<div dir="ltr">Colleagues:<div><br></div><div>Please allow me to write briefly in favor of this motion. While many of the arguments, on both sides, have been presented in person at the last meeting, I wish to emphasize the institutional point of view. The EPCC is empowered to set employment policies; the LNC is empowered to reject those policies, but the chair is not empowered to do so unilaterally. Yet, our contract process makes it possible for the chair to do so anyway. Consider that, in an earlier EPCC report, we recommended that contracts be aligned with the Employee Manual; for instance, that vacation be given as in the Manual rather than being set up differently for different employees. A reasonable inference from that recommendation is that, in fact, this has not always been done. Consequently, you can conclude that, while the EPCC sets out a vacation policy, the chair can simply write a contract specifying a different policy for an individual employee - a modification to EPCC policy that should require LNC approval. The EPCC can protest, but to no avail; the LNC, meanwhile, need not even know about the matter until, well, sometime after review by counsel. It makes sense, then, to institute EPCC approval for contracts - any exception or deviation from the policies set by the EPCC should require approval by the EPCC. I am speaking here both historically and forward-looking; it is not targeted at any particular or current occupant of the chair. </div><div><br></div><div>This motion targets both of those issues - it requires EPCC approval, and it allows the LNC to see the contract prior to execution. Some will, though, raise concerns about an abundance of chefs and their impact on a broth. This is a reasonable concern; after all, that's why Congress gives the President and his administration "fast-track" authorization to negotiate trade deals and treaties, with the Congress then approving (or not) the deal after it is negotiated - no one wants to try to conduct a negotiation with 535 people sitting at the table on one side. Note, though, that Congress still has to approve the deal. The current motion is less akin to the addition of chefs, and more akin to the addition of tasters. No one has ever suggested that too many tasters ruin the broth. This does not call for the EPCC to participate in contract negotiation; it simply calls for the EPCC to vote up or down on the contract the chair freely negotiates with the prospective employee. It doesn't call for the LNC to participate in contract negotiation; it allows the LNC to see the contract before it is executed. This is not seating an additional 3 people at the table, let alone 17. The broth will be just fine, and will still have only 2 or 3 cooks involved in its preparation.</div><div><br></div><div>I have argued for this change since joining the LNC. I think it is well-supported by EPCC reports at prior meetings and by information presented at those meetings. The change makes sense institutionally; the evidence is there, and arguments against this change have been addressed at several meetings. I urge you to support this amendment.</div><div><br></div><div>Joshua Katz</div></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br clear="all"><div><div class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr">Joshua A. Katz<div>Westbrook CT Planning Commission (L in R seat)</div></div></div></div>
<br><div class="gmail_quote">On Wed, Oct 21, 2015 at 2:40 PM, Alicia Mattson <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:agmattson@gmail.com" target="_blank">agmattson@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr"><div><div>We have an electronic mail ballot.<br> <br><b><u>Votes are due to the LNC-Business list by October 31, 2015 at 11:59:59pm Pacific time.<br></u></b> <br><u>Sponsor:</u> Mattson, Kirkland, Goldstein, Riemers<br>
<br><u>Motion:</u> amend the Policy Manual by <u><span style="color:blue">inserting</span></u> and <s><span style="color:red">striking out</span></s> text as specified in the attached PDF<span class="HOEnZb"><font color="#888888"><br><br></font></span></div><span class="HOEnZb"><font color="#888888">Alicia Mattson<br></font></span></div><span class="HOEnZb"><font color="#888888">LNC Secretary<br><br><br><br></font></span></div>
<br>_______________________________________________<br>
Lnc-business mailing list<br>
<a href="mailto:Lnc-business@hq.lp.org">Lnc-business@hq.lp.org</a><br>
<a href="http://hq.lp.org/mailman/listinfo/lnc-business_hq.lp.org" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">http://hq.lp.org/mailman/listinfo/lnc-business_hq.lp.org</a><br>
<br></blockquote></div><br></div>