1. More ambiguity. The (second) explanation of Proposal # 2 posted on the website during the election indicated that Article XX would be amended to implement the Board’s action. Article XXI section 4 said “No Change.” However, the changes to the amendments implemented by the Board change only Article XXI, Section 4. Article XX has not been touched.
2. This is the kicker. Note the bold, italicized language I’ve highlighted: d. Amendment by Vote of the Board of Directors. With the exception of the specific Articles and Sections of these Bylaws specified below, the Board of Directors shall have the right to amend these Bylaws upon a two-thirds vote the number of seats on the Board of Directors. Except for any amendment which may be made on account of an act of the United States Congress or a specific directive of the United States Olympic Committee (these exceptions shall not apply to iii below), the Board of Directors shall have no authority to make any amendments to the following Articles and Sections of these Bylaws: i. Article VII, Board of Directors. Section 1, Section 2, Section 3, Section 4, Section 5, and Section 7. ii. Article XXI, Elections. iii. Article XXII, Sunshine Policy. I understand this to mean that neither Congress nor the USOC can make the Board touch the Sunshine Policy without approval from the membership, BUT, in response to a directive from the USOC, the Board can amend Articles VII and XXI, which means that if the USOC mandates it, the Board can modify or eliminate anything in these articels, including the special initiative in XXI.4.b. Also, it paves the way for implementing the changes to the Board the USOC wants. Say “bye bye” to your voice in the USAT federation, and say hello to board members who have no connection to triathlon whatsoever. It won’t be long before the USAT Board looks exactly the way USOC wants it to. I hate to say I told you so, but I told you so.
For those who are interested, I have been working on the Petition. Dan had originally decided to draft the Petition and circulate it at Ralph’s. Unfortunately, he was not able to do so, and I have decided to go ahead with my original plan to draft it myself. Hopefully, I’ll have it finalized today.
Due to time constraints, my plan is to collect signatures by fax or PDF. I saw no requirement that they be originals. If you want to sign, then I’ll have a place where you can download a copy of the Petition and the signature sheet, and you can sign the sig page and either fax or email the signature.
Steve is absolutely right. The wording of prop 2 - which we NEVER saw during the election - gives the board the power, upon directive from the USOC, to change and/or eliminate election districts, change or eliminate the member’s right to petition, and even eliminate the members right to vote for anything of consequence. One thing for sure: you gotta love the staying power of the old guard.
Tony: When Steve is finished writing the petition, we need to get at least 50 annual members to sign it - and everything has to be delivered to the USAT exec. dir. by April 1, 2005. That’s nine days from now . . . so what we need are people who will print out a petition, take it around to several USAT members in their area over the weekend, and then overnight it back to Steve so that he gets it by no later than Wednesday, March 30. He will then package all of the petition copies together and overnight them to USAT headquarters.
Can you shepherd one of the petitions? How many signatures do you think you can get?
as of last night (as you know, steve) i’d decided to trust the board, have faith in those who’ve been elected to do the job, and not protest. i communicated as much to jack weiss, and also to lew.
now, after about 18 hours, i find that the members have been entirely, comprehensively, and artfully, buttfucked.
so, my friend, i’m back in the game. i will help us gain the signatures, and i’m in for the duration. i’d be obliged if you could continue on in the wording of the petition, however i’ll send the call out to my 20+ thousand on the mailing list. this is just about the dirtiest, sleaziest thing i’ve ever observed in federation politics.
Lew: Have him email it to me at awg8@hotmail.com and I’ll print it out and contact as many people out here as I can and then overnight it back to him this week. I’m on a local tri-team, and I should be able to get their signatures (they’re all USAT members).
Some of the the other members on this forum (Tai, Larry etc.) are also locals. I’ll PM them and see if they want in on the blanket party.
so, my friend, i’m back in the game. i will help us gain the signatures, and i’m in for the duration. i’d be obliged if you could continue on in the wording of the petition, however i’ll send the call out to my 20+ thousand on the mailing list. this is just about the dirtiest, sleaziest thing i’ve ever observed in federation politics
I can send in a few bucks to help cover any expenses, if needed.
Good to hear, Dan. I’m putting the finishing touches on it, and will email drafts to you and Lew for comment. I’ll finalize after you’ve had a chance to give me feedback, and we’ll send it out.
For what it’s worth, Mike Highfield sent me an email to let me know I “really don’t know what talking about.” However, when pressed, he still hasn’t told me why I don’t know what I’m talking about.
'member when I said I would wait and see how the Board implements Proposal # 2 via amendment, and what they do with the Petition before I decided whether it might be reasonable to file a lawsuit on this? Well… litigation is starting to look more and more attractive, and we may have no choice if they disregard the Petition.
Newly appointed (unelected) board members, USOC power to amend USAT bylaws, a bunch of crap about the “confusion” of the Sunshine Policy, and USAT members that actually passed Prop #2…
Un-F*ing-Believable!
How did we get to this point? Doesn’t anyone care?
I’m quite willing to accept that the Sunshine Policy was inadvertantly left off the exceptions to the proposal. I’m not willing to accept that the membership voted YES on Proposal #2 with the understanding that it would provide the Board the ability to amend Sections VII and XXI if the USOC wanted them to.
I’m out in BFE northern New Jersey, but I can probably get 3-4 signatures in short order.
That said, I am really disappointed in the direction that the USAT board seems determined to head. The past several months has been quite an education for me as to the nature and purpose of the USAT federation. Under the best of circumstances, it seems to exist for the primary and secondary benefits of race directors. Rank and file members come a distant third with the chief benefit of cheap insurance for race participants. Elite and Oly hopefuls may get a better deal out of USAT, but they clearly represent less than 1/2 of 1% of the membership.
I was also disappointed that despite the numerous discussions in the Slowtwitch forum about the bylaw proposals, that the second proposal passed so easily, particularly in light that approximately 90% of the USAT members didn’t even vote at all. If the relatively vast (by triathlon standards) audience of Slowtwitch doesn’t “get it” there is little hope left.
If this latest effort fails to dent the USAT board’s ambitions to toe the USOC line, then I will be quite ready to semi-retire to the small but significant number of independent races here and there which I have already found several to be of very high quality for fewer bucks.
Other than that, I have just one comment for Mr. Slowman. In the words of Princess Leia, “Help me Obi-Won Kenobi, you’re my only hope.”
P.s. I take back all those mean things I said to/about Slowman when he resigned from the board. If one lies done with dogs, you get up with fleas.
This is exactly why I voted NO on both proposals. We just this last year decided to hold the BOD accountable with what the membership generally agreed were sound guidelines, and then this happens.
What did Alexander Hamilton used to say about rule of the “enlightened elite”?
Steve is absolutely right. The wording of prop 2 - which we NEVER saw during the election - gives the board the power, upon directive from the USOC, to change and/or eliminate election districts change or eliminate the member’s right to petition even eliminate the members right to vote for anything of consequence.
It makes me nauseus to think about the level of patriarchy, arrogance, and self-serving agenda operating by the BOD if your analysis is accurate. In the end it seems the best thing to do is to walk away. If last years’ petition did not change attitudes, or the bad press they’ve gotten through this forum and others is not enough for them to repent, what more is there to do?
And I’m in favor of taking some seed money with us as we go.
We’ll be losing the ability for the members to excercise the Standard and Special Initiative, listed in XXII Section 4 a & b, which allows the members to amend or repeal By Laws by getting 2500 signatures to get an issue to the membership for a vote. That’s basically all of our power in the currently member owned USAT gone, yes?
Kahuna, Alexander Hamilton, champion of the rich and well born…advocating a permanent place in government, something like that.
I wrote to several of the BOD members about this and the Jack Weiss proposal…I sadly report, that my elected representative Fred Sommers did not even have the courtesy to respond and it was not the first time that he did not respond to an e-mail…The general tone from most of the BOD that responded to me was that they felt we elected them in “good faith” and should not hand-cuff them with having to put amendments before the membership…Once again, they have proven that the USAT BOD can not be trusted to steer this ship in accordance with the memberships request, and has gone to underhanded tactics to get what they want…
How many on the BOD are race directors?..Maybe not renewing your membership is one way to go, but it doesn’t allow for the problem to get fixed and you have a say in it…Maybe another approach would be to not do the races of RD that are sitting on the BOD and condoned this behavior…I know my rep. Fred Sommers will not be on the BOD after this term, but I will tell you this, almost all my race money went to him, and I’ve even been a volunteer on a number of occasions at his events…That will not be the case anymore…He will not see a dime of my money or a minute of my time…I’ll be racing elsewhere and encouraging the same of others…There are plenty of other USAT races around…Perhaps the rest of the membership should look long and hard at the RD on the BOD their races too!..Just some food for thought…
