B. SIX-MONTH POLLS

At the end of six months, if the provisional member is in good standing from a financial and labor perspective (zero or better balances in labor, allowance, VE, PFF and anything similar) the Membership Team issues a poll to the full members with the following options listed:

ACCEPT
ACCEPT WITH FEEDBACK (A contract is not a possible outcome of the feedback)
EXTEND (which requires a Feedback, possible contract and a second poll at the end of a three-month extension)
ABSTAIN
REJECT

All members must state reason(s) for any vote other than a simple ACCEPT. We strongly prefer explanations in some detail, but they can be as brief as, "I don’t like co."

We discourage REJECT votes based on political reasons, but recognize their inevitability and want to encourage people to give their honest reasons. Therefore, any reason will be considered a valid reason.

1. Tallying votes.

a. If fewer than 10% of the full members vote REJECT, EXTEND, or ACCEPT WITH FEEDBACK, then the provisional member is accepted as a full member without further process.

b. In the event of any outcome other than ACCEPT, the Process Team will be informed of the nature of the concerns so that they can help facilitate a positive resolution, if possible.

c. If 10% or more of the full members vote either ACCEPT WITH FEEDBACK, EXTEND, or REJECT, and the combination of EXTEND and REJECT votes total less than 10%, then the result is ACCEPT WITH FEEDBACK.

d. If 10% or more of the votes cast are EXTEND and/or REJECT, and fewer than 15% of the votes are REJECT, then the result is EXTEND, requiring a Feedback and possibly a contract. The extension period will be three months unless there is a contract, in which case the extension period will be for the duration of the contract (see Section III, "Contracting Process"). A final membership poll is issued to all full members at the end of the extension period with the options of:

ACCEPT
ACCEPT WITH FEEDBACK (no contract possible)
ABSTAIN
REJECT

If the poll after the extension period results in 15% or higher REJECT vote, the person is rejected and must leave.

e. If 15% or more of the full members vote REJECT, then the Membership Team informs the Process Team that a feedback is required. Representatives of the Membership Team will attend the feedback. We encourage the feedback group to come to a unified recommendation to either extend cos membership or to reject co. Within two days following the feedback, the Membership Team will determine if the person’s provisional membership can be extended or if a second poll is necessary, with the options of EXTEND and REJECT. The Membership Team’s decision will be based on whether (a) the individual has been given an adequate amount of time and information to try to change problem behaviors; and (b) the reasons for rejecting are serious enough to warrant immediate rejection. The Team will consider all input, giving particular consideration to the opinions expressed at the feedback.

f. If the team decides that a second poll is necessary, the poll will be issued one week after the feedback. If 15% or more of the full members vote REJECT, the person is rejected. If a member is rejected, membership ends when the results of the poll are tallied. At the discretion of the CMT, co may have up to one month to leave the community.

2. Rejections Based on Political Reasons

If the Membership Team determines that half or more of the REJECT votes are due to a single political issue, the decision is suspended, unless there are enough non-political REJECT votes to cause rejection.

There will, in such a case, be a two-week period to allow at least one community meeting regarding the political issue, followed by a decision paper about the political issue, or, more likely (given the time constraint), a statement of intent from the Planners or other appropriate decision-making body. The statement of intent will try to convey a sense of the direction the decision-making body believes the Community will be taking regarding the political issue at hand. After the statement has been on the O&I Board for one week, a second poll will be issued with the same options as the first poll. All reasons are considered valid reasons.

The person whose membership is being discussed will be offered a leave of absence during the suspension period. Co will retain cos provisional status until the second poll is complete.

If the second poll results in a 15% or higher REJECT vote, the person is rejected and must leave. If a member is rejected, membership ends when the results of the poll are tallied. At the discretion of the CMT, co may have up to one month to leave the community.