Motions are binding

[Guest Drum]

Motions properly put and decided are binding. But what if a committee ignores this basic position or seeks ways to circumvent the decision.

What can the ordinary member do prevent the committee from ignoring the decision? 

What arguments can an ordinary member make at AGM to protect the right that motions decides on (either passed or rejected) are binding? 

[Hieu H. Huynh]

They can be disciplined.

[Richard Brown]

You can try quoting from page 48 where it says that immediately after the vote the chair announces whether the motion was adopted or failed. There is nothing anywhere in RONR to indicate that the date or time that an adopted motion becomes effective is anything other than the moment it is adopted. Everything else in the book supports that proposition.

Edited to add;  Perhaps I don’t understand the question. Are some members trying to claim that adopted motions are not binding and can be ignored? 

Edited November 19, 2019 at 02:00 AM by Richard Brown
Added last paragraph

[Josh Martin]

2 hours ago, Guest Drum said:

What can the ordinary member do prevent the committee from ignoring the decision? 

Make a motion to remove the members of the committee who are the problem (even all of them, if necessary) and replace them with members who will follow orders. Committees are subordinate to the assembly. There is no need for the assembly to put up with such nonsense.

2 hours ago, Guest Drum said:

What arguments can an ordinary member make at AGM to protect the right that motions decides on (either passed or rejected) are binding? 

I’m not sure that people who have the absurd idea that a subordinate committee can ignore the directives of its parent assembly are likely to listen to reason, but if you want to try to convince them before you simply fire them, see below:

“Committees, on the other hand, are bodies that are often, but not necessarily, very small, and that are subordinate instruments of an assembly or are accountable to a higher authority in some way not characteristic of an assembly.” (RONR, 11th ed., pg. 9, emphasis added)

“Subordinate

1: placed in or occupying a lower class, rank, or position : INFERIOR; a subordinate officer

2: submissive to or controlled by authority” (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/subordinate)

Edited November 19, 2019 at 01:59 AM by Josh Martin

[Guest Drum]

6 hours ago, Hieu H. Huynh said:

They can be disciplined.

Thank you 

[Guest Drum]

6 hours ago, Richard Brown said:

You can try quoting from page 48 where it says that immediately after the vote the chair announces whether the motion was adopted or failed. There is nothing anywhere in RONR to indicate that the date or time that an adopted motion becomes effective is anything other than the moment it is adopted. Everything else in the book supports that proposition.

Edited to add;  Perhaps I don’t understand the question. Are some members trying to claim that adopted motions are not binding and can be ignored? 

Thank you for this advice. And yes some members trying to claim that adopted motions are not binding and they seek ways to circumvented them 

[Richard Brown]

6 hours ago, Guest Drum said:

And yes some members trying to claim that adopted motions are not binding and they seek ways to circumvented them 

Then, as others have already said, that is an outrageous theory. The only remedy may be to remove them from the committee and/or the imposition of other discipline. Expulsion from membership in the organization would be the ultimate penalty.  See chapter XX of RONR regarding disciplinary procedures for more information.  Discipline can range from simple censure to expulsion. 

Edited November 19, 2019 at 02:05 PM by Richard Brown
Added last sentence

[Joshua Katz]

6 hours ago, Guest Drum said:

And yes some members trying to claim that adopted motions are not binding and they seek ways to circumvented them 

I'm still confused. First, do they say what they think the point of motions is? Second, though - why are they circumventing motions if they think they don't have to be followed? Why not just directly act contrary to the motion? And what exactly do you mean by circumvent here?

[Gary Novosielski]

On 11/19/2019 at 3:01 AM, Guest Drum said:

Thank you for this advice. And yes some members trying to claim that adopted motions are not binding and they seek ways to circumvented them 

The proper way to avoid being bound by adopted motions is to resign from the organization.

Failing that, expulsion from membership can be equally effective.

[Guest Zev]

There is no doubt that the so-called "claim" is beyond absurd. However, there is an outside chance that the committee misunderstood the assembly's instructions and sought a creative way of implementing what they perceived it to mean. Perhaps the assembly should adopt a motion instructing the chairman of this committee to appear before the assembly and answer any and all questions concerning this matter before the assembly decides to kick this committee to the curb.