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News at a Glanceby
Nancy Ellegate The
HWFC Board of Directors met on Wednesday, May 25. Upcoming
Referendum It
was noted that there are various options for the wording of the planned
referendum on selling fish and meat at the Coop. The Collective
Management Team
had suggested a simply worded referendum with two questions, the first
asking
whether fish should be sold at the store, such sales to follow the
guidelines
for all products stated in the Coop’s product manual; there would be a
second,
similarly worded question on meat. The Product Manual group had
suggested a
referendum question confined to fish and seafood with more specific
wording regarding
various criteria for these products. Members of the Product Manual
group feel this
is necessary
since the manual does not provide exact enough standards. It was
decided that
this matter should be presented at the June 5th membership meeting, but
that
this meeting would not be the place to work out the referendum wording
and plan
for the vote. This is not a new issue, but it is a major step and it
was felt
that there should be a series of focus groups in July, August and early
September to ensure that members can discuss the issue thoroughly. The
referendum itself will be planned for late September. Member
Labor Two
Board members had raised questions about blanket credit given for
certain kinds
of work as opposed to credit for actual time spent on these tasks. The
operations and administrative coordinator explained that this is done
in some
cases because there are costs, such as using a car for picking
something up. The
blanket credit serves in lieu of reimbursement for travel expenses. One
of the
members who raised the issue noted that such practice may be advisable
in some
cases, but her concern was whether this is a policy decision and, if
so, who is
making it? Should there be a specific policy on this or should such
decisions be
made by store management? This question will be taken up by the group
working on
the Coop’s policy manual. Nutrition
Advice The
Nutrition committee recommended that a member worker with expertise be
available
at certain times to offer information on nutrition and products at the
Coop. This
person would not give dietary or medical advice, but would help
shoppers locate
certain kinds of foods; for example, assist someone looking for
gluten-free
products. The Board agreed this would be a good idea. The plan is to
try this
out for about six hours a week and see how it goes. Anti-GMO
Actions June
15 is anti-GMO (genetically modified organisms) Lobby Day at the New
York State
Legislature. A representative of the Nutrition committee asked the
Board for authorization
to send a letter supporting the anti-GMO campaign and read a draft
letter. The
Board agreed. The Nutrition committee will have a table in the store
with
information on the anti-GMO campaign during June. Executive
Session The
Board met in executive session at the end of the meeting. Minutes
Minutes
of all meetings are available at the Coop. Minutes of the most recent
meeting are
posted on the bulletin board. Upcoming
Meetings Board
meetings will be held at 5:30 pm on the following Wednesdays: June 22,
July 20 and
August 24. The time will change to 6:15 beginning with the meeting on
September
21. Meetings
will be held in the Community Room at the Coop. Date, time and location
are
subject to change, so anyone planning to attend should confirm these. |
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