INTERNATIONAL CARTEL RAILROADS THOMPSON
When an individual is elected as Region President, the members of that region expect that person to represent them in all matters affecting their region. In addition to the Region 1 Policy which states that the President represents the members of the region, the WBCCI constitution reinforces that policy by stating under in Sec 1.
ARTICLE IX “… In the event the Region Presi*dent is unable to be present at a meeting of the Board of Trust*ees, the next ranking Region Vice President, in the order 1st and 2nd, shall sit with the Board at that meeting as
a voting member representing that Region in all matters coming before the Board….
” Thus it was clear that the Region 1 President must represent the region members in all matters.
Background: - Why was the e-mail written?
Therefore at the Electronic IBT meeting after the midwinter at Perry, I voted NO on the Motorhome Issue. This was reinforced when the majority of members in 100% of the New England units voted NO at the delegates meeting at Perry. The international leadership appeared to be very unhappy about this and so the Region 1 Proxy representation motion was called “out of order” by the IP at the Jan 08 Mid-Winter. (although according to Robert’s Rules (RONR) it was not. Proper procedures were used and all members notified and a copy of the motion provided 90 days in advance.)
For several meetings of the IBT, the “business” at hand was deciding Titles for spouses/mates, discussing badges and three digit numbers for selected “international” persons and increasing the expense allowances. In reference to members, they raised the dues for MALs, ruled the Proxy Representation (Not Proxy Voting) motion “out-of-Order” and increased their deficit spending. So Bob Thompson (BOB T) wrote his e-mail rendering his opinions about the failed performance of the 2008 Administration.
Mind you, in that e-mail, Bob T did NOT cuss, did NOT use foul language, and referred to the International President (IP) by his title or by MR, or by his name. Bob T pointed out the 1M1V; the deficit spending; the issue with the parade flags; Representation issues; Recruiting membership and Retention problems along with some other minor issues.
Who was it sent to and why?
The e-mail was sent to the WBCCI Executive Committee (EC7) and the other IBT members; to the International Standing Committee members; to the Region VP’s, to the PIP’s and a few other people who appear to have influence with the leadership of WBCCI.
The deadline for submission of IBT business was May 30th, just a few days off and it was hoped that those receiving the e-mail would get some real meaningful business before the IBT.
Thus, in my position as Region President, I prepared a message indicating the position of the region on several matters to include 1M1V, Proxy Representation, Membership recruitment and Retention among other items of concern. This message was sent t5o those who were either in leadership positions or had a great amount of influence on the leadership. Although I received much support, two PIP’s responded in a very insolent manner (which were the only negative messages received). What happen next follows:
It appears that the “International Cartel” has, with the cooperation of WBCCI International President railroaded Bob Thompson for expressing his opinions about the performance of the administration under the last PIP.
Who is the International Cartel? In my opinion, it is a group of self-serving individuals consisting of the International Officers (EC7); the past international officers (PIP); and selected international committee members. Some of their “Perks” are: special parking, free meals at the members expense and who consider themselves the “Elite” – example, one PIP spoke about “Quality over Quantity” and something to the effect that we should be more selective. (is that racial or what, I don’t know?)
Do you know that International President (IP) stated that the “Blue Book” would be followed, and to prove it, he stopped a grievance against a PIP because it was filed after more than 30 days. BUT he ignored the Blue Book and allowed his administration to ignore the same blue book by-laws and procedures in the headlong effort to railroad Bob Thompson via a grievance was dated 34 days AFTER my message was written and first sent out. (Something wrong there, 30 day limit when against a PIP but ok to proceed when a grievance is dated 34 days against a member expressed his opinions. Just because the PIP did not read or receive the message when first transmitted is not a valid excuse. If one could file a grievance about an incident which was over 30 days ago because they just found out about it , then I could file a grievance now about an election problem which occurred last year because “I just heard about it”
Example: Article V. sec 2 A. “it shall be the duty of such committee to mail a copy of such complaint to the accused and notify him …” To this date Bob Thompson has NOT received written and post marked notification of a grievance being filed against him nor has he received a copy of the “enclosed complaint” as indicated in the PIP’s grievance letter of June 9,. It appears, Mt. President, that your August 28, 2008 comments were not true as to your “facts” “5A and 5D”. Looks like the required process was, in fact, NOT followed. And where is the truth in “5B”? Can any of the executive committee provide a list of 5 or more WBCCI committees or projects that Bob Thompson has worked on during his service of over 33 years? And , if not, How could they have considered his WBCCI service?
Well the PIP who filed the grievance apparently chose this as an opportunity to achieve “quality” over “quantity” and get rid of “differing opinions” First off, the PIP’s cover letter contains NOTHING EXCEPT his opinions as to what Bob Thompson was trying to do. Secondly, His “Attached evidence” is nothing more then an apparent copy of the e-mail which has been altered and marked up. Finally, the PIP refers to “The enclosed complaint and grievance …” which, to this date has never been provided to Bob T nor has it been shown or read to him. The PIP’s grievance is without substance. It only reflects his biased opinions..
Wait, there is more.
Para B,Sec.2, Art V of the Club By-Laws state that: “A complaint so filed, shall be in writing and shall state the date and place of the alleged violation or misconduct and the facts upon which such complaint is based.”
The PIP’s letter did NOT meef or comply with this article. He provided the date of the e-mail which he received
And not the date the message first out. His letter did not state the place of the alleged violation – the Internet is not a place, it is ciber space and covers the entire world., and NO facts were stated. Thus the letter is non-compliant and should have also been rejected as the letter was 34 days after my e-mail was first sent out.
The PIP’s letter was sent to the then IP who forward it (instead of rejecting as he should have as it was non-compliant with the By-Laws) to the Ethics and Greivance Committee Chaiman under a cover letter which indicates that three copies of the “complaint” are included for his committee’s consideration. Although Bob Thompson is copied in the letter, he was NOT provided a copy of the “Complaint”. (The only reason Bob received a copy of the IP letter of transmittal to the E&GC was because it is required to send a copy to the Region President.
Now Chairman of the E&GC had been quite vocal in his attack on Bob Thompson at the Cape Cod spring business meeting. His attempts to demean Bob Thompson were ill received by the unit and they voted to support Bob by a very large margin.
Now, since the Chairman of the E&GC was “on record” as being biased against Bob Thompson, he should have stepped down from being on the committee, but he did not, thus conducting himself in an un-ethical manner from that point on.
On 22 June 2008, while en-route to his trailer, Bob was approached by a member of his region who was NOT an International Officer nor a member of the E&GC who said he found out that a grievance had been filed against me and asked if he could help. Now, at this point in a grievance, only the ones who complained, the EC7 and the E&GC should have been aware of the grievance, but it appears that it was general knowledge BEFORE Bob T received notification. Confidential? No, this railroad job was being broadcast to others.
Upon return to his trailer in the late afternoon, Bob found a document in the message device on his trailer from E&GC which contained 10 questions, some of which were very biased against Bob and some questions appeared to be a witch hunt for someone else.
Later that same day, the chair of E&GC came to Bob’s trailer and demanded that he answer the questions and asked Bob if he would meet him in the morning. Bob indicated yes, but first wanted a copy of the complaint. The E&GC left and returned a bit later with a copy of the PIP’s cover letter and the attachment, (the altered copy of the e-mail message.) BUT NOT any copies of the complaint.
The E&GC never did provide Bob with a copy of the complaint, only its cover letter. At that time, the E&GC stated that Bob was to attend a “Hearing” the next day with his committee. Bob responded that he wanted it in writing and stated that he would not attend such. The E&GC left and returned shortly indicating that he had talked to the then International 3rd VP and stated that Bob had to attend the hearing the next day. Bob stated that he would talk to his attorney before attending any hearing, The E&GC response was that Bob could call his lawyer before the meeting (08:00 AM EST- No Lawyer whould be available) and he then gave Bob a paper which indicated the date, time and place of the hearing. Bob indicated that he would not attend that hearing at that time.
The E&GC’s repeated actions and demands reflect gross mis-cdonduct and unethical conduct. The E&GC did NOT follow the procedures outlined in the WBCCI by-laws. The E&GC did NOT mail a proper notification (with the postmark as that starts the time line for the accused to exercise their rights). The E&GC scheduled (and held?) a hearing at a time which was less then the 30 days provided in the by-laws. It also appears from his own statements (in front of a witness) that he discussed Bob’s case with a member of the WBCCI Executive Committee out of turn and that International Officer should have withdrawn from the case, but did not (more questions of ethical mis-conduct of the part of both persons..) Let me set aside the gross mis-conduct so far and address the second member of the Ethics committee.
A PIP who was a member of the Ethics and Grievance Committee, sent an e-mail to Bob Thompson (and copied several others) which clearly disclosed his bias against Bob before the complaint was received by his committee. Futher, that same PIP sent several e-mails to others expressing his comments against Bob Thompson to include false statements. He said that Bob Thompson was found to be “not qualified” by the WBCCI Nominating Committee. In truth, Bob T has a written and signed letter from the Chairman of the Nominating Committee that states he is and was fully qualified (but not selected).. Thus this PIP should have stepped down when the committee received the complaint, but he chose the un-ethical route of remaining on the committee.
Thus two out of three of the grievance committee were clearly anti-Bob and were conducting themselves in an un-ethical manner by remaining on the committee.. The third member, while a strong supporter of Barry in the upcoming election, did not express any bias to the best of my knowledge.
On the 14th of August 2008, an e-mail was received from the current WBCCI President (via Now Region 1 President) which indicated that the Ethics & Greivance Committee had met on or before the 21 of July and had sent a letter dated 21 July 2008 to IP with their “findings and recommendations”. The letter went on and indicated that the WBCCI Executive Committee had met and Suspended Bob Thompson for one year, effective the 15 August 2008.
No notification was received in reference to the above hearing nor was I given a chance to appear or to submit documentation or witnesses to the E&G Committee. It is to be noted that the E&GC Chairman, did NOT follow the procedures under the By-Laws and that it was only 29 days from his June 22nd verbal notification to the July 21st letter of his committee’s “findings and recommendations”. The Blue Book / WBCCI By-Laws states that no such hearing will take place less then 30 days after notification. Again No letter of notification has ever been received about that July hearing. Or any other hearing for that matter.
The IP was in my opinion remiss in not replacing the tainted ethics & grievance committee. He knew or should have known of E&GC Chair;s prior efforts against Bob T and his discussions with members of the executive committee; he should have known that the E&GCand Bob T belonged to the Cape Cod Unit; and it appears that he did not take into count the fact that, to this date Bob Thompson has not received a written (nor a verbal) copy of the “Enclosed Complaint” referenced in PIP’s letter and, of course, it appears that the Executive Committee did not consider Bob Thompson’s years of service to WBCCI. Don’t think they even cared.
Of course, a certified letter was sent to WBCCI President asking that the Executive Committee reconsider their decision. – NO Response after a month – Guess IP is “too busy” to reply. (By the way, “Reconsideration” is allowed in Robert’s Rules.)
Another letter, along with a copy of the above letter, was sent via certified mail to WBCCI Headquarters to be forwarded to the members of the IBT. While a letter from IP was received which indicated that a 3 man committee would hear the appeal, there is no indication that each member of the IBT received their copy in accordance with the procedures.
At this point, one should be aware that the WBCCI President who is on the Executive Committee and on the IBT could appoint any three people he wants, even members of the Executive Committee who gave the suspension.
One should know that Bob Thompson has worked for over two years on the development and organization of the first Regional Rally in Prince Edward Island, Canada and that the suspension was timed to take place just 2 days before the start of that rally. However, the planning of the rally was such that the Canadian Atlantic unit was able to step in and host the rally without missing a heart beat.
Ok, there you have it. No “he said – she said” because: I have two laptops that have mikes and video cameras built into them and were on; a miniature tape recorder; witnesses and written documents. If there is any other reason for my suspension, I am unaware of it. OH! By the way, the last certified letter from Mr. Larson which indicated that a copy of the complaint was enclosed did NOT have such, Yes, it had a copy of the PIP’s cover letter, but NOT the referenced “enclosed Complaint” Don’t know what they are trying to hide.
Now don’t tell me about ethics and grievances being secret – The Constitution and the By-Laws do not require such. And Robert’s Rules say only that the “investigation” part to the Committee’s Hearing is ”Confidential” the rest is NOT confidential – Read the fine print in ROONR Just thought I would pre-empt your comments on such. You’ll have a nice day.
Bob Thompson served two months of the bogus suspension when it was overturned by the IBT review committee who also apologized to Bob and his wife for the wrong doing brought upon them and who also reinstated them with no break in service. They also requested that the IP apologize to the Thompson’s and print their findings in the blue Beret. Of course, the IP refused, saying that info on grievances was confidential. Of Course he was wrong. Only the investigations are confidential but NOT the process nor the hearings and in fact RONR indicates that such should be held before the members.
Now don’t let me say the EC7 was biased but I saw and interesting advertisement by the I2VP VP which said - Wanted person with Marketing and Sales Experience – If the EC7 had read Bob Thompson’s resume in the April issue of the Blue Beret and considered his service to WBCCI, they would have seen that Bob has a degree in Marketing and Sales among other degrees.— biased, yep, I believe so.
No Bob Thompson will not be going to WBCCI International Rally at Madison – Because he can not and will not support leadership that abuses their authority, violates the Constitution and By-Laws and ignores RONR and Interferes with the election process as they did with Leo’s candidate efforts and who think nothing of putting the Club in the red.
That’s all folks. My third Presentation will be on the “State of WBCCI” and my comments on how to fix it before it is too late. And, of course, that will be followed by my forth presentation: “A new Beginning” You don’t want to miss either of these.
Reply to Discussion
hutch309.2
10-24-2008 @ 8:32 PM 
I think that is obvious as obstruction and shameful that it does not get flagged and corrected by the parliamentarian and other officials of the club. But it would not be the first year of such grevious obstruction and voting fraud. Arm your delegate to vote FOR CHANGE!!
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