[IL-Talk] Fwd: [NFB-Announce] Caring concerns of James and Susan Gashel

Mon Jul 12 14:55:39 UTC 2021

Agreed

On 7/12/21, Ronza Othman via IL-Talk <il-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> I’m surprised you chose  to forward this dribble to this list. this is
> harmful to survivors and invalidates their experience.
>
> Ronza Othman, President
> National Federation of the Blind of Maryland
> 443-426-4110
> Sent from my iPhone
>
>> On Jul 11, 2021, at 5:10 PM, Syed via IL-Talk <il-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>
>> 
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
>>
>> Begin forwarded message:
>>
>>> From: James Gashel via NFB-Announce <nfb-announce at nfbnet.org>
>>> Date: July 10, 2021 at 10:16:50 PM CDT
>>> To: nfb-announce at nfbnet.org
>>> Subject: [NFB-Announce] Caring concerns of James and Susan Gashel
>>> Reply-To: James Gashel <jgashel0923 at gmail.com>
>>>
>>> STATEMENT OF CARING CONCERNS OF JAMES AND SUSAN GASHEL
>>>
>>> I.    THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND’S 2021 SPECIAL COMMITTEE
>>> REPORT ON SEXUAL MISCONDUCT
>>>
>>> We write these concerns because we care about the NFB.  As a member of
>>> the Board, Mr. Gashel voted in favor of the Code of Conduct, in favor of
>>> the SAFE fund, and voted to release the Report for our members to review,
>>> but did not and does not endorse the Report’s content or conclusions.  We
>>> write, because, in its zeal to curb misconduct, the members need to know
>>> the NFB is creating a kangaroo court.
>>>
>>> We stand with survivors.  No one should have to suffer unwanted
>>> harassment or violence, whether in the NFB or anywhere.  Standing with
>>> survivors does not mean we should turn over our organization to outside
>>> investigators.  This disempowers the affiliates, the backbone of our
>>> organization.
>>>
>>> The Code of Conduct defines sexual harassment, but does not define sexual
>>> misconduct.
>>> https://nfb.org/about-us/history-and-governance/code-conduct.
>>> Regardless, the Special Committee used the term sexual misconduct (which
>>> wasn’t defined) and not sexual harassment.  This is not, we repeat, not,
>>> an issue of terminology.  According to RAINN, sexual harassment is widely
>>> understood to be a narrow term as compared to the broader term of sexual
>>> misconduct.  The substitution of terms is a misleading sleight of hand.
>>> Did the Report conclude any transgressor committed sexual harassment?  We
>>> don’t know.  Therefore, we don’t know if any transgressor violated the
>>> Code of Conduct.  By being casual about the terms, the Special Committee
>>> leads us to believe that the Code of Conduct was violated.  We don’t know
>>> and neither do the NFB members.
>>>
>>> The Report lacks investigative standards, the text is conclusory, not
>>> supported by any stated evidence, and written to evoke strong feelings.
>>> The Report says that Dr. Schroeder was guilty of sexual misconduct over
>>> four decades, yet no allegations go back nearly that far.  Sadly, we
>>> believe the Special Committee’s methods resulted in a predetermined
>>> outcome – a kangaroo court.
>>>
>>> According to the Report, the investigator was objective.  We don’t agree.
>>>  Sexual misconduct, not being defined, is in the eye of the beholder – in
>>> this case, the External Investigator and the President of the NFB.  Yet,
>>> we don’t know what the investigator considers to be sexual misconduct,
>>> neither does the membership.
>>>
>>> We acknowledge mistakes have been made; they have been made by the Board
>>> of Directors as a whole.  The Report blames the immediate past president
>>> and current president, while this may be expedient; we find it to be
>>> untrue and unfair to Dr. Maurer and President Riccobono.
>>>
>>> 52 separate people are alleged to be either transgressors or individuals
>>> who failed to “respond adequately to sexual misconduct allegations.”
>>> Lumping these two categories together creates a perception of a larger
>>> problem than we have in NFB.  We don’t even know what failed to “respond
>>> adequately” means.  Is it leadership response, is it witness response?
>>> We don’t know.  Did those who allegedly failed to respond adequately
>>> violate the Code of Conduct? We don’t know.  Did the transgressors
>>> violate the Code of Conduct? We don’t know.  Is consensual sexual
>>> behavior sexual misconduct?  We don’t know.  All we do know is that the
>>> transgressors violated whatever standard is applied by the External
>>> Investigator.  But we don’t know the standard, and neither does the
>>> membership.
>>>
>>> Given the size of the NFB, and the fact that allegations from the distant
>>> past were considered, we need to step back and reconsider the Report’s
>>> conclusions.
>>>
>>> If the NFB adopts the Report’s recommendations for processing sexual
>>> misconduct complaints, an External Investigator decides if it is “more
>>> likely than not” that a violation took place and recommends disciplinary
>>> actions.  The President accepts, rejects or modifies the report and
>>> notifies the parties.  An appeal has to be filed within 30 days; the
>>> President picks a three-member Appeal Panel from the Board.  But the
>>> Appeal Panel cannot overturn the President’s decision unless it is
>>> “manifestly unjust,” this means that it has to be plain and obvious that
>>> the decision was wrong.  There are no other appeals permitted.  There is
>>> an exception for “extenuating circumstances” but this is not explained.
>>> We simply don’t know.
>>>
>>> One thing we do know is this: Under the NFB Constitution,
>>> https://nfb.org/about-us/history-and-governance/constitution, the
>>> President does not have unilateral authority to suspend, expel, or
>>> discipline a member. This authority is expressly reserved to the Board of
>>> Directors and the Convention.
>>>
>>> Therefore, the actions now being taken by the president violate Article
>>> III, Section E of the NFB’s Constitution.  Under Article III, there are
>>> only two ways for a member to be suspended, expelled, or disciplined:  by
>>> a two thirds majority vote of the Board of Directors or by a simple
>>> majority of the states present and voting at a national convention.  The
>>> national convention has the sole authority to reverse the Board of
>>> Directors.
>>>
>>> Having not amended the Constitution, President Riccobono is throwing
>>> people out.  Because there is no appeal to the Board of Directors, and no
>>> opportunity to go to convention for redress, the investigation and
>>> appeals process being used is unconstitutional, since the constitution
>>> requires a two-thirds Board vote, reversible by the national convention.
>>> The NFB membership deserves better.  The membership deserves to have the
>>> final say, if anyone wants to take a discipline issue that far.
>>>
>>> Our concerns are informed by the references set forth at the end of this
>>> statement.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> II.    CURRENT STATUS AND PRIORITIES OF THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE
>>> BLIND
>>>
>>> We fear that the NFB is being consumed by internal disputes while losing
>>> its focus on the compelling struggle of blind people for equality,
>>> opportunity, and security in society. Mr. Gashel has proposed the
>>> following initiatives; all were rejected by President Riccobono:
>>>
>>> Public benefits advocacy.  From 2014 through 2018, Mr. Gashel urged more
>>> emphasis on advocacy by NFB on behalf of our members eligible for and/or
>>> receiving public benefits, including SSI and SSDI.  President Riccobono
>>> agreed that these efforts were needed but said NFB lacks staff and
>>> resources.  It’s all a matter of priority.
>>> In January 2018 after Mr. Gashel retired, he offered to contribute time
>>> to develop an advocacy effort with respect to Social Security and other
>>> public benefits, but President Riccobono did nothing.
>>> Mr. Gashel, given his unique and extensive experience as a lobbyist,
>>> proposed to Mr. Riccobono a plan for the NFB to have a more consistent
>>> effort in state and local legislation and advocacy, including
>>> volunteering to lead the effort, but President Riccobono did absolutely
>>> nothing, while agreeing that action was necessary in this area.  His
>>> announcement to establish a committee on state and local legislation and
>>> advocacy after Mr. Gashel’s resignation exemplifies the problem of Mr.
>>> Riccobono’s reactive, not decisive, leadership.
>>>
>>> We are losing our focus.  Only the membership can bring it back.  We urge
>>> all members to ensure that NFB remains the unified voice of the nation’s
>>> blind, and that, with love, hope, and determination we will turn our
>>> dreams into reality.
>>>
>>> REFERENCES:
>>> https://hbr.org/2020/05/why-sexual-harassment-programs-backfire
>>> https://www.rainn.org/articles/sexual-harassment.
>>> https://www.newamerica.org/better-life-lab/reports/nowwhat-sexual-harassment-solutions-toolkit/top-down-industry-level-or-organizational-change.
>>>
>>> https://www.unh.edu/research/prevention-innovations-research-center/evi.dence-based-initiatives.
>>> https://www.apa.org/monitor/2018/02/sexual-harassment.
>>> https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/act-four/wp/2018/01/17/the-metoo-movement-is-at-a-dangerous-tipping-point/
>>>
>>> James Gashel joined the National Federation of the Blind in 1965 and
>>> became the first president of the NFB Student Division. In 1974 he joined
>>> the NFB staff as chief of the Washington office, where he became one of
>>> the best-known advocates for the blind in the United States. His
>>> well-known efforts in Washington have led to significant changes in
>>> virtually every law directly affecting blind Americans: the Social
>>> Security Act, the Rehabilitation Act, the Randolph-Sheppard Act, the
>>> Americans with Disabilities Act, the Copyright Act, the Individuals with
>>> Disabilities Education Act, and the Help America Vote Act. While
>>> championing these causes, Jim has won the love and respect of the
>>> thousands of blind men and women across America who have directly
>>> benefited from his informed and effective personal advocacy.
>>> During Jim's service at the NFB, he received the Commissioner's Award for
>>> Outstanding Leadership in Rehabilitation Services to the Disabled, the
>>> highest honor conferred by the Commissioner of the Rehabilitation
>>> Services Administration. He received the Secretary of Labor's Outstanding
>>> American Award and the NFB’s Jacobus tenBroek Award, the NFB’s highest
>>> honor to recognize members and leaders in our movement.
>>>
>>> Susan Rockwood Gashel is an attorney based in Honolulu, Hawaii.  Her
>>> employment history covers work with non-profits, government agencies, and
>>> the private practice of law over five decades.  She has worked with
>>> migrant farmworkers and governing boards, as a staff attorney for
>>> Hawaii’s open meetings and public records agency; as a deputy attorney
>>> general assigned to the Departments of Health and Human Services, and has
>>> served as an arbitrator for 17 state licensing agencies in actions
>>> against the Federal government, as well as representing blind vendors
>>> from 11 states.  In 2008 she met James Gashel; they married in 2012.  She
>>> has been admitted as a member to the Supreme Court of Hawaii, United
>>> States District Court for the District of Hawaii, United States Court of
>>> Appeals for the Ninth and Seventh Circuits, United States District Court
>>> for the District of Colorado, United States Court of Federal Claims, and
>>> United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan.
>>>
>>>
>>> Best and Aloha,
>>> James Gashel
>>>
>>> M: (808) 234-9259
>>> E: jgashel0923 at gmail.com
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
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