I submit the following to be included at the next General Meeting…
Agenda Item Details
Meeting: January 11, 2023 General Meeting - 6:00 P.M. (Hybrid)
Category: New Business + Additional Agenda Items
Subject: Steering Committee WhatsApp Group
Type: Discussion/Action
Recommended Action: It is recommended that @WCU_Members select and vote to approve a communication channel to be utilized by @WCU_Steering and all Working Class Unity members in good standing. (Suggested motion: I move to approve [insert name of platform or medium] as a communication channel.) If the selection made is not WhatsApp, it is recommended that a separate motion be made for the WhatsApp Group, exclusive to the Steering Committee, to be discontinued. (Suggested motion: I move to discontinue the Steering Committee WhatsApp Group.)
DESCRIPTION
The current Steering Committee WhatsApp Group does not have membership approval. In violation of our Bylaws (Article VI, Section 4, Subsection 4.2), it has operated without being accessible to all members in good standing and has thus deprived membership of the ability to view and comment on Steering Committee communications. To restore transparency and to avoid decisions being made in a closed channel (Article VI, Section 4, Subsection 4.3), action is needed to correct this issue.
This part of our Bylaws is modeled after public meeting laws, like The Brown Act, which states in its preamble, “Public commissions, boards, councils and other legislative bodies of local government agencies exist to aid in the conduct of the people’s business. The people do not yield their sovereignty to the bodies that serve them. The people insist on remaining informed to retain control over the legislative bodies they have created.”
Treasurer, Secretary, Membership Coordinator, Campaign Coordinator–the four elected members on the Steering Committee may not be officials in government subject to The Brown Act, but they are in elected positions within this organization. And with that comes the need for a high degree of openness. The reasoning behind that is communications in which either a physical or digital quorum of Steering Committee members are present amounts to a meeting–whether intended or not. And we cannot hold them accountable without access to those communications.
In the same vein as The Brown Act, Working Class Unity members do not yield their sovereignty to the bodies that serve them. Working Class Unity members insist on remaining informed to retain control over the bodies they have created.
DISCUSSION
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Should we use one or more than one communication channel? Discuss the benefits and drawbacks of having one versus more than one communication channel. And, keep in mind, this is about how we will communicate as a group. It is still at your discretion how you choose to communicate, between one another, on an individual basis.
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Are there other platforms that we should consider? Discord, Signal, etc.
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What sorts of things will the channel(s) be used for? (Examples: notifications [about upcoming, cancelled and rescheduled meetings, meeting minutes, elections, new business], agenda information for any meetings, requests to add items to a meeting’s agenda, providing feedback, coordination for events and activities, voting on emergency/expedited proposals in-between meetings, etc.) ***If using more than one communication channel, be specific about each.