YOUR SPECIAL INVITATION...IF YOU'RE SPECIAL

Maybe some of you have received a pleading phone call from the Chairman of the Board himself telling you how important the Federation Leadership Institute is going to be and how important you are and how critical your participation (that means listening to the Chair [and the CEO, and probably the Treasurer]speak and speak and speak) is. Most of you have received nothing but Memos. Some of the Federation Chairs who have received these calls have told the Chairman of the Board that their federations will no longer pay Fair Share Dues and they are not coming; no doubt the Chair's response is "come down to Florida and let's talk about it." And you tell them to forget it.

Or, maybe your federation is along the travel route of UJC's leaders and, therefore, convenient for them to drop in for a "stop and chat" about your decision to reduce or even stop paying your dues. Maybe your federation leaders had asked to serve on the Strategic Planning Work Group and were ignored; or maybe your federation leaders asked to serve on the UJC Budget and Finance or Executive Committee and were ignored. "Never mind that," you will be told, "We're sorry. Just pay your dues and this time we will work wonders for you. Trust us."

You tell them that UJC has given you no reason to trust them and they respond: "That was then. This is now. We have a Strategic Plan now. Now you can trust us." You tell them you've read nothing in the Strategic Planning Group Recommendations that would help your federation or your donors. They then tell you: "this Plan will help UJC, so, of course, it will help you." (You know like "if it's good for General Motors, it's good for America.") Trust us, now.

You complain about, take your pick, say the Section on Membership (remember, "membership has its privileges") and say "this stuff is really terrible." And they say: "it's the consultant's fault. We had to rewrite the whole thing." You ask: "even the Recommendations?" And they respond: "Just the ones we disagreed with." Trust us....trust us...trust........

And then you laugh...and hang up the phone.

Rwexler