LET'S HAVE FUN AT THE PARK SLOPE FOOD COOP GENERAL MEETING!
The first agenda item was a proposal by a member of of rebel board member Stewart Martin's Democracy Initiative Group (referred to hereafter as "Stewartistas.") The Stewartistas oppose the management of the 5,000-member coop by the employees ("coordinators") and by the members who are often the coordinators' friends. Member management occurs at the monthly General Meetings, open to all members, where attendees (usually a couple of dozen) vote on major issues. The Stewartistas had formed a Governance Committee to propose alternatives to the current GMs, such as an elected congress of members.
The Stewartistas proposed that the Governance Committee's founding members -- most of whom, including Stewart, were present to pad the vote -- be grandfathered, if they so chose, rather than risk the upcoming election to restaff that committee. The proposer repeatedly refused to identify just who wanted to be grandfathered. The proposal got splashed with lots of vitriol from the coordinator camp. One person brilliantly noted the irony of Democracy Initiative Group members wanting to undemocratically keep their committee positions. But it was a strong debate. In an organization where committees are lucky to be staffed by active members with time and energy, couldn't generally elected members, who might be less dedicated, slow achievement? But even though the Stewartistas retreated to a friendly amendment to grandfather only two members (who still refused to identify themselves), it was voted down. Stewart Martin hypocritically abstained.
Then came the agenda item for which most people had come to the General Meeting in the first place: What to do about the popularity of plastic produce and shopping bags? The Environmental Committee proposed punitive charges on plastic, and subsidizing the cost of washable, reusable muslin bags. Debate followed. The Better Living through Chemicals camp worried about losing membership because of eco-fascists who admit to hating not just plastic, but also "dead" meat, salt, sugar, fluorescent lights, and polyester. The We're Poisoning the World with Every Breath We Take camp said we're poisoning the world with every breath we take. Arguments were surprisingly cogent, though, and many statistics were had by all. When the tide seemed against them, the Environmental Committee abandoned its punitive-surcharge-on-bags proposal in favor of a scorched-earth, but friendly, amendment to ban all plastic bags. But it was really late, so it got tabled till the next GM.
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