Making consensus decisions on immeasurably difficult issues is not something that comes easily to our cooperative. Members of the coop have been working from June until now, and this is what we wish to express.
The reaction that our community has shown in response to Tim Calvert's organizing on behalf of Valdas Anelauskas has had an intense effect on us. Friends, coworkers, customers, and the community at large have shown great concern. We want nothing as much as we want people to be treated justly and with respect, and for our friends and customers to even hint at feeling otherwise has been a huge blow to us personally, and as a cooperative.
We greatly appreciate every single person and organization who has communicated with Tim and Citybikes about this issue. For a cooperative such as ours, open communication is truly vital. We have heeded many exchanges of both trepidation and support, from our customers, our friends, other cooperatives, and members of the community, for which we are extremely grateful.
Citybikes workers were quite surprised to hear of Tim's association with this speaker, upon learning of Anelauskas's apparent platform. We have held countless meetings over the course of the last three months, with the general cooperative, the board of directors, a separate subcommittee, concerned members of other coops, and innumerable less-formal conversations.
Through these discussions, we have come to recognize Tim's sincerity when insists he is
for the rights of all people. Tim and the rest of the coop now understand how destructive
an effect bringing someone like this into the community, and advocating for them can
have.
This is the first and only situation where Citybikes workers have witnessed Tim being associated with such thinking, though we take these associations very seriously and understand the ramifications. From this experience, we have begun forming an anti-oppression policy. Should something similar occur within Citybikes, process will be in place for us to deal with it.
Due chiefly to lack of consensus, we are not placing any sanctions on Tim at this time. Interacting with the community in response to this event has been a huge wake-up call, and an immense learning experience for each of us. It has been extremely challenging, and rewarding to be reminded of the people who care about Tim and Citybikes, and that we are a part of so many communities of thoughtful people.
With deep respect and gratitude for our customers, everyone in Portland, and in the far-reaching cooperative and bike-related worlds,
Signed,
Lindsey Musselwhite
Kathy MacCrate
Noel Thompson
Burton Ford
Members of the Citybikes Workers' Cooperative Board of Directors
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"This is the first and only situation where Citybikes workers have witnessed Tim being associated with such thinking, though we take these associations very seriously and understand the ramifications."
This is also a lie. Rose City Antifa sent City Bikes a press release, discussion on Indymedia revealed that Tim had been inviting far right, racist, and homophobic speakers for a long time--most notably folks from the Constitution Party which advocates a Christian nation, supports the Minutemen, hates migrants, etc.
I am ashamed of City Bikes poor decision making. Businesses that take on the guise of leftist spaces but can't deal with issues of oppression are more of a liability than an asset to Portland. The only business City Bikes is going to continue to get is folks who either sympathize with Tim or are ignorant of the situation.