[Lnc-business] game played with JWMarriott Austin contract

[Caryn Ann Harlos]

Thank you Ms. Mattson for those facts.

I know there are people trying incredibly hard to be charitable, and I
respect that.  But there comes a time when there is smoke there is fire.
The fact that this is the second time this year where multiple LNC members
are alleging inappropriate conduct of our chair should give others pause.
The elephant in the room is that the chair has an agenda, and if the LNC
will not rubberstamp it, well too bad for the LNC.  That is not how any of
this is supposed to work.

*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 Thu, May 7, 2020 at 11:52 PM Alicia Mattson via Lnc-business <
lnc-business at hq.lp.org> wrote:

> Many concerns have been voiced here in recent days about actions which many
> feel are stepping across boundaries of the chair's proper role.  There are
> probably people who know additional information but who don't say it lest
> they be cast as a rabble-rouser.  Though I've debated it a bit, I've
> decided that with the happenings of late, I am going to share a couple of
> things that I know.
>
> It has been known since April 8 that the LNC was going to meet on May 2 to
> discuss the status of the convention which had been called for the
> JWMarriott in Austin over Memorial Day weekend.
>
> Yet, on April 27, only 5 days prior to the LNC's planned meeting to make a
> decision on the matter, the LNC Chair took a unilateral action which, had
> it been successful, would have cancelled the contract with the Austin
> hotel.
>
> On the afternoon of April 27, the LNC chair emailed the JWMarriott Austin a
> message which in part said,
> "our understanding is that JW Marriott Austin has invoked the
> 'Impossibility Clause' to terminate the Group Sales Agreement we executed
> in March 2018, and that Ms. Moreno’s April 26, 2020 email constitutes the
> 'written notice' of such termination specified therein. We are therefore
> writing to confirm that JW Marriott Austin’s termination of the Group Sales
> Agreement is 'without liability' as set forth in the Impossibility Clause."
>
> The rationale given was based on the hotel's inadvertent cancellation of
> our room block, and the apology which they sent to our delegates who had
> booked in the block.
>
> I particularly note that the language said that "our understanding is..."
> which implies that he is speaking on behalf of the LNC.  The LNC had not
> been consulted on this.  The LNC had a meeting scheduled in 5 days to
> deliberate the subject.  The COC had not been consulted on this.  This was
> the action of one person purporting to represent "our" understanding.
>
> The hotel wrote back again apologizing for the mistake with our guest room
> reservations, but they said essentially:  make no mistake, we are NOT
> invoking the impossibility clause, we still have a contract with you and
> look forward to hosting your event.
>
> Bylaws Article 10.1 clearly states that the LNC sets the time and place of
> our national conventions.  LNC Policy Manual 2.02.7 delegates a lot of
> matters to the Convention Oversight Committee, including making
> recommendations about sites, however the LNC clearly retains the sole
> authority to select a convention site.
>
> Since the LNC chose the time/place, the only power within the organization
> to change that decision also lies with the LNC.
>
> Had this email been successful in its purpose, the LNC would have had the
> decision made for them before our May 2 meeting even started.  None of us
> are in the dark about the fact that this move would have completely changed
> that meeting in a way that leaned towards the chair's desired outcome.
>
> I think the chair overstepped in this matter.
>
> In addition, the COC has encountered a situation in which a staff member
> (whom I will not name because it's not fair to that person who did not ask
> to be put in the middle) was directed to get in between the COC and a
> potential backup venue we were contacting.  This interference with the COC
> is a policy violation, is terribly unfair to the staff member in question,
> and given the other happenings it feels like an attempt to torpedo backup
> options, resulting in an increased likelihood of us moving in the direction
> the chair has said he wishes to go.
>
> I think my fellow LNC members should know about it when their authority to
> make decisions is being undermined in this way.
>
> According to the Peter Parker Principle, with great power comes great
> responsibility.
>
> The position of LNC Chair is just such a position.  It gives a person
> direct control over staff members and all party assets.  It is important
> for a chair to stay within the boundaries of the bylaws and LNC policy and
> resist the temptations that come with the title, particularly in times when
> the organization is stressed.
>
> -Alicia
>