. |
| 78 | | Alfredo: will we take up the structural issue about who oversees such a proposal, right? |
| 79 | | Jamie: One of the most important issues is forming the committee that going to finalize this process. The process is wholly public. |
| 80 | | Alfredo: you need to have people on the LC making sure that the entire LC is aware of the proposal, keeping track of the discussion, and the timing, etc. |
| 81 | | Jamie: yes, we will be discussing co-chairs at this meeting, and this is part of being a co-chair |
| 82 | | Alfredo: Could we use co-president in Spanish, which I think would be more clear? |
| 83 | | [Yes's given] |
| 84 | | Enrique: I would like to take a minute to explain to the Mexican LC members what the co-chairs |
| 85 | | Jamie: I'd like to discuss co-directors before the co-chairs. |
| 86 | | Enrique: Of course. |
| 87 | | * Choosing staff directors |
| 88 | | Jamie: I'm going to make a proposal about this to be voted on within the 72 hours. This proposal is up for debate. I propose that two members of the LC be appointted co-directors of the organization. The directors have the responsibility of the day-to-day activities of the organization, interact with staff and report to the LC on the activities of the staff. I would like to propose Enrique Rosa and myself. I would provide a level of continuity for the organization and Enrique has provided an immense amount of support to the organization in Mexico, and having us both as co-chairs would be great for the organization. |
| 89 | | Alfredo: one of the responsibilites of the co-directors is to be one of the principal spokespeople, but that wasn't mentioned in the responsibilities. is this a deliberate change or an oversight? |
| 90 | | Alfredo: Entiendo que el director ha asumido la responsabilidad de ser vocero, ¿jamie esa seguiría siendo una responsabilidad? o ¿estás sugiriendo un cambio? |
| 91 | | Jamie: that was an accidental omission, and i think that is one of the responsibilities of the co-directors |
| 92 | | Jamie: fue una omisión accidental |
| 93 | | Jamie: Other questions about this proposal? Opinions? Statements of support or opposition? |
| 94 | | Juan: i am in complete agreement |
| 95 | | Lourdes: support |
| 96 | | mallory: support |
| 97 | | Rasha: support - this seems like an opportunity and a challenge to synchronize our work betwen the USA and Mexico |
| 98 | | Hilary: support |
| 99 | | dkg: support |
| 100 | | Aaron: support |
| 101 | | Jamie: the vote isn't going to happen for another 72 hours, but i'd like to move on with the agenda. |
| 102 | | Enrique: i want to thank jamie for putting this forward, and i want to support as we continue |
| 103 | | * Choosing Leadership Committee chair(s). |
| 104 | | Jamie: I would like to move on to the co-chair positions. The LC has never had co-chairs before. If we choose co-chairs, it would be much more successfully this year. The co-chairs would have responsibility for running and organizing the LC meetings. Along with the co-directors they would also play a role as spokespersons for the organization. They would help facilitate communications(?) with the members. This would take pressure off the co-directors and spread responsibility across multiple individuals. I do not have a complete proposal for cochairs. I need help from the LC. I propose Alfredo to be one of the co-chairs; I think he would make an excellent candidate. |
| 105 | | |
| 106 | | I was unsuccessful in convincing Rasha who doesn't have the time. I tried to convince Hilary but as she pointed out that would create an unnecessary concentration in power. I'd like to open this up for discussion. |
| 107 | | Rasha: i appreciate jamie's proposal. My declining the position is not a sign of lack of investment. I expect to be present. I also think that the co-chairs should embrace and reflect the full range of struggles within MF/PL. For my part, while i'd like to see a woman, person of color, or non-new-yorker, my main hope is that someone with time and skills to be present for agendas and building of structure can step forward. |
| 108 | | Alfredo: thanks to jamie for his confidence in my work. I want to raise a concern about the description of the co-chair position. In the coming year, the position of spokesperson is going to be much more important than it ever has been (and it has been very important over the years). All member of the LC can speak for the org, imo, under the direction of the co-directors. But the principal spokespeople have to remain the co-directors. the chair of the LC is fundamentally an internal position. When we talk about the spokepersons of the organization, these people will be crafting the public face of the organization. The role of the chair as an internal position relates specifically to the LC and its activities. The LC chairs should not really have an external role, except as members for the LC. The external face should always be organized by the co-directors. |
| 109 | | Jamie: I accept those changes to my proposal. Those make a lot of sense. Other comments, questions or reflections? |
| 110 | | Enrique: I want to give the folks in Mexico a context about this . The organization was lead by Alfredo and Jamie, and when Alfredo stepped down, all the work fell to Jamie, which was too much for a single person. We'd like to spread that responsibility and work to more people to reduce the load on the co-directors. |
| 111 | | Jamie: We don't have much more time for this meeting, so I'd like to give the proposal that we move forward with Alfredo as the chair and then use the next month to find a co-chair. Any question or comments on that proposal? |
| 112 | | Juan: I'm in agreement. |
| 113 | | dkg: support. |
| 114 | | Hilary: I support the proposal for the extra time. But I was wondering what the process was for proceeding. |
| 115 | | Jamie: I would like to ask for 1 or 2 volunteers for figuring out who the second co-chair will be. I would like to be one of those people. And if anyone else on this call would be willing to volunteer. |
| 116 | | Josue: I can help with that process. |
| 117 | | Jamie: One more volunteer please? |
| 118 | | Juan: I would like us to consider that the other co-chair should be someone from Mexico. |
| 119 | | Josue: that sounds great. we need your help to identify who that person is. |
| 120 | | Jamie: can you join us, Juan? |
| 121 | | Juan: yes |
| 122 | | Jamie: I will be sending the proposals out via email, and everyone can vote in a transparent process. |
| 123 | | * Scheduling our face-to-face meeting. |
| 124 | | Jamie: There are many places we could have it, which I'd like to leave open for now, but I'd like to select 1 or 2 weekends for when to schedule it. I'd like to propose 2 weekend: |
| 125 | | * January 19th and 20th |
| 126 | | * January 26th and 27th |
| 127 | | I'd like to hear from folks who can't make either of those weekends. |
| 128 | | Mallory: i can participate remotely, but will be abroad until 2013-02-04 |
| 129 | | Hilary: I might have a conflict for the later weekend |
| 130 | | Rasha: southern regional organizing chose Jan 21st as major organizing day. I won't be available the first weekend |
| 131 | | Roberto: same as rasha, for the same reasons. |
| 132 | | dkg: I have two major deadlines for two major projects at the end of January and beginning of Feb so it would be difficult for me to make the second and probably the first as well. |
| 133 | | Jamie: I'm going to propose two more weekends |
| 134 | | * February 9th and 10th |
| 135 | | * February 16th and 17th |
| 136 | | Roberto: The second weekend, the later date is the debrief of the 100 days of people, there's going to be a convergence after so the second is out for me. |
| 137 | | Rasha: I have the same conflict as Roberto, but I also have to prepare ahead of time, so the first weekend I can participate remotely but not in person. |
| 138 | | Jamie: I'd like to propose February 9th and 10th. |
| 139 | | Propuesta reunión Cara a Cara del Comité de Dirección durante el 9 y 10 de Febrero de 2013 |
| 140 | | Joseph: Should we not find out the schedule of those abset? |
| 141 | | Jamie: Yes, we will get their schedules via email. |
| 142 | | * Assigning Committee to work on compiling results from the membership |
| 143 | | meeting and issuing a report. |
| 144 | | |
| 145 | | Since we're over time, I'd like to describe this agenda point but not have a full discussion. The membership meeting has contributed a lot of thinking about priorities but not finalized them. I think this is a big problem with our democratic process. I think the LC will need to organize a subcommittee to review everything from the membership meeting, process it and give a report. Unless there are objections on this call, I would propose Enrique and I would work with Alfredo to make a proposal about who could be the LC members to take this and a few other items on. Are there any objections? |
| 146 | | Enrique: I'd like to ask if there is anyone on the call that wants to volunteer to help with this work to be involved from the beginning. |
| 147 | | Rasha: I'm interested in being a part of this. |
| 148 | | Jamie: Anyone else for this? Or any other final comments for th call? |
| 149 | | Mallory: I think I missed a bit of the call. I support Jamie and Enrique as co-directors. |
| 150 | | Jamie: I'd like to close the meeting now. I want to give everyone a sincere welcome to the LC. What we are doing for me personally and politically is unprecidented in my life. Just this phone call, we're overcoming an immense techinical and interpretative hurdle. But this pales in comparison to the broader political hurdles we have in front of us, but the LC is the right group to forward for |
| 151 | | I would like to thank everyone for their participation. And Roberto in particular for his interpretations. And the notetakers. |
| 152 | | dkg: Joseph and I will be in touch about the technical arrangements of these phone calls. We'll be in touch about what you can do technically. We're hoping to have a better technical arrangement for the next meeting. I'd like to give a huge thank you to Roberto for interpretation and Jamie for facilitating |
| 153 | | en↑--------es↓ |
| 154 | | ¡Hasta pronto (9:00 am México/10:00 NY)! |
| 155 | | * Interpretación - Roberto / Enrique |
| 156 | | |
| 157 | | dkg y joseph transcribir en ingles, enrique en español |
| 158 | | |
| 159 | | * Presentaciones |
| 160 | | |
| 161 | | * Expectativas y alcance del Comité de Dirección y cómo el |
| 162 | | Miembro, Comité de Dirección, y el personal trabaja en conjunto. |
| 163 | | * Elección de directores de personal |
| 164 | | * Elección de presidentes del Comité de Dirección |
| 165 | | * Programación de nuestra reunión cara a cara. |
| 166 | | * Asignar Comité para trabajar en la compilación de los resultados de la |
| 167 | | reunión de miembros y emitir un informe |
| 168 | | |
