The Three Rs - Park Slope Food Coop

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12 September 13, 2007 Park Slope Food Coop, Brooklyn, NYCOORDINATORS CORNERA Coop Retirement Age? I Hope Not.By Joe Holtz, General CoordinatorAs I write this in late August before a vacation, the Agenda for theSeptember 25th General Meeting has not yet been set. A proposalthat is likely to be on the agenda is “The cessation of work ageshall be 67 years of age.”I think this proposal, ifvoted in, will cause problems.A single parent who holdsa full-time job, or a two-parenttwo-child household,with both parents working, ora person who is employedand taking care of elderly parentswith health problems, ora person who is going toschool at night and working ajob in the day, etc.—any ofthese members might resentthat the Coop was allowingan able bodied member notto work who had lots moretime in their life for a Coopworkslot than they do.I have at times talked topeople who look forward toretirement from theiremployment or to part-timeemployment, so that they willhave more free time. I havetalked to people in this situationwho have told me thatthey will finally have time tojoin or rejoin the Coop anddo a workslot.I have talked to peoplewho have become membersbecause their youngest childhas graduated from highschool and has now left thehouse, and they finally havetime for Coop workslots. Theywaited years to join or rejoin.This 67-year-old proposalis aimed at a group thatneeds it less than many othergroups. This is only part ofwhy I hope the members atthe General Meeting voteagainst the proposal.The Coop’s current policieson who can stop workingare much fairer than this proposal.We have members whoare not working because ofour policies on BereavementLeave, Parental Leave forwhen a child joins your family,and for both short-termand long-term Disability.A few years ago OfficeCoordinators proposed at ajoint Office Coordinator GeneralCoordinator meetingthat they be allowed to stopasking for proof of disabilityfrom members who wereclearly elderly. They proposedinstead that we ask ifthe member is 75 years orolder. The consensus opinionwas this was reasonable,since it was sometimes veryawkward and wrong feeling tobe asking for such proof fromelderly members. We decidedto try the age of 75 as an agethat a member would nothave to prove disability. It isnot a retirement age, it’s partof our “when you don’t needproof of disability policy.” Iam sure we have membersover 75 years old who are regularlydoing their workslotswho are unaware of thisaspect of our disability policy.It is not mentioned in thebooklet we give out at orientations.That’s because it isnot a retirement policy.If someone is 67 and cannotwork, they can be coveredby our disability policy. It’svalid at any age.As of this writing, we have160 members who have beenlisted as “Elder” under thecurrent policy on not needingto prove disability at age 75.If we changed this age to 67and disengaged it from ourDisability system, how manymore than 160 would wehave? How many from ourcurrent membership? Howmany from the neighborhoodwho would never have joined,due to the work requirement?Would these able bodied nonworkersfeel a healthy ownershipmembership connectionto the Coop? Some would,perhaps. The Coop would alsobecome more crowded at thesame time that more food ismoving out of here faster andwe would have less membertime worked per pound offood to deal with theincreased volume of sales.This proposal causesproblems.The opinions expressed inthis article are not necessarilythose of all the GeneralCoordinators. ■Diversity and Equality Committee Looking for Additional MembersThe Diversity & Equality Committee (DEC) is dedicatedto improving human relations and communicationsthrough impeccable interpersonal interactions,policies and procedures in the Coop. Our goal is towork toward preventing and eliminating discriminationin the Coop. The DEC has met on a monthly basis since2004 to promote the ideal of equal and respectful treatmentbetween all Coop members and paid staff regardlessof each individual’s different identity. The DEC alsoaims to provide advocacy for individuals who feel theyhave experienced discriminatory practices in the Coop.In order to be considered for the Diversity andEquality Committee, you must have at least one yearof Coop membership, have an excellent attendancerecord, have the ability to be accountable, to take initiative,to work independently, be organized, and have anability to work collaboratively with others. In addition,the committee meets monthly on second Thursday of themonth from 6:30 pm–8:00 pm. These meetings aremandatory. Committee members also work outside themeetings on projects for their sub-committees. Work onthe Committee is recorded on an hour-for-hour basis.The Committee is organized into subcommitteesby area. The specific sub-committee needs and skillsare detailed below. In addition, we are looking for asecretary for the committee as a whole. Please specifywhich sub-committee(s) interest you (each memberparticipates in only one sub-committee). To expressinterest contact Jess Robinson at the Food Coop viae-mail at jess_robinson@psfc.coop or phone at (718)622-0560. Please be prepared to provide a listing ofyour relevant experience, along with your Food Coopmember number.Committee SecretaryTo record and distribute the monthly DEC minutes. Thenecessary skills are:• Ability to comprehend what is being stated andrecord it accurately in writing.• Ability to do word processing and distribute minutesvia e-mail from home.The Diversity Education Sub-CommitteeNeeds 4-5 new members. The necessary skills are:• Committed to the concepts of “diversity.” Other termsthat “resonate” in the “industry” are “multicultural”“pluralism” and “inclusion.”• Superior Relationship/People skills—pro-active, savvy,and non-judgmental relating to all types of people.• Basic Group Facilitation—have experience leadingworkshops, ideally around diversity issues.• Public Speaking skills, conflict resolution skills, andmediation skillsThe Survey Sub-CommitteeNeeds 4-5 new members with interest relevant to conductinga study of Coop members’ experiences with biasor discrimination at the Coop. The necessary skills are:• Data entry skills: Qualitative & quantitative dataanalysis software (such as SPSS) experience• Writing skills for documenting and presenting studyfindingsComplaint Review Sub-CommitteeNeeds 2 new members, a secretary and a member withmediation skills. The necessary skills for each positionare:• Mediator: Needs excellent conflict resolution andmediation skills; good editing and writing skills;compassionate; impartial; good investigative skills;critical thinking skills; good interviewer; attend ahour and a half subcommittee meeting every monthin addition to the general DEC meeting.• Secretary: Take dictation and detail notes; transcribeand archive; data entry and generalcomputer skills; good editingand writing skills;compassionate; impartial;good investigative skills;critical thinking skills; goodinterviewer; able to attenda hour and a half subcommitteemeeting everymonth in addition to thegeneral DEC meeting
Park Slope Food Coop, Brooklyn, NY September 13, 2007 13AFTER-LAUGHTERJokes that last and linger,Told in bar or spa,Cap a laugh with insight—HA-ha, then a-HA.Leon FreilichBUILDING A MOREBIKE-FRIENDLY COOPDEAR COOP:After reading Jessica Greenbaum’scomplaint a few issues back, aboutcyclists being “holier than thou” and“dissing” her lifestyle, I really neededto set things here at the Coop in *perspective*.That such an attitudecomes out of our Coop is not reallystrange. Everybody to their owndevices, is what I say. What is odd is itbecoming the official unstated policy.Case in point: A lot of folks bicycleto the Coop. Many, too, because bicyclingcreates a healthy body and environment,eat healthily, either vegan orat least vegetarian, don’t drink a lot ofbrewskies (or at least the expensiveones served up at the Coop), anduncomplainingly elbow their bikesinto a rack space sorely undersizedand staffed. Despite this, there’re tonsof assorted meats (three cases full!),beer (three separate shelves), anduntil recently a completely inadequate,neglected, unsupervised jokeof a bike lockup area, where workersand shoppers continually have theirbikes stolen or parts removed. Nothing,mind you, outside of a warning,has ever been done about this. Andwe seem to have endorsed thisneglect, and discouraging cycling, bydoing nothing. Ms. Greenbaum’s letterbrought this all home, in a sadway. I felt as if the majority had beensidestepped for the convenience of avocal minority.Another case in point: Very recently,the Coop crowed about new bikeracks, and I thought, fantastic—until I*really* thought about it. A citywideincentive started many years ago, theCoop should have jumped at it backthen. Yet the prevailing view seemedto be that racks would take away fromcurbside access—a common complaintfrom drivers, landlords, andbusinesses. Personally, I’m notopposed to motorists saddling up tocurbs; what really angers me is thatthis kind of privileging is almostalways at the expense of bicyclists—we are barred from places, parking,bridges, roadways, and relegated tothe far reaches of the “outback.”Hence, Ms. Greenbaum’s lecture to usthat, hey, it’s a car culture and weneed to keep quiet. Is this the prevailingmood at the Coop?If the Coop wants to be a GreenerCoop than it is it should be offeringbetter incentives than a bike rackhalfway down the block riddled withthieves: instead of those walkers withtheir shopping carts going off tohome or auto, we’d have * bike watchers*(what Transportation Alternativescalls valet bike parking), and, loand behold, you’d no longer need toworry about whether your bike will beoutside waiting for you after a shift ora shop. You’d easily hop off and runinside to do shopping. We’d not evenneed to talk about adding more racks,except as a moveable and expandableroped area. Now imagine the tremendouspsychological impact and ecologicalstatement this would make toother Coops and businesses throughoutthe city. Even Mayor Bloomberg, ifhe were a Coop member and not Ms.Greenbaum, would applaud such amove!Josh GosciakSUCCESSFULSUMMER BLOODDRIVEDEAR JOE HOLTZ:On behalf of the patients we servewe would like to thank you for hostinga summer blood drive at the ParkSlope Food Coop. As you know, blooddonations are typically low annuallyin New York, but the summer monthsare especially difficult.With many of our regular donorsenjoying the summer months, it isoften difficult for them to come todonate regularly in the summer. Asyou know, however, the need forblood never takes a vacation.Please express our thanks to themembers of the Coop for participatingin the drive and to the members ofthe Office staff that helped to promotethe drive. We appreciate yourdedication to our program, all whichmade your blood drive a success.Yours truly,Grace GehrkeSidney LeonidasBlood Donor RecruitmentWBAIDEAR COOP:“…In a world of universal deceit,telling the truth is a seditious act.” (orwords to that effect)—George Orwellin 1984 (I think).Oh well, you can’t get your quotesexactly unless you pay me.Meanwhile over at BAI we are in anew-old imbroglio about SteveBrown. This time the Afrosupremacistswant to crucify him because, citingabuses, he asked people to sendtheir donations to him so they’ll besure to be able to vote.One of the abusers, Steve Claims,was Bernard The Boogieman White,and Steve says there is a receipt toprove it!Steve—not at all privately!—said:“Well, consider this. A year earlier…BernardoPalombo, a well knownmusician, teacher and cultural icon inthe Latino community…was told thathis check, too, had been lost by thepost office. Therefore he was…disqualifiedto run as a candidate for theboard…“Was his check really lost? No, itwas not…Mr. Palombo had sent hischeck by certified mail, and the postoffice had given him a receipt, signedby someone at the station, provingthat his check had been received. Whohad signed this postal receipt? Noneother than WBAI’s program director,Bernard White (my favorite person).“At the time, Bernard White hadbeen under serious attack for his poorjob performance (and personal badbehavior) at WBAI. If Mr Palombo hadbeen elected to the governing board(which was very likely, considering hispopularity), there might have beensufficient pressure to force BernardWhite to resign. So White had goodreason NOT to want Mr. Palombo…toqualify as a candidate for the board.“…Although a copy of Mr Palombo’scheck receipt, with BernardWhite’s signature on it, was deliveredto management, no investigation ofMr White’s possible connection withdisappearing membership checks wasever undertaken.”Entitled “The Great Debate In Pacifica,”Saturday, 18 August 2007, at4:57 a.m. on Listenerforums.net,about the fifth message from the top.Search for “great debate” or “4:57” andyou’ll find it.A. SolomonCamera Operator - PACVID1.comHomeopathic Visionary718-768-9079, hobces@yahoo.comLETTERS POLICYWe welcome letters from members.Submission deadlines appear in theCoop Calendar. All letters will beprinted if they conform to the publishedguidelines. We will not knowinglypublish articles which are racist,sexist or otherwise discriminatoryThe maximum length for letters is500 words. Letters must include yourname and phone number and betyped or very legibly handwritten. Editorswill reject letters that are illegibleor too long.You may submit on paper, typed orvery legibly handwritten, or via emailto GazetteSubmissions@psfc.coop oron disk.AnonymityUnattributed letters will not be publishedunless the Gazette knows theidentity of the writer, and thereforemust be signed when submitted(giving phone number).Such letters will be publishedonly where areason is given to theeditor as to whypublic identificationof the writerwould impose an unfair burden ofembarrassment or difficulty. Such lettersmust relate to Coop issues andavoid any non-constructive, non-cooperativelanguage.FairnessIn order to provide fair, comprehensive,factual coverage:1. The Gazette will not publishhearsay—that is, allegations notbased on the author's first-handobservation.2. Nor will we publish accusationsthat are not specific or are not substantiatedby factual assertions.3. Copies of submissions that makesubstantive accusations against specificindividuals will be given to thosepersons to enable them to write aresponse, and both submissions andresponse will be published simultaneously.This means that the originalsubmission may not appear until theissue after the one for which itwas submitted.The above appliesto both articles andletters. The only exceptionswill be articles byGazette reporters whichwill be required toinclude the response within the articleitself.MEET YOUR FARMERThe Safe Food Committee presents Amy Hepworth of HepworthFarms, Milton NY, for a discussion and Q&AHepworth Farms is the chief supplier of organic produce to the ParkSlope Food Coop. Providing more than 50 varieties of certified organicproduce and 25 varieties of ecologically grown fruit, the farm and theCoop have a sustainable and symbiotic relationship.Amy Hepworth is a seventh generation farmer and proprietor of HepworthFarms. She is passionate about providing the best quality fruit and vegetablesusing safe, gentle, natural farming practices. Hear about her life’s work and thededication she puts into making the PSFC the primary source of organic, locallygrown produce in New York City.Tuesday, October 9, 7:30-9:00 p.m.in the Coop’s second floor meeting room.Space is limited.
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The Three Rs - Park Slope Food Coop

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