Grievance Processes
Please note – the following formal grievance processes may be initiated by any member in good standing.
The Companionship is a values-driven organization. Every member of the Companionship must agree to abide by and uphold our values and principles as a condition of joining the Companionship. All Companionship practices and actions must be in alignment with our values.
The Companionship is based on a decentralized management structure. De-centralized does not mean irresponsible, in fact far from it. Our decentralized structure empowers every member of the Companionship to uphold our values and principles through our formal and informal processes.
Informal and formal feedback programs within the Companionship are essential to the operation of the Companionship. Most problems within the Companionship can be identified and dealt with in this manner.
However even within a responsible, values-based organization we recognize that problems may occur which require a Companionship-wide formal and transparent process to resolve.
As such, the following formal processes may be invoked by any Companionship member at any time.
Member Grievances Arising from a Ceremony
Any member who has participated in a ceremony has the right to submit a formal grievance to the facilitator committee regarding the operation of the ceremony(s) or the conduct of the facilitator.
The following actions must be taken by the committee upon receiving a member grievance.
All Companionship facilitators must be apprised of the grievance regardless if they are currently serving on the facilitator committee or not.
Any Companionship facilitator has the right to involve themselves in the grievance, unless the grievance has arisen from the facilitator’s ceremony(s).
A redress to the grievance must be filed by the ceremony facilitator in question which will be submitted to all facilitators and to the member who has filed the grievance.
If the redress is deemed unsatisfactory by the member, an arbitration group must be formed by two or more facilitators who will be charged to undertake arbitration. Any facilitator may decide to join the arbitration group, except the facilitator who has conducted the ceremony(s) in question.
If the arbitration process does not produce satisfactory results for either the member or facilitator in question, the arbitration group must submit a Ting.
Operation and Classification of Tings
A Ting is a formal process typically operated to modify the values statement or working policies and procedures of the Companionship. However, a Ting may be initiated for any reason by any member of the Companionship.
The EveryTing
The EveryTing is the Companionship values, which must be publicly stated. The EveryTing may be changed or modified by a Ting.
Alting
The Alting is the publicly-stated position of the Companionship concerning operations and procedures within the Companionship. The Alting may be modified or changed as the result of decisions made in Tings. The Alting is all information publicly stated on our website and in the member-only areas of the website.
A Ting
A Ting may be formed to address any operation or any issue within the Companionship. A Ting is a formal process that is conducted by a working group of facilitators. A proposed Ting must be supported by three or more facilitators who will then be part of the working group of the Ting.
Any Companionship facilitator may choose to involve themselves in a Ting unless excluded by a grievance against them.
All Companionship facilitators must be apprised of the formation and the purpose of a Ting and can choose whether to join the Ting or not. All Tings must be conducted transparently and openly in relation to other facilitators and the membership.
All facilitators will be given the opportunity to speak to any Ting before a decision is rendered by the facilitator committee. A Ting must have the support of at least two-thirds of the facilitator committee to be adopted.
Member Tings
A group of six or more Companionship members may draft a Ting and submit it to any facilitator(s) for support. If a facilitator decides to support a member-proposed Ting he must gain or have the support of two or more facilitators to initiate a formal Ting.