[gpva-ic] Fwd: seeking cosponsors for Code of Conduct proposal for GPUS

[Sid Smith]

Hi John,

I've been serving as a national delegate or alternate, on several national
committees, and as a national list-serve manager variously for nearly 5
years. However bad you imagine it might be, it is actually far worse. This
is desperately needed.

We also proposed an enforcement provision in last year's GPVA proposal a
year ago (not included in this proposal) that would have prevented
frivolous complaints from taking up people's time or causing trouble. That
will have to be revisited if this passes.

Sid

********************
B. Sidney Smith



On Sun, Aug 2, 2020 at 7:15 AM John Reeder via gpva-ic <
gpva-ic at vagreenparty.org> wrote:

> I have no knowledge of behavior at GPUS and no basis for deciding if this
> is needed.   It is pretty sad statement about GPUS members if this is true
> that personal attacks and mean nasty behavior and name calling occur.
>
> In general among organized groups using parliamentary procedure, personal
> ad hominem attacks are banned although look what happened to Congresswoman
> AOC recently being verbally abused by a Republican Congressman so it
> happens.   However, the standard is no ad hominem attacks on other members.
>
> I would rather use that standard of conduct and remind GPUS delegates and
> officers that our Green values require no name calling or any personal
> attacks on any other member for any reason.   Discuss the issue before the
> group and not bring up any personal issues.
>
> Otherwise the proposed standard will be endlessly be debated and used to
> stymy free speech and discussion in my opinion.   A few years ago here in
> Arlington, an Anglo male school board member was accused of
> "microaggression" against another member who is a female Latina because he
> wanted to address ethnic imbalance among schools related to school
> boundaries.   So that ended the discussion on school boundaries.
> John
> ------------------------------
> *From:* gpva-ic <gpva-ic-bounces at vagreenparty.org> on behalf of Ryan
> Wesdock via gpva-ic <gpva-ic at vagreenparty.org>
> *Sent:* Saturday, August 1, 2020 9:36 PM
> *To:* GPVA Interim Committee Listserve <gpva-ic at vagreenparty.org>
> *Subject:* [gpva-ic] Fwd: seeking cosponsors for Code of Conduct proposal
> for GPUS
>
> Good Afternoon Everyone,
>
> We have been asked by Ann Link from the Women's Caucus to sponsor the
> following amendment to the GPUS bylaws. This text is preliminary; they will
> be voting on the final text later and will forward it to us at that time. I
> did want to forward this preliminary text now to all so that we can begin
> discussing it in preparation for a decision to sponsor the amendment or
> not. Some background that is useful to consider here: this proposal is a
> slight modification from the proposal that we unanimously supported as a
> party last year. The intent of the proposal is to address misbehavior on
> the national listservs, etc. by creating a code of conduct for
> interpersonal behavior. Frankly - and I think Tina, Sid, Kirit, Tom, and
> Tamar who have all had extensive dealings with the national party on
> various committees can testify to this - this proposal is sorely needed and
> I think Virginia would be wise to once again sponsor this amendment.
>
> It is not exactly the same though, as the one we backed last time, so I
> thought it would help the discussion to identify the differences (the
> original text is in Ann's email for your references)
> 7-1.1. is unchanged.
> 7-1.2 is largely unchanged, but the language has been simplified a bit. I
> don't see any change here that meaningfully changes the meaning of the
> amendment. If there is any distinction, it may be that the initial proposal
> included:
>
> "Verbal, written or cyber abuse such as the use of derogatory remarks or
> epithets; insults, especially those using bigoted terms (racist, sexist,
> etc.); belittling, mocking" as an offense against the code of conduct. This
> new proposal includes this language but also adds "hate speech"
> specifically. I am understanding "...those using bigoted terms" to have
> already been referring to hate speech.
>
> 7-1.3 has two changes. The initial proposal we supported included
>
> "polarizing or divisive commentary, or publicly condemning party members,
> damages the public standing of the party and imperils its mission, and is
> unacceptable." This new proposal removes this language and adds a major
> change from the original.
>
> " This section is not intended to be used in a punitive manner against
> anyone who is the target of a particular bullying or mobbing incident, or
> to punish, dismiss, or demean any emotion that people of color express in
> response to racism. Members who are the targets of bullying and/or racism
> are encouraged to call it out and to seek support from party officials,
> caucuses and members whom they trust." If I had to guess this language is
> meant to address criticisms raised against the initial proposal.
>
> 7-1.4 has only one notable change I can see. The initial proposal
> considered the following behavior unacceptable:
>
> "maintenance of a conflict of interest without full disclosure." The new
> proposal has stronger language: "Or maintenance of a conflict of interest."
> The difference may seem minor, but I can see a notable administrative
> difference between a conflict of interest being disclosed, and a conflict
> of interest requiring members of committees to resign entirely. I am
> inclined to support this change.
>
> Overall, though, I think the changes are relatively minor and I think we
> ought to support this amendment on the same basis as we supported the last.
> ---------- Forwarded message ---------
> From: *Ann Link* <eastst at hotmail.com>
> Date: Sat, Aug 1, 2020 at 9:40 AM
> Subject: seeking cosponsors for Code of Conduct proposal for GPUS
> To: Tina Rockett <roktt at icloud.com>, Ryan Wesdock <ryan.wesdock at gmail.com>
>
>
> Hi - I'm writing to you to see if the Green Party of Virginia would
> consider co-sponsoring the following Code of Conduct for the national Green
> Party that is going to be voted on in the Women's Caucus. The proposal
> incorporates a lot of the same text from an earlier proposal that your
> state was a cosponsor on at
>
> https://secure.gpus.org/cgi-bin/vote/propdetail?pid=959
> <https://eur06.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsecure.gpus.org%2Fcgi-bin%2Fvote%2Fpropdetail%3Fpid%3D959&data=02%7C01%7C%7Cf9f0268f33534f1f652608d836632000%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637319146676191428&sdata=9oAoNzyCdyvyWH9AULmBJQPkwj%2BPMnKazDfLPotYX8I%3D&reserved=0>
> that was pulled before the voting period. Our caucus has a one-week
> discussion period and one-week voting period at which time I will forward
> the final text for your approval. Let me know if you have any questions.
> Thanks! Ann
>
>
> SPONSOR: Green Party National Women’s Caucus
>
> CONTACT: Ann Link, 347-226-1195, eastst at hotmail.com
>
> SUBJECT/TITLE: To add a code of conduct to the party bylaws
>
> TYPE OF PROPOSAL, EXPECTED APPROVAL THRESHOLD: This is an amendment to the
> bylaws and requires 2/3 of all “yes” and “no” votes cast for passage
>
> REQUESTED PROPOSAL DECISION-MAKING TIMELINE: 2 weeks
>
> BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The purpose is to create a safer and more
> effective organizing and work space for our party members. It is also to
> support diversity in our party. For example, women, people of color, and
> LGBT workers are more likely to be the targets of bullying in the
> workplace, and people who are bullied are more likely to leave their jobs.
> Finally, it enables us to “practice what we preach” by enacting the ethical
> standards of conduct that we support in our platform.
>
> PROPOSAL: Amend the GPUS Bylaws, Article VII, "Ethical Behavior", by
> inserting the following as Para. 7-1, and numbering the current text of
> Article VII as 7-2.
>
> IMPLEMENTATION/TIMELINE/RESOURCES: None required
>
> REFERENCES: Short handout on bullying
> https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/non-dhs/dqa/focus2019-c5-see-hand.pdf
> <https://eur06.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dhs.wisconsin.gov%2Fnon-dhs%2Fdqa%2Ffocus2019-c5-see-hand.pdf&data=02%7C01%7C%7Cf9f0268f33534f1f652608d836632000%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637319146676201422&sdata=liUqG2SCkTzC8BRjpx73z8CyfMn8VpHU76FZivOuL60%3D&reserved=0>
>
>
> Detailed report on bullying
>
> https://workplacebullying.org/download/2017-wbi/
> <https://eur06.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fworkplacebullying.org%2Fdownload%2F2017-wbi%2F&data=02%7C01%7C%7Cf9f0268f33534f1f652608d836632000%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637319146676201422&sdata=dx4LS%2B%2FhymPYcGSg4Oen2YP7exoLyOzeo%2F%2FdHsIjvP0%3D&reserved=0>
>
>
> Article on impact of bullying on LGBT employees
>
>
> https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/shame-nation/201710/how-workplace-bullying-is-impacting-lgbt-employees
> <https://eur06.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychologytoday.com%2Fus%2Fblog%2Fshame-nation%2F201710%2Fhow-workplace-bullying-is-impacting-lgbt-employees&data=02%7C01%7C%7Cf9f0268f33534f1f652608d836632000%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637319146676211417&sdata=mfpB4tqumH6jou%2ByECBcjqqDJ6zUVARz7y9yN9X6SXc%3D&reserved=0>
>
>
> White Fragility
>
> https://robindiangelo.com/publications/
> <https://eur06.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Frobindiangelo.com%2Fpublications%2F&data=02%7C01%7C%7Cf9f0268f33534f1f652608d836632000%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637319146676211417&sdata=uFuu9T5XTYCwoeCioQls4rfEg%2BzGsQQjCS%2BlAT3uz5U%3D&reserved=0>
>
>
> Jane Elliot - "Blue eyes/Brown eyes"
>
> https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/introduction-2/
> <https://eur06.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pbs.org%2Fwgbh%2Ffrontline%2Farticle%2Fintroduction-2%2F&data=02%7C01%7C%7Cf9f0268f33534f1f652608d836632000%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637319146676211417&sdata=FMmdFcaLu7DmHmeORA6ocbTFwcYUDLUqtCrjASo3hEc%3D&reserved=0>
>
>
> I Can Fix It! Volume 1 Racism
>
> https://www.damaliayo.com/pdfs/I%20CAN%20FIX%20IT_racism.pdf
> <https://eur06.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.damaliayo.com%2Fpdfs%2FI%2520CAN%2520FIX%2520IT_racism.pdf&data=02%7C01%7C%7Cf9f0268f33534f1f652608d836632000%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637319146676221410&sdata=nAriru%2BJbVLlVBPx9nZ7OgFGiTR6b%2F%2Baizt5N8tx0us%3D&reserved=0>
>
>
>
>
> 7-1 Code of Conduct
>
>
>
> 7-1.1 Inclusiveness. The Green Party of the United States (“Green Party”)
> welcomes and supports people of all backgrounds and identities. No person
> shall be discriminated against, deliberately made to feel unwelcome, or
> disparaged on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity and
> expression, race, ethnicity, culture, national origin, social and economic
> class, educational level, color, immigration status, sex, age, size, family
> status, religion, or mental or physical ability.
>
>
>
> 7-1.2 Interpersonal behavior. The success of the Green Party depends on
> the enthusiasm, talents, cooperation, and hard work of each of its members.
> Because the things we say and do, and the decisions we make, affect us all,
> we are each obliged to treat every other member with respect, due
> deference, generosity, and consideration. As a general principle, all
> points of view shall be heard in appropriate debate and expressed in a
> respectful manner. Disparagement, exaggerated accusations, deliberate
> mischaracterizations, and deceptive framing are inconsistent with Green
> ethics. Expressing unproven assumptions (or suspicions) that a colleague's
> intentions are malevolent, or failing to give the benefit of the doubt, is
> counterproductive. When frustrations occur and tempers flare, we are
> obliged to step back and wait for passions to cool before re-engaging. The
> following are unacceptable: threats of violence; hate speech;
> discriminatory jokes, slurs or language; sharing sexually explicit or
> violent material via electronic devices or other means; name-calling and
> personal insults, especially those using bigoted terms (racist, sexist,
> transphobic, etc.); unwelcome sexual attention; vilification or backbiting;
> bullying, including excessive or unfair criticism, public insults,
> deliberate exclusion or ignoring, and cyber-bullying (see 7-1.3 Support for
> Colleagues below); or advocating for, or encouraging, any of the above.
>
>
>
> 7-1.3 Support for Colleagues. Our commitment to social justice requires
> that our party provide a positive setting in which to interact with each
> other. Bullying and mobbing are especially destructive forms of behavior
> that are prohibited because they breach the principles of equality and
> fairness, and frequently represent an abuse of power and authority.
> Examples of bullying include verbal or written abuse, spreading rumors or
> innuendos or attributing false statements; sabotaging, trivializing or
> undermining the work, performance or opportunity of another; deliberately
> isolating or excluding people; targeting someone by blind copying or
> secretly forwarding their emails; making excessive demands, unfairly
> blaming people for mistakes, or setting people up for failure by
> withholding information or support; and doxing or other public or private
> exposure to damage a reputation. Mobbing is bullying behavior carried out
> by a group rather than by an individual. This section is not intended to be
> used in a punitive manner against anyone who is the target of a particular
> bullying or mobbing incident, or to punish, dismiss, or demean any emotion
> that people of color express in response to racism. Members who are the
> targets of bullying and/or racism are encouraged to call it out and to seek
> support from party officials, caucuses and members whom they trust.
>
>
>
> 7-1.4 Professionalism. As Greens we place our trust in one another. To
> succeed, we must have both transparency and confidentiality. Leaders,
> committee members, delegates, and others in positions of responsibility
> should exemplify the highest standards of honesty and integrity. The
> following are unacceptable: betrayal of confidences entrusted in accordance
> with bylaws, policies, rules, or agreed procedures; offering or accepting
> bribes, whether monetary or for other consideration; theft, larceny,
> blackmail, extortion, or any felony the commission of which involves the
> Green Party, its property, data, or members, except in the conduct of
> principled strategic acts of non-violent civil disobedience; acting or
> conspiring to subvert the procedures of any committee or the conduct of any
> internal election; misrepresentation of one's own or another's political
> commitments; infiltration on behalf of any outside interest; or maintenance
> of a conflict of interest.
>
>
>
>
> --
> Thank You For Your Time,
> Ryan Wesdock
>
> _______________________________________________
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