Monday, November 14, 2005

Sometimes private talks are preferable

Last week the Mission Responsibility Through Investment committee of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) invoked an exception to the PCUSA's open meeting policy for the purpose of a meeting with leaders of Motorola, and for its own debriefing after the meeting, according to this article.

The open meeting policy, which gives the media (among others) access to meetings of units of the PCUSA, is an important way of ensuring transparency for the church. It allows private meetings for property negotiation; in this case the property is stock in the corporation.

I approve of this use of the exception, and rather wish there had been private conversations with each of the corporations named for "progressive engagement" in advance of their names being announced with some fanfare at the beginning of August. That would have given the corporations an opportunity to correct any misperceptions in advance of a process in which the two sides might end up clinging to ever more rigid positions.

File under: , , , .

No comments: