[IMC-US] all-volunteer survey questions draft

[bht]

so i am starting to feel like this money situation is quite a big 
distraction.  i definately agree with the houston folks that paying 
people isnt the best thing and portland.indy is an all-volunteer effort, 
we have used that wording for quite some time.  however, in this 
'network' there is afforded to individual imc's a personal autonomy for 
them to make such decisions based on what they feel is best.

i would like to leave it at that, i feel that the insistence of folks 
from houston to continue bringing this up negates part of their 
statement that says they dont expect other folks to agree with them.  it 
feel like some of you really want to make this an issue.  the truth is 
that some imc's pay people and that is working for them.  it doesnt work 
for everyone.

i like the personal autonomy.  i feel that it is part of a strong 
collective.  in houston or portland paying people isnt something that is 
seen as beneficail or even thought of as an option.  in nyc and urbana 
champaign things are different, the direction of those collectives have 
moved to a different sphere and it works for them and their projects to 
pay some folks.  both of those imc's do good work.  houston and portland 
also do good work.

if we try to create a situation where every imc is expected to be the 
same in the way that they promote/create/empower independant media we 
come closer to a hierarchy and power body.  i dont claim to know 
anything about nyc or uc and thats, but i trust that the folks that work 
with those colelctives do understand and would be right enough in their 
thinking to address a problem with paying people should it arise.

i would like to accept that houston has made this proposal.  i think it 
is great.  i think it has made its point.  at a face to face meeting in 
austin, the room was obviously divided.  perhaps we can work on some 
infrastructure for us-imc and create more of an understanding and 
symbiotic relationship with each other.  lets find the common points 
that we adhere to and then propagate them work together, make media and 
take down our oppressors. 

it is so easy to create conflict within our small communities, and so 
hard to face the reality that we are fighting a real enemy and that we 
know who that enemy is.  i would really love it if we could shift our 
focus from internally disputing and talking/writing emails to real 
action in our communities and have THAT reflecting on this common tool 
us-imc. I would love it if all we talked about were our successes and 
from that good feeling we found ways to interact and understand each 
other as unique humans and collectives.
bht
portland imc volunteer


dnice wrote:

> Perhaps another useful question would be something along the lines of.
>
> Do you believe that specific checks on the corruptive influences of 
> monies makes payment of IMC volunteers an acceptable option?
>
> ex.
> term limits on paid positions
> only specific positions can be paid
> money made is on a commission basis.
> salary caps
> weekly time limits.
>
> A question along these lines i think will garner a response that may 
> be useful in helping to understand if folks are totally against paid 
> volunteers or if they believe a system of restrictions would make the 
> proposition more palatable.
>
> danscott
> nyc imc
>
> On Mar 9, 2005, at 12:02 AM, nick wrote:
>
>> for IMCs in our hemisphere - any feedback before I translate and send 
>> it?
>> Peace,
>> Nick
>> -----------------------------------------------
>> For each of these, do you and / or your local imc agree or disagree?
>>
>> 1) Our imc is currently all volunteer.
>>
>> 2) Our imc intends to remain all volunteer in the future.
>>
>> 3) The Principles of Unity should have included a statement against
>> the payment of money to imc members for doing imc work.
>>
>> 4) The question of having paid members is best left to each imc to
>> decide, instead of imposing authoritarian rules now, after some imcs
>> have already created paid positions.
>>
>> 5) It would be a good step if some imcs publicly announce themselves
>> as all-volunteer.
>>
>> 6) This is not such an important question and not worth spending much
>> time or effort on.
>> _______________________________________________
>> IMC-US mailing list
>> IMC-US at lists.ucimc.org
>> http://lists.chambana.net/cgi-bin/listinfo/imc-us
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> IMC-US mailing list
> IMC-US at lists.ucimc.org
> http://lists.chambana.net/cgi-bin/listinfo/imc-us
>