MAC Members, I Told You So!

MAC membership are you prepared to fight for your rights now?! I read this is in Stu's current newsletter. Because of his stand, I've decided to rejoin cabarethotline. In case you haven't read your newsletter, here's what Stu wrote:

"DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN?

I had to cool down a bit before writing this, since I was pretty worked up at the MAC (Manhattan Association of Cabarets & Clubs - http://www.macnyc.com/ ) Membership Meeting on Tuesday night, June 14th, at ST. CLEMENTS CHURCH (423 West 46th Street, NYC). You see, I was under the impression that things would be different this year, with the new MAC bylaws in place and a new membership-elected board. I thought that the full MAC membership was going to be informed and consulted before major policy decisions were made. But it seems that it is business as usual at MAC - making major decisions, then announcing them to the membership with no opportunity for input and comment.

Seems that a decision to make some major changes to the MAC AWARD procedures was rushed through and passed just a week before the meeting, and announced at the membership meeting, without advance notice, as a done deal - irreversible. Couldn't the board have waited just one more week, gotten some membership input and then made the decision? Instead, we were all told that a new "democratic" method for the MAC AWARD nominations had been decided which will eliminate the so-called "preliminary ballot" - and the nominees on the final ballot will from now on be decided by a relatively few people rather than the whole membership. So now a chosen elite (not even a membership elected elite) will be able to eliminate nominees that don't fit their particular vision of quality cabaret, before the full membership even sees the full original list of entries!

Lots more changes were announced as well. For example, you only need to do ONE show in a MAC member club to be eligible for a MAC AWARD nomination (note to all you award hopefuls who performed the required six shows thus far this year to be eligible, you just wasted a lot of money!).

Additionally, the COMEDY and JAZZ category nominees will be chosen by two other "select" committees and the winner and runners up announced - no vote by the membership at all! Reason given? MAC members, we were told, don't go to jazz and comedy clubs. Jazz and Comedy performers don't join MAC. So, whyare these categories even included in the MAC AWARDS?

The list of changes goes on.

All these decisions made under "cover of secrecy" and the membership never given a chance to voice their thoughts and suggestions until after the "irreversible decision" was made! Once again the board has adopted an "us" (the board) and "them" (the members) attitude.

My confidence in the board has been shaken - hopefully they will reconsider and put the whole matter on hold until the 2006 calendar year and allow free and open discussion and full disclosure of all the new rules (apparently they haven't been written yet, but the concept has been approved) before they put then into action. The current system, with modifications from time to time, has been working well for many years - as long as I have been around, and I can think of only a few instances where someone got an award who did not deserve one. Keeping the current setup for another six months while changes are discussed by all wouldn't hurt that much, would it? Or is the Board afraid that their decision doesn't really reflect the wishes of the membership at all?

Barry Levitt, I expected better of you and your leadership than this! Board members, what about the membership you promised to represent when you ran for office - don't their opinions, thoughts and ideas mean anything, now that you are on the board?"

Milla

I am actually in lock step w/what Stu said. Stu delineated some very astute points about why this plan is not good for MAC members. If members don't see enough jazz & comedy to vote in those categories, why is MAC in the business of giving out awards for them? That's ludicrous.

As Stu Hamstra himself wrote, why was this important policy change not announced in advance? This announcement would have substantially increased the number of members to attended. And why weren't the dramatic changes suggested by MAC BOD brought to the entire membership for their discussion & approval before being accepted by the BOD as a policy to be implemented? Why didn't the BOD want to hear what the membership had to say before they chose their policy?

Surely it’s now obvious to all that the BYLAWS were created by the BOD so that they wouldn't have to get the mbrshp to discuss & approve this new policy.

Stu points out that the Nominating Committee (“NC”) will be allowed to pick the nominees w/o any input from the mbrshp, giving the NC way more power than the old Screening Committee ever had. Look for members of the BOD & the current Advisory Board getting on the NC, having power over who gets on the only ballot that will be left to members to vote on. There will no longer be a first ballot.

All of this gives way too much power to the BOD. No matter how large the BOD makes the NC, there will still be too much control by BOD, club mgrs. & the Advisory Bd. The nominees will be selected w/o ANY input by the membership.

I repeat, MAC must behave like a trade association.

Milla