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Members are feeling out of the loop around what’s happening with staff collective Members (including staff & former staff) are feeling like the org as a whole is out of alignment w/ stated values Ronny is in need of immediate support & relief Members are feeling urgency to understand what type of support is most needed to sustain Ronny’s work and keep the Center in good legal and financial standing Folks are feeling loss, confusion, and distrust following staff transitions. Another container will be offered for folks to de-brief and process togetherRachel R, Izzy & Cam volunteered to support with grants reporting & management; Rachel R volunteered to check mail & space needs; Phill volunteered to support with website updates Ronny has requested rïn and Phill be brought on to support with immediate org stabilization & infrastructure development A reconstitution & transition team needs to be convened to tend to urgent gaps and longer-term sustainability of the org Next meeting: Thursday, Feb. 12th @ 6pm
Syd stepped out of his position and did not feel emotionally ready to show up for circle following the circumstances of that decision and facilitated conversations with Ronny, especially without guarantee of good faith listening from other participants, as noted in their open letter. Facilitator note: This makes sense to me given the circumstances. Lillie also stepped back, requesting 6mo+ before re-engaging given ongoing tensions, exacerbated lack of trust and high urgency situations they’re holding outside of SMWC space. Facilitator note: Same as above. I support both Lillie and Syd in being clear for themselves about what they need to show up to a process with enough regulation and curiosity to be present. rïn made an executive decision to suspend the conflict process after consulting Bean about (a) the increasing severity of their health conditions in context with (b) the severity of stress SMWC conflicts have been putting on their bodyFacilitator note: requesting Bean prioritize a conflict process ~6 or more months down the line while dealing with an increasingly terminal cancer with symptoms exacerbated by stress is out of alignment with my own values and commitments as a facilitator. This was a case where participants’ needs didn’t line up cleanly. Bean was open to a 3-mo waiting period, which was initially suggested by rïn as a compromise. The organizational hope of the conflict process was to chart post-transition path forward that supports the center in designing infrastructure and culture that is more intentional in how it supports staff, especially around conflict, communication, antiblackness, ableism, division of labor, and organizational development needs. Extensive interviews, surveys, and listening sessions with SMWC staff collective + Lillie, Phill, and others have yielded ample takeaways, many of which have been documented and shared
Rachel R, Izzy O & Cam have volunteered to support grants reporting and management A restructuring and transition body of some sort is needed to hold the following: Cleaning up & redesigning onboarding for new staff members and volunteers includingSMWC HandbookLeadership training inclusive of trauma-aware, anti-racist, disability-justice informed conflict & communication training Org-wide conflict & harm protocol Reconvening & re-shaping of leadership team Hiring & onboarding of new staff members Reconvening & reconstitution of the PLT given current capacity and member turnover in the next ~4moInterim and updates to longer-term decision-making structures to reflect strengths and provide more coverage and accountability support than historically experienced by Staff Collective Ronny has requested Phill and rïn be brought on in a paid capacity to support with immediate stabilization of day-to-day tasks, convening of a reconstitution & transition support team, and organizational development. This team would ideally consist of 5-8 high-capacity individuals includingRonny (who is currently lower capacity while juggling ICE-related crisis response with day-to-day Center duties without other full-time staff support)Someone with the skills and intimacy w/ the center & Ronny to work without onboarding or much structural support to (a) stabilize the org and (b) support transition infrastructure systems and reconstitution of leadership (ideally Phill, per Ronny’s request; Phill has also articulated a desire to support in this capacity)a current PLT member with capacity to support org restructuring An organizational development specialist with backgrounds in restorative conflict processes & antiracist, disability-justice informed structural development (likely rïn, per conversations with Ronny & PC)a current Board member with vested interest in disability justice and antiracist, liberatory organizingan SMWC member currently unaffiliated with any SMWC leadership roles at all Note: this team would still be in communication and partnership with active leadership and formal structures for collaboration and shared oversight
protocols for how to handle external conflict and harm, decision-making checks and balances that are used consistently and intentionally and accessibly recorded when forgone, intentional onboarding plans and staff/member capacity and support to execute those plans & pivot sustainably where needed,an organizational priority on antiracist, disability-justice informed protocols (including communication, conflict and harm processes), an explicit re-visitation and clarification of organizational values and priorities (a walk-through of what this means to the org should be included in SMWC’s handbook).
Feb 5th notes + reflections
follow-up from 2.5.26 meeting
Hi all,
Thank you for the care and consideration you all put into last week’s emergency meeting. Below are some notes for transparency that I hope will support us in shaping the next session (click the arrow to expand):
Overview / Recap
On Staff Collective Accountability & Transition Process
Staff collective + Phill & Lillie did not complete their process circle process
(on pg. 3). Labor Gaps, Stabilization, & Sustainability
On Organizational Accountability & Repair
At its base, a good apology requires two things: acknowledgement and repair (including changed behavior). Interpersonally, much of that has been put on hiatus. Organizationally, there is a collective understanding of the ways SMWC’s lack of support and infrastructure for Staff Collective have contributed to an environment that makes organizing unsustainable, and puts structural pressure on all staff collective members, especially those most impacted by systemic violence and oppression. The following have been identified as necessary for organizational accountability and repair:
Though SMWC is hurting and grieving the loss of two deeply beloved leaders, you all also have an opportunity to reinvent this space with more capacity and attunement to the needs of its target base, staff, and the safer, more liberated world we’re committed to building together. There's a good amount of work ahead, but it's do-able.
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