[Lnc-business] Recent concerns and issues

Fri Nov 1 17:32:14 EDT 2019

Ms. Adams, I am in agreement with your bullet list, and have one to add of
my own, though I am not sure how to address.

We have a policy manual that addresses behaviours concerning "workplace"
interactions focusing on sensitive issues such as prejudice and sexual
harassment.  I believe we watch a video and that is that, and it is a lip
service only policy.  This week there were allegations of breach of that
policy.  It does not matter for this point whether anyone thinks those
allegations were correct.  It makes no difference really anyone's view on
any of the actors involved.  The fact is that a very volatile situation was
allowed to continue with such allegations, and the Chair was nowhere to be
found.  I do not find that acceptable.  While I typically appreciate Mr.
Sarwark's handsoff approach, there are times that is not appropriate, and
that was one of them.  This isn't the only time that I felt that pretty
serious allegations were ignored that could cause the Party legal problems
in the future.  I would like this to be addressed as well and procedures
put into place to keep such things from happening.

I further will state something that I ask everyone to step back and
consider dispassionately.  Many of us have a lot of experience in the
corporate or semi-corporate world.  There are certain duties of HR
departments, or in the absence of that structure, the management.  One of
those is how to deal with the new introduction of a disability into the
workplace.  Typically, issues are anticipated and addressed ahead of time
by the manager, and information and education provided.  Absolutely nothing
like that has been done in this situation, nor in any of my observations of
past LNCs, but that knowledge is limited.

Everything, absolutely everything, was very badly handled, and almost
everyone that was a significant participant in the particular rabbit trail,
myself included, had a part to play.  I would only exclude Mr. Longstreth
and Ms. Sexton.  And the absent Chair most certainly did.

I have to be my best advocate, no one else will be, and this board needs
some serious intervention on issues of communication with aspies, and that
includes myself obviously.  The end result was a figuratively screaming
match at a person in overload - which is not so flatteringly called (though
accurate), an autistic meltdown.  Yelling does not help there any more than
yelling at an autistic young person to stop "stimming" (such as
hand-flapping etc).

I would hope that the Chair or the ED would proactively prepare to
implement procedures on handling disability in this workplace, and be
prepared to start that discussion in Miami.

*In Liberty,*

* Personal Note:  I have what is commonly known as Asperger's Syndrome
(part of the autism spectrum).  This can affect inter-personal
communication skills in both personal and electronic arenas.  If anyone
found anything offensive or overly off-putting (or some other social faux
pas), please contact me privately and let me know. *

On Fri, Nov 1, 2019 at 3:16 PM Caryn Ann Harlos <caryn.ann.harlos at lp.org>
wrote:

> I was able to find a copy - here is a link.
>
>
> https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zGZVOP8KhiTEVm3cbD2iekMl3f425a61/view?usp=sharing
>
> *In Liberty,*
>
> * Personal Note:  I have what is commonly known as Asperger's Syndrome
> (part of the autism spectrum).  This can affect inter-personal
> communication skills in both personal and electronic arenas.  If anyone
> found anything offensive or overly off-putting (or some other social faux
> pas), please contact me privately and let me know. *
>
>
>
> On Fri, Nov 1, 2019 at 3:14 PM Caryn Ann Harlos <caryn.ann.harlos at lp.org>
> wrote:
>
>> Mr. Longstreth there is a third letter clarifying for Mr. Sarwark that
>> there were specific questions.
>>
>> I think I can speak for nearly all the signers that in a do-over we would
>> only include the ethical issues rather than the management frustrations.
>>
>> Honestly we felt we had one chance to have our chair’s full attention and
>> asked everything that was building up.  Mr. Sarwark notes some were style
>> complaints.  That doesn’t mean they were not important but he has no
>> ethical obligation to answer those.
>>
>> The third letter focused on the ethical issues.  We do not believe that
>> ignoring the questions is at all proper.
>>
>> On Fri, Nov 1, 2019 at 3:06 PM Richard Longstreth via Lnc-business <
>> lnc-business at hq.lp.org> wrote:
>>
>>> For reference, Erin and several others on the LNC have been trying to get
>>> answers to some questions from the Chair and the Executive Director for
>>> nearly a month without much progress. I am providing a link to a letter
>>> that was sent to the Chair on October 8th and his response so that the
>>> public may have full context of everything Erin has brought forth in her
>>> email. No signers of the letter objected to it's becoming public as these
>>> are serious issues concerning our Party and it's future. Even if there is
>>> no wrong doing, the LNC and membership deserve to understand the
>>> motivations of certain activities and full transparency.
>>>
>>> Letter to Chair Sarwark, October 8:
>>>
>>> https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2iKd8j9elY0V3BYeldhME41c1NZZ2NtNTlNS0xCWWFLenp3/view?usp=drivesdk
>>>
>>> Response from Chair Sarwark, October 9:
>>>
>>> https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2iKd8j9elY0SDFjRlhSaDJpSWFpVU55ZC1FajRDVnVrZ04w/view?usp=drivesdk
>>>
>>> Richard Longstreth
>>> Region 1 Representative (AK, AZ, CO, HI, KS, MT, NM, OR, UT, WA, WY)
>>> Libertarian National Committee
>>> richard.longstreth at lp.org
>>> 931.538.9300
>>>
>>> Sent from my Mobile Device
>>>
>>> On Fri, Nov 1, 2019, 12:58 Erin Adams via Lnc-business <
>>> lnc-business at hq.lp.org> wrote:
>>>
>>> > All,
>>> > Recently many questions and concerns have been raised by LNC members to
>>> > this list. The questions have, in my opinion, mostly gone unanswered
>>> and
>>> > the concerns have not, also in my opinion, been addressed in any
>>> productive
>>> > manner.
>>> >
>>> > The issues are not going to simply go away and I very much look
>>> forward to
>>> > having the opportunity to discuss them in person in Miami and will
>>> > certainly be asking these same questions at that meeting. There were
>>> > serious ethical concerns and questions brought up in a series of
>>> > communications that have not even been addressed that need to be,
>>> Mainly
>>> > our ED's involvement in political events connected to other political
>>> > party's, and Lack of disclosure of potential conflicts of interest by
>>> our
>>> > ED and our Chair   , That may be better addressed in person.
>>> >
>>> > For me, the question becomes, what next? How do we as an LNC address
>>> these
>>> > issues and move forward in a way that is conducive to progress?
>>> >
>>> > I have a few suggestions.
>>> >
>>> > One: I think it behooves us to put aside personal differences and
>>> > Personality conflicts and focus on the issues.
>>> >
>>> > Two: I think that there absolutely have been failures to follow policy
>>> > that need to be addressed so that they can be prevented moving forward
>>> >
>>> > Three: I think one issue we all seem to agree on is that our policy
>>> manual
>>> > is problematic and I would volunteer to work with others on this LNC to
>>> > correct that.
>>> >
>>> > Four: In reading the contract of the new DD I feel that we have limited
>>> > risk in at very least giving Our new DD an opportunity to do this job
>>> as
>>> > she has been placed in a horrible situation not of her design.
>>> >
>>> > Five: Absolutely this LNC needs and should expect better and more
>>> frequent
>>> > communication from our ED and each other. I feel like we ALL can
>>> improve on
>>> > our communication, Myself included
>>> >
>>> > I truly hope and believe that as a group, we CAN come together and
>>> achieve
>>> > success in dealing with concerns and issues and I feel that even tho
>>> we,
>>> > from time to time, seem to not be a conducive team, I have seen the
>>> amazing
>>> > work this LNC can and has done when we simply decide to put aside our
>>> > differences and do so.
>>> >
>>> > Erin Adams Region 7 alt.
>>> >
>>>
>> --
>>
>> *In Liberty,*
>>
>> * Personal Note:  I have what is commonly known as Asperger's Syndrome
>> (part of the autism spectrum).  This can affect inter-personal
>> communication skills in both personal and electronic arenas.  If anyone
>> found anything offensive or overly off-putting (or some other social faux
>> pas), please contact me privately and let me know. *
>>
>>