Weaver Street Geoff: Citizen Oversight of Policing in Carrboro, NC

Friday, December 19, 2014

Citizen Oversight of Policing in Carrboro, NC - Everyone Wins

So, I made my pitch for citizen design of policing in Carrboro, NC - my home town these past 10 years - on WCHL 's "The Commentators," on Wednesday, December 17. I don't expect much progress over the holidays. But it never hurts to stoke the fire a bit.

In the meantime, some movement is evident already. Three Carrboro Alderpeople (Damon Seils, Michelle Johnson and Randee Haven-O'Donnell) have already been in touch, saying they'd like to compare notes after the Christmas break.

None of this is to say progress is going to be made behind closed doors. That is precisely what I do not want. I want the dialogue about policing in Carrboro (a dialogue I hope will become a template for communities with more pressing policing problems than Carrboro), I want that dialogue to be open, transparent and driven by citizens.

I have already told the Carrboro Alderpeople who have been in touch that I will be quite openly publishing notes of all conversations and communications we have. But these conversations do offer an opportunity to share thoughts, and see if there is common ground, so that maybe efforts can be in tandem.

Side point. Worth making again. The goal is for citizens, elected officials, police, communities to design dialogue, structure and processes, consensually, which will allow communities to have a policing approach with which they are comfortable.

But there is another side to it. And it becomes most evident when I read a recent article about the police reaction in Durham to the protests there.

The lose-lose-lose-lose situation is when we have a community that feels it is not being protected, protesters who feel they cannot express themselves safely, elected officials wringing their hands uselessly and police feeling they are being left hanging out to dry, because no-one is giving them clear guidance.

The win-win-win-win situation is where all in a community - citizens, police, protesters, whoever - are given the opportunity to be involved in designing an agreed policing approach, everyone knows exactly what is and what is not acceptable, police have clear rules of engagement, and if and when they follow them, they are fully supported by all in the community.

That is the goal of my push for citizen oversight of police. It creates an environment where everyone is clear and supported. And those who wish to make trouble know exactly what will happen when they do - and it will happen with the support of the community in which they seek to make trouble. No-one is left hanging out to dry.

I will continue with the updates, and look forward to input from the rest of the community as the opportunities finally become available. I really can't see any political objection anywhere to the notion of a community designing its own policing approach. Whether you are Tea Party or anarchist ...

"be the co-op!" - Why?

Hi, I'm Geoff. I work in Southern Village, on the Hot Bar.

I'm standing as a Worker-Owner Candidate for the WSM Board of Directors because I love "The Weave," and I truly believe our co-op can be so much better than it is - as a real co-op!

Whole Foods has organic food. The Farmers Market sells local. Harris Teeter has a suggestions box. Even Wal-Mart makes community donations.

Surely, as a co-op, we should be better than all of them? But, are we?

Do we really pay attention to our workers and owners?

Do we all get a vote on the big decisions that change the very nature of our co-op?

Do we really have a bottom line that deals with our social health as a co-op as well as our financial health?

Do we really pay our workers a living wage?

Do we really 'own' our co-op - not just its capital; but the way it behaves? Do we really act like an 'authentic' co-op? Do we really treat 'co-operation' as a verb, that works both ways?

If you are are an owner or worker who feels that too often the answer is 'no,' and you'd like to start hearing 'yes,' then you might find some welcome solutions in this blog, and in my 'Tasty' candidacy for the Board of WSM.

If we want it, we can make it happen. Don't leave it to others. Get involved. Own. Vote. Reclaim. Be the co-op!

I really want to hear what you are thinking. So, please feel free to stop and chat, or post a comment on this blog.

If you have an issue or a question, which you want to raise in private, please feel free to contact me at: geoffgilson@hotmail.com.

We can be better than this!

[So, what the heck does all this reference to 'Tasty' mean, anyway?...ah ha!...you gotta read to find out!]

[Please Note: The views expressed on this blog are my own, and in no way represent the official position of Weaver Street Market Co-operative.]

"be the co-op!" - How?

Should we owners and workers be consulted about and have a vote on the big changes to our co-op?

Yes. It helps to smooth implementation of those big changes by workers, and their acceptance by owners and consumers. That's Business Management 101.

Plus, we're a co-op...we own it...we're supposed to be asked! We're supposed to have a say! That's Democracy 101.

And a suggestions box or a management presentation is not democracy!

Democracy is a two-way conversation. Democracy is a vote at the end of the debate. Democracy is when we treat 'co-operation' as a verb, working both ways.

Are you a worker or owner who feels a little left out of what is happening to our "Weave"?

Do you believe that we can be better than this?

Do you want to do something about it?

If your answer is 'yes,' then you've taken the first step - you've started thinking 'yes,' rather than hearing 'no.'

Next, become an owner by speaking with your unit manager, or by contacting board@weaverstreetmarket.coop - you have to be an owner to vote.

Then, make sure to vote in the Board Elections.

And if you want to reclaim your co-op, if you want "The Weave" to be a truly 'authentic' co-op, then I invite you to vote to make Co-operation a Verb.

"be the co-op!"

[Ok. Little explanation. This section was first written back in 2007. And has been added to over the course of the five WSM Board Elections in which I have presented myself as a Worker-Owner Candidate.

I thought of deleting it, since it doesn't really make any sense. But you know? It does make sense. It represents the frustration of highlighting the same lack of democracy in our co-op, over and over and over again.

It really IS time we worked together, to reclaim our co-op, and to make it and us all we can truly be.]

You can support the 'Tasty' ("Co-operation is a Verb!") Campaign for the Board of "The Weave" by wearing this 'Who Moved My Fish?' Of-fish-ial Campaign Button.

The point is not that there wasn't some reasonable rationale for moving the seafood and meat counter out of the Carrboro store [in 2007].

It's that there was no meaningful discussion with owners and workers beforehand.

Not about moving the meat and seafood.

Nor about implementing any other aspect of the huge expansion plans that have caused, and are still causing, so much agitation and financial distress throughout "The Weave" (what I call Expansion I: 'The Debt' [2007]).

Nor about the removal of the Consumer-Owner and Senior Discounts in 2009.

Nor about extending the opening hours in 2010.

Nor about demanding that workers work 15% harder in 2011 (what I call Expansion II: 'The Overload' - just when you thought it was safe ...).

Nor about current plans to build three more stores, at a cost of millions of dollars, in the decade leading up to 2020 (Expansion III: 'The Leap Too Far').

Of course, choosing The Fish as a symbol is a metaphor. But it is a powerful metaphor.

It is a metaphor that underlines the basic co-operative principle that is repeated on the front page of every one of our monthly newsletters, namely that owners are supposed to be the primary source of all authority in our co-op.

That principle can only have meaning in practice if owners are allowed democratically to control all strategic decision-making.

I believe passionately in the notion of the democratization of decision-making, and I think I proved this with my contributions to WSM's Elections Task Force in 2008.

Now I'd welcome your support in allowing me to take this a step further, and in ensuring that the Board has on it a Director who truly believes in democratically paying attention to the cares and concerns of owners and the workforce.

Who believes passionately that 'co-operation' is a verb that should work both ways.

If you feel we can be better than we are now, then together let's make the Board take notice of us. Let's reclaim our co-op. Let's make it a truly 'authentic' co-op.