Governance

Item Sponsor: Personnel Committe

Election: The Personnel Committee will present two candidates for election: Nathaniel Coburn and Tara Montgomery. To read more about the candidates, please follow this link.

Item Sponsor: Amy Brinker and Rahima Nasa

Voting: Our goal is to showcase the personalities, history, and memories that make this institution so unique. The podcast would capture stories and accents, explain how the Coop works, and celebrate the past and future of the Coop.

Explanation: We are lucky enough to have many early members available to tell us first-hand about their memories from the Coop’s early days and reflect on the changes over the years. This living history is precious and limited and we want to record these stories and first-hand accounts for posterity. There’s always something to learn about the present-day Coop too. We plan to interview committee members and employees about their work, find out exactly how we get such good cheeses, and learn how we maintain our organic/local/sustainable practices.

Item Sponsor: Rosa Palermo

Voting: Proposal to add the following line to the Membership Handbook: “The Coop-wide do-not-reply email list is reserved for operational communications only. Personal opinions, commentary, advocacy, or viewpoints related to elections or meeting proposals are not permitted through this channel. Such communications should instead be shared through participatory member channels that allow for dialogue and equal access.”

Explanation: This proposal seeks to add a clarifying statement to the Membership Handbook regarding the appropriate use of the Coop-wide do-not-reply email list. The intent is to clearly define “operational communications” as neutral, functional messages such as schedule or store service updates, inventory notices, safety alerts, General Meeting reminders, Gazette announcements, and outcomes or decisions that have already been discussed through member or committee processes. The clarification would also affirm that personal viewpoints, advocacy, or commentary—particularly related to elections or meeting proposals—belong in participatory channels such as the Gazette, General Meetings, or other member-to-member forums where dialogue, response, and equal footing among members are possible. This addition helps ensure that Coop communication practices align with cooperative values, transparency, and shared member voice.

Item Sponsor: Sophia Li and George Olken

Voting: This proposal enables all PSFC members to be immediately eligible for committee elections (without vetting by the standing committee). Democratic member vote should determine who best serves the committees. We propose the formation of an Election Committee to oversee fair and equitable committee elections.

Explanation: This proposal seeks to make committee selection more open and democratic, leaving the candidate selection process to the voting Coop membership. Essential committees (Agenda, Personnel, Chair, Dispute Resolution) committees are composed of fewer than 50 members, yet make many of the most consequential decisions for our Coop. Currently, all members seeking to join these committees are required to undergo an opaque application and selection process by that committee’s current members before being presented to wider Coop membership at a General Meeting for rubberstamping (compare to the Board of Directors election, wherein all Coop members are directly eligible to be presented as candidates). Standards for committee selection are being applied, but they should be transparent and approved by membership. One way of addressing this is open nominations and the regular implementation of elections twice a year at General Meetings overseen by an Election Committee.