Nov. 30, 2023 – Dec. 3, 2023 – WSBT Q4 Minutes – Approved

WSBT 4Q2023 Meeting Minutes Page 15 of 209

Correspondence – Responses (Closed)

None this Quarter

Referrals – Open/Closed/Transferred

2023 – Q4 Referrals Report (2023-11-28)

REFERRALS STILL IN COMMITTEE:

Referral number: WSBT 2019-07 (Transferred from WSC Conf Comm, original referral number:

Conf 2019-07)

Referral Maker: Tom P.

Information contained in original referral:

Consider researching validity of statement being repeatedly made by conference officers during roll call and occasionally when conference members introduce themselves, that full names are necessary due to California state law. The conference is not a formal meeting of either CAWS, Inc. or CAWSO, Inc.

Referral number: WSBT 2022-04 (Transferred from WSC LCF, original referral number: LCF 2022-01)

Referral Maker: Edward W.

Information contained in original referral:

To remove gender-specific terms when referring to God in the 12 Steps of Cocaine Anonymous and the 12 Traditions of Cocaine Anonymous

Referral number: WSBT 2023-01

Referral Maker: Wesley B.

Information contained in original referral:

Greetings – we received a series of referrals from Jo P in West Country UK asking about guidance for handling recordings of speakers/meetings online. In the discussion which followed, the committee felt that the WSBT should provide guidance to us, and the fellowship, on Areas/groups/meetings actually doing the recording in the first place… That is, do the trustees wish to provide guidance on the audio and video recording of speakers, meetings, business meetings and how to approach them in terms of the Traditions. The WSCITC does provide limited guidance in the IT manual as to the posing of recordings online, but we feel that the issue of the recording itself is for your guidance.

Referral number: WSBT 2023-05

Referral Maker: Shane E.

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Information contained in original referral:

To bring as a proposal: To action the regional restructures laid out in the Long-Term Planning Committees power point presentation called “Regional restructure” Our district has 46 meetings now and 5 H&I meetings we are currently looking at forming a new district within the Essex boundary. It won’t be too long before we want to become an Area but to do this under the current structure makes no sense to us. we are part of a region called the European region which has no one form Europe in it. There are Areas in our region that are many thousands of miles away. We would like to be part of a region that can help out neighbouring Areas for Regional Liaison for H&I , PI Literature Unity etc. under the current structure this can’t work effectively. Change has to come and the sooner we can get the process started the better for CA as a whole

Referral number: WSBT 2023-06

Referral Maker: Robert B

Information contained in original referral:

Motion: To refer the following changes to the World Service Manual (WSM) as it applies to the World Service Office (WSO) to the WSC Structures & Bylaws Committee. World Service Manual

– 2023 Edition – Page 70

The World Service Office Board (WSOB or “CAWSO Board”) acts upon directives from the World Service Conference (WSC) and is responsible to the World Service Board of Trustees (“WSBT”) and acts upon directives from the World Service Conference (“WSC”). Each of the board positions approved by the WSC has a voice and a vote at the Conference. The CAWSO Board WSOB is subject to and must abide by the Twelve Traditions.

Referral number: WSBT 2023-07

Referral Maker: Laura E

Information contained in original referral:

Motion: Modify description of Director of Conventions and Conferences, Item 4 (WSM, Page 70)

from: “4. Sits on all active steering committees (as a non-voting member (fa)*) of all CAWS conventions in the planning stages.” to “4. Sits on all CAWS convention steering committees as

a voting member.”

Referral number: WSBT 2023-08

Referral Maker: Robert B

Information contained in original referral:

Motion: To refer the following changes to the World Service Manual (WSM) as it applies to the election process for the World Service Office Board (WSOB) to the WSC Structures & Bylaws Committee. World Service Manual – 2023 Edition – Page 71-72 World Service Office Board of Directors Interview Process:

Directors of the World Service Office Board (WSOB) to be interviewed and/or elected by the

World Service Board of Trustee’s (WSBT):

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1. The WSOB Chairperson
2. The WSOB Treasurer
3. The WSO Paid Director(s)

The aforementioned Directors will be interviewed by the current World Service Office Board (WSOB). The WSOB will then submit all interviewees to the WSBT for final interview and election along with the WSOB’s recommendation. It is suggested that the WSBT take the WSOB’s recommendation into serious consideration; however, the final election will be at the discretion of the WSBT.

Directors of the World Service Office Board (WSOB) to be interviewed and elected by the current World Service Office Board, subject to ratification by the WSBT:

1. All Directors other than the WSOB Chair, WSOB Treasurer and WSO Paid Director(s).

World Service Office Volunteers Interview Process

Volunteers of the World Service Office to be interviewed and selected by the current World Service Office Board:

1. The NewsGram Editor
2. The Web servant
3. Archives

Process of the Candidate Interview:

1. Except for the Paid Director, the potential candidate must have attended at least two WSOB meetings prior to submitting their resume to either the WSBT or the WSOB.
2. Except for the Paid Director, complete a service resume and submit it to the Chair of the applicable interviewing board WSOB.

3. Chair of the interviewing Board to set time of the interview.
4. Chair of the interviewing Board to introduce the process of the questions to the candidate.
5. Chair of the interviewing Board shall contact candidates not selected during the process and advise them of the outcome prior to notifying the candidate chosen.

6. The list of interview questions for the candidates shall remain confidential.

The Board of Directors of CAWSO shall be elected as follows:

1. All Directors, other than the Chair, Treasurer, Paid Director or Trustee Directors, will be elected by the Board of Trustees World Service Office Board (WSOB) after consideration of the specific qualifications of each prospective Director. All elected Directors are subject to ratification by the World Service Board of Trustees (WSBT).

2. The Paid Director, being a Director automatically after employment, will be installed by the CAWSO Board of Directors at the first meeting of the Board after the hiring of the Paid Director.
3. Trustee Directors will be elected in accordance with Trustee election procedures contained elsewhere in this manual and become a Director of CAWSO immediately upon the beginning of their term of office.

4. Quorum of any meeting of CAWSO will consist of a simple majority (51%) of all currently filled Director positions

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Referral number: WSBT 2023-09

Referral Maker: Paul M.

Information contained in original referral:

To bring as a proposal: “Regional restructure of CA world in line with the long term planning committee presentation”. I believe our entire fellowship would benefit from this happening. As we continue to grow, the longer we leave this, the more difficult it will become to action and if we are to continue to be effective our structure must start to replicate close that of AA. Create a structure we can continue to grow into rather than the structure we have now which we have outgrown.

Referral number: WSBT 2023-10

Referral Maker: Rodney D

Information contained in original referral:

Items like reorganizing the WSO and Moving the WSO among others should not come to the fellowship out of the blue. I believe this creates the perception of the board operating from a position of governance. This to my perception has created unnecessary disunity. Relying on published Board minutes is not transparent. They are sent to delegates months after the meetings have happen. They are not organized to pass on information they are a record of events. I have overlooked something in the minutes because of the way it is recorded. leading to my referral: Please place in the WSBT procedures and/or guidelines: “The WSBT shall keep the fellowship as whole informed to any changes that affect the fellowship as a whole that they may be considering taking without the express consent of the World Service Conference.”

I am not suggesting that all items of importance can be taken to the conference. What I strongly suggest is the fellowship needs to be kept informed.

Referral number: WSBT 2023-11

Referral Maker: Kalob T.

Information contained in original referral:

Trustees should only need to meet in person ONCE per year. I understand the value of meeting in person, but we also live in a time where Zoom is acceptable for meeting, planning and collaborating. There are not so many Trustees that an online meeting isn’t manageable. Having the fellowship pay for Trustees to meet in person 2-4 times a year is a poor use of funds when those same funds could be used for further fund raising, conventions (ie. in Europe), or directly helping the newcomer.

Trustees deserve recognition for their hard work, and should get one in person meeting per year. Maybe before World Conference, maybe 6 months after World Conference to regroup half way thru the year. Up to them.

Referral:

Trustees need to either:

a) Have less in person meetings, or

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b) Submit receipts, publicly, for their expenses to be held accountable for the money they are spending.

Referral number: WSBT 2023-12

Referral Maker: Kalob T.

Information contained in original referral:

Trustees need to be more transparent and have more open communication.

Context: At the CA World Conference I heard Trustees continually say “trust us”. But as an addict, I know what that *actually* means. Trust is earned from us addicts, continuously, even after being elected.

I have no doubt that there are situations where Trustees need to make quick decisions without much time to discuss/report/share with the broader fellowship. But when decisions are made with no reason other than “trust us” this becomes an issue. After all the debate and questions to/from the Trustees at conference, I would say a little transparency and a little open communication goes A LONG way. Life has taught us addicts that trust is to be earned, and to not accept words at face value — as in actions are louder than words with us addicts. We don’t have to agree with your decisions to accept them, but we aren’t going to be supportive if there’s no communication, either.

As a newcomer.. I have 11 months clean. I paid my own way to conference this year. And I walked away feeling a major distrust in our Trustees. It’s very disheartening to say the least. It feels like that group has a poisoned-well situation, and they don’t realize it. Whether that’s true or not doesn’t matter because that’s the perception that came across to the floor the CA floor. I want to trust our elected servants, but when they opt to be completely silent rather than telling the person they had a problem with any useful information or feedback to grow, I start to feel on edge. Personal growth comes from feedback. What I saw didn’t feel spiritual at Referral: Trustees need to be more transparent and have more open communication.

Another example: moving offices. I don’t know much about this situation, but I do know it was a long time coming and that could have been a conversation at Conference over the last 5 years instead of an emergency decision. Feels like it was either poor planning or an overstep in power. Whether or not it was one or the other doesn’t matter, what matters is that it feels like there’s too much power, not enough communication, and people hiding the truth. Even if that’s not the case, we addicts sense a lot using our feelings. And I think more communication around the decisions that Trustees make (even if its the wrong decision, that’s OK!) the better our fellowship would feel.

Food for thought. I’m also happy to expand more on any if this if anybody would like to respond or hop on a video call. I’m sharing feedback so we can all grow together 🙂

P.S. This is not a personal attack on anybody. Context was important in this referral.

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Referral number: WSBT 2023-13

Referral Maker: Wade G.

Information contained in original referral:

Be it resolved:

In order to ensure the best possibility of enhanced transparency in financial reporting, ESPECIALLY IN RELATION TO EXPENSES OR BUDGETARY COSTS MADE OUTSIDE OF THE VOTE OF THE GENERAL BODY, is of utmost importance. It allows all members of an organization to understand where the money is being spent and the projected costs for the upcoming fiscal year.

In line with this resolution, the proposed appendix would include the following details:

1. A line-by-line itemization of all expenses and future budgetary needs: This would lay out each expense incurred or to be incurred, the party responsible for the expense, the date of the expense, and what the expense was/is for.

2. A detailed cost projection for the next fiscal year: This proposal would force those in charge of finances to think about the costs for the next year and make financial plans accordingly. This should include both expected income and expenses. This also ensures that the General body is appropriately educated to make an informed decision in voting for the upcoming budget and financial obligations.

3. Explanations for expenses made without the approval of the general body: This would provide insight into why certain costs were incurred without majority approval, which is vital for any organization’s transparency and accountability.

4. A summary of all budgetary needs and costs of money: This information would help to understand the financial demands of the organization and how best to meet those demands in the coming year.

This approach can strengthen trust within the organization and improve its financial management by providing greater oversight. Everyone involved would have a clear understanding of the organization’s current financial situation and its forecast for the future. Promoting transparency and accountability can only lead to better decision-making and governance.

This will also prevent unnecessary floor discussion as all budgetary and financial obligations are accounted for and made available.

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CLOSED REFERRALS:

Referral number: WSBT 2023-02

Referral Maker: Jesse G.

Information contained in original referral:

That the WSBT and WSOB be as diverse as the fellowship including but not limited to: age, gender, race, ethnicity, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, education, and history of incarceration.

Response:

No Action Taken – The WSBT by a vote of the World Service Conference in the early 1990’s adopted the TEC process whereby one delegate from each Region and the sitting Trustees elect Trustees from a list of candidates submitted by each Region for the Regional slates and the World Service Trustee is selected from the Pacific South Regional slate. The World Service Office Trustee is selected from a slate submitted by the World Service Office.

Several of the diversity groupings as outlined in the referral are illegal to ask of people from several of the Fellowships Areas. The TEC process is designed to choose the best candidates from the slates provided by the Regions and the World Service Office. The Directors of the World Service Office Board are chosen from volunteers who must attend two meetings the WSOB then interview all candidates, and a slate is put forward to the WSBT of all successful candidates, with a view for the WSBT to elect a new Director from the slate.

In recent years the WSBT has been diverse in terms of several of the diversity classifications mentioned in the referral, but these questions are typically not of issue when selection is made as they are illegal to ask in several Areas of the fellowship, and the best candidate for the position is of importance when selections are made.

Referral number: WSBT 2023-03

Referral Maker: Jesse G.

Information contained in original referral:

That the WSBT be as diverse as the fellowship to include but not limited to age, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, education, social economic status, and history of incarceration.

Response:

No Action Taken – The WSBT by a vote of the World Service Conference in the early 1990’s adopted the TEC process whereby one delegate from each Region and the sitting Trustees elect Trustees from a list of candidates submitted by each Region for the Regional slates and the World Service Trustee is selected from the Pacific South Regional slate. The World Service Office Trustee is selected from a slate submitted by the World Service Office.

Several of the diversity groupings as outlined in the referral are illegal to ask of people from several of the Fellowships Areas. The TEC process is designed to choose the best candidates from the slates provided by the Regions and the World Service Office. The Directors of the World Service Office Board are chosen from volunteers who must attend two meetings the

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WSOB then interview all candidates, and a slate is put forward to the WSBT of all successful candidates, with a view for the WSBT to elect a new Director from the slate.

In recent years the WSBT has been diverse in terms of several of the diversity classifications mentioned in the referral, but these questions are typically not of issue when selection is made as they are illegal to ask in several Areas of the fellowship, and the best candidate for the position is of importance when selections are made.

TRANSFERRED REFERRALS:

Referral number: WSBT 2022-05

Referral Maker: Kevin M.

Information contained in original referral:

Move ownership of “ca.org” domain from CAWSO to CAWS, as we do with other intellectual property, and track the registration renewal at the WSBT level, as we do with trademarks.

Transfer number: WSOB 2023-01

Transfer date: 2023-03-03

Transferred to: World Service Office Board

Referral number: WSBT 2022-03

Referral Maker: Cameron F.

Information contained in original referral:

To make the Conference a hybrid of in-person and virtual starting in 2022 and going forward.

Transfer number: CONF 2022-06

Transfer date: 2022-03-20

Transferred to: WSC Conference Committee

Referral number: WSBT 2022-02

Referral Maker: Kevin M.

Information contained in original referral:

New Standing Rule:

Any ruling by the Conference Chair affects the matter at hand only. It does not create a standing precedent or rule. All rules that affect future conference activities should be passed in the form of a new Standing Rule, by the established procedures.

Reasons: A number of times in the last decade or so, Conference Chairs (myself included) have applied past (but unwritten) rulings to conference questions, sometimes in ways that ignored the letter or written Standing Rules.

The problem here is that the body can change a written Standing Rule by amendment or repeal, but these precedential rulings are hard for new members to know about, can lead to frustration with the process, and difficult for the Conference to change. On several occasions, a Standing Rule that was subject to one of these precedential interpretations was amended by a 2/3rds vote and the Chair continued to apply the precedent, nonetheless.

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The solution to this is to allow rulings, when necessary, but require that all persistent changes of this sort be reduced to a new or amended Standing Rule and passed as such in regular order. Here are a few such rules, that appear nowhere in our manual:

1. You cannot edit literature pieces (or other publications) on the floor.
2. Only the committee managing a document (e.g. the WSM) may make a motion to change it, although other committees of late have been allowed to do so with the owning committee’s OK.
3. Standing Rule 13 requires all “affected” committees to be notified “in advance.” Not only does SR13 have no such language, but “affected” and “in advance” are totally undefined.

Note: I expect this to be referred to S&B, but I think that the Trustees need to examine this with respect to the general warranties of Concept 12.

Transfer number: S&B 2022-01

Transfer date: 2022-07-20

Transferred to: WSC Structures & Bylaws Committee with the following suggested language: “Only standing rules passed in accordance with established procedures shall effect future conference activities”

Referral number: WSBT 2021-06

Referral Maker: Courtney R

Information contained in original referral:

Twice in the last year I have done my best to help accommodate two members who have a disability. The first was blind and the second deaf.

In accommodating the blind member, we have been able to do so in our in-person meetings however once we moved to zoom a barrier was realized. The voice assistant interferes with the microphone, so the member was able to listen and unable to participate by sharing.

The second member was looking for an ASL sponsor. After contacting many members, it was in AA where I was able to find two American Sign Language sponsors. One from the AA Accessibility Committee chair and other through an AA member.

I wonder if CA can benefit from creating its own Accessibility Committee to help guide groups and create avenues to remove barriers and prevent discrimination.

Some members expressed concern over anonymity at one point. Until the ASL sponsor was found it was suggested that AA might compensate an interpreter for the member to be able to attend meetings. The concern was around having an non-member attend closed meetings for members only. Though each group is guided by group conscience perhaps we can help groups to guide these discussions?

Perhaps creating guidelines around accessibility will help the fellowship to unify in addressing any concerns that may surface in the future and create spaces accessible to all.

Thank you for your consideration. Transfer number: unknown Transfer date: 2021-09-04 Transferred to: WSC Unity Committee

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Referral number: LCF 2022-01

Referral Maker: WSBT

Information contained in original referral:

The LCF Committee of WSC to amend or change the pamphlet “Yes, you can start a C.A. Meeting” to better include current and future meeting platforms for C.A. Meetings.

Transfer number: 12241124

Transfer date: 2022-12-09

Transferred to: LCF

Referral number: S&B 2022-07

Referral Maker: WSBT

Information contained in original referral:

The S&B committee of WSC to amend the WSM to better include current and future meeting platforms for C.A. Meetings.

Transfer number: 12241130

Transfer date: 2022-12-09

Transferred to: S & B

Referral number: IT 2022-01

Referral Maker: WSBT

Information contained in original referral:

The IT committee of WSC to explore current and future meeting platforms for C.A. Meetings.

Transfer number: 12241136

Transfer date: 2022-12-09

Transferred to: IT

Dates and Times for Conference Calls and Quarterlies 2024

• Board to Board meeting: January 13, 2024 8am to 12pm PST (4pm UK, 5pm Sweden)

• WSBT Conference Call: Saturday January 27, 2024, 8am – 12pm PST (4pm UK, 5pm Sweden)

• 2024– Q1 March 1 through 3, 2024 arrive February 29, 2024, Dallas, Texas (9A Fri)

• WSBT Conference Call April 7, 2024, tentative date for call 8am – 12pm PDT (4pm UK, 5pm Sweden)

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• WSBT Conference Call June 8, 2024, tentative date for call 8am – 2pm PDT (4pm UK, 5pm Sweden)

• 2024 – WSBT Q2 Meeting July 8-10, 2024– Convention July 11-15, 2024 (TEC interviews to be included?)

• 2023– Q3 – Conference (Dallas) Q3 August 23-25, 2024, TEC August 26-27, 2024, Conference August 28-September 1, 2024

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For all attached WSBT reports see: https://documents.historyofca.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/2023-11-30-12-03-WSBT-Q4-Minutes-Approved.pdf