Thank you to the folks that sent the petition below that’s been floating around.  Please keep the information flowing.

WAKE UP, NCRA!
FRANK N. SENSE

We, the undersigned, hereby submit the following to NCRA Executive Director XXXXX:

Whereas President-Elect XXXXX gave notification of the disbanding of the NCRA

Strong committee without first receiving a majority vote by the Board of Directors (BOD), which is required under Article VI, Section 6, of the NCRA Constitution and Bylaws; 

Whereas the Strong committee was never asked by the president or president-elect if the Strong committee believed it had completed its charges to:

1. Meet regularly to help organize many grassroots actions and provide a toolbox for members to utilize in educating the public and legal community regarding the importance of utilizing stenographic reporters nationwide;

2. Raise awareness in our external audiences about the dangers and pitfalls of electronic recording usage through articles in state and national newsletters;

3. Work with state affiliates to create materials to be utilized by members of both the state and national associations and distribute to key decision-makers and end users to educate them in a very fact-based way;

4. In concert with NCRA’s Government Relations staff, conduct legislative review and analysis of electronic recording-related legislation in the states and coordinate advocacy response efforts and small rapid response forces in geographic regions. These rapid response forces would be able to have constant contact with state leaders in their region and serve as an early warning system when these electronic recording issues arise;

5. Work with NCRA’s Government Relations staff on analyzing electronic recording legislation and its impact, and to identify courts and levels of freelance jobs that could be specific targets for the introduction of electronic recording;

Whereas the need for an up-to-date toolbox for members to utilize in educating public and legal community regarding the importance of utilizing stenographic reporters nationwide continues to exist, along with the critical need to continue to raise awareness in our external audiences about the dangers and pitfalls of electronic recording usage, most especially in association with the existential risk AI poses to the court reporting, captioning and the justice system;

Whereas the Strong committee has continuously advocated for court reporting and captioning professionals for years by sounding the alarm on serious issues and addressing them rapidly, most specifically relating to AI and its unregulated use in legal proceedings, culminating in the recently published white paper, which could be invalidated by virtue of the committee being disbanded and there being no further updates to keep it current;

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! We demand change. We demand action. We demand that the NCRA Board of Directors and its Executive Director take the concerns of your members seriously and make significant changes to NCRA’s policies and procedures to address members’ concerns when they arise. We demand transparency. We demand regular accountability of funds being expended by virtue of quarterly financial returns being distributed to members.

We have lost confidence in the incoming leadership team at NCRA. Pursuant to NCRA’s Constitution and Bylaws, Article IX, Section 5 – Business at the Annual Convention, a) If any Member or Members shall feel aggrieved by any action or decision of the Board of Directors, such action or decision of the Board of Directors may be appealed to the Voting Members at the annual business meeting by filing with the Executive Director at least thirty (30) days prior to such meeting a written statement of such complaint signed by at least ten (10) Members. The complaint shall set forth the action or decision of the Board of Directors complained of and a brief statement of the reasons for the complaint, together with a motion of the action or decision requested by such Member(s). Such complaint, statement, and motion shall be read by the Executive Director at the annual business meeting. If such motion is passed by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the Voting Members present and voting at a meeting at which a quorum is present, it shall be binding upon the Board of Directors to act accordingly.

The proposed motion is hereby made to  seek the voluntary resignation of incoming president XXXXX for choosing to disband NCRA Strong at a time when additional advocacy is needed, not less.  XXXXX has failed to provide transparency and disclose information requested by state leaders and the membership regarding his decision. His actions have caused irreparable harm to NCRA and have laid to waste the extensive work of dedicated volunteers, as well as the substantial financial resources expended by the association for the development and adoption of the white paper. It is our opinion that his actions are a breach of his fiduciary responsibility in serving on the BOD. If he does not voluntarily resign, a vote for his removal by the board of directors should be held. 

________________________________ ______________________________

Member First and Last Name NCRA ID No.

________________________________ ______________________________

Phone Number Personal Email Address

_________________________________________________

Signature (electronic or scanned)

A PRESIDENT-ELECT THAT IS APPARENTLY A NONWORKING REPORTER WHO DISBANDED, ON HIS OWN MOTION, NCRA’S MOST IMPORTANT COMMITTEE IN AT LEAST THE LAST 50 YEARS; AN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR WHOSE ONLY CONCERN SEEMS TO BE KEEPING HIS JOB AT ALL COSTS; A BOARD OF DIRECTORS THAT DOESN’T LISTEN TO ITS MEMBERSHIP; A MEMBERSHIP VOTE FOR A DUES INCREASE; AND A PETITION TO REMOVE THE PRESIDENT-ELECT.

When members go to the NCRA website to see who their Board of Directors are, these are the words that are seen before the board intros:

“NCRA Board members are elected by and serve the NCRA membership. Board members serve as fiduciaries to steer the organization toward a sustainable future by adopting sound, ethical, and legal governance and financial management policies, discuss issues, and set NCRA strategy and policy.”

In that little blurb, there is nothing said about the fiduciary responsibilities in serving membership.  The fiduciary responsibilities are all about steering the business of NCRA.  In our opinion, that is the focus of the Executive Director: Legal governance and financial management policies, which allow him to keep his job.  We believe that it’s time to move on from him, and to find someone to lead the organization that always has membership at the top of mind.  If the focus is on membership and what membership wants, everything else will fall into place.

As far as all of us here at WUNCRA can tell, the biggest issue right now is the disbanding of the very important STRONG Committee.  If the petition floating around is correct, the president-elect disbanded the STRONG Committee without first receiving a majority vote by the Board of Directors, violating Article VI, Section 6 of NCRA’s Constitution and Bylaws.

Yes, you’ve read that correctly, NCRA members, the president-elect, who we’ve been told is retired, and appears to no longer have any skin in the profession, “broke the bylaws” and disbanded the most important NCRA committee of at least the last 50 years.  NCRA Board of Directors, unless the above blurb is simple feel-good word salad, prove to your membership (whom you are elected by and are supposed to serve) that you are listening to them, and impeach the current president-elect, unless he chooses to step down.

All of us here at WUNCRA are thinking that it’s kind of nervy to ask for a $50 dues increase when important issues are not being heard by membership.  Hmmm, perhaps we should think about diverting that $50 increase directly to the STRONG Committee so that they have the funds to continue their important work.

WAKE UP, NCRA!
Frank N. Sense

P.S. Send this to all NCRA members that you know, so they can know about the latest out-of-touch craziness by the Exec Director, President-Elect, and Board of Directors.

P.P.S.  We will post a separate blog with the current petition floating around.

P.P.P.S. Thank you to everybody that updated all of us here at WUNCRA about the latest shenanigans. 

That is OPTION NO. 3 in the Survey! 

 TCRA members, you are being GASLIT by your Board of Directors!

First, they decide to send a survey out after a big, fat secret Executive Session.  Why did a survey discussion need to be done in an Executive Session?  Did the BOD even know about the subject of the Executive Session before they went into the Executive Session?  Maybe some on the board are being GASLIT, too!

Then the survey comes out, and the most important option, NUMBER 3, is placed at the bottom of the survey:   “I am OPPOSED to Texas CSR-Oral reporters having a vote at Business Meetings of TCRA and serving on TCRA committees or the TCRA Board of Directors.”

Giving nonstenographers the ability to determine the fate and direction of TCRA is HUGE!

And they changed their name from voicewriters to a less toxic “oral reporters”!

Check this out — the last paragraph of the survey says:  “Survey results may not be disclosed or disseminated to any person, business, association, or government entity for any reason unless approved by the TCRA Board of Directors.  All requests for survey results must be made in writing in accordance with the Survey Result Request Guidelines.”

TCRA members will not ever even know the TRUE results of the survey!!!

Who is receiving the survey results?  Who will be tabulating the results?  Why won’t the survey results be published immediately?  To tell you the truth, we do not trust that the survey will even be honestly counted after all of the SHENANIGANS of the Board of Directors over every aspect of this survey!

WAKE UP, TCRA! 

FRANK N. SENSE

P.S. Please send this to every single member of the TCRA that you know so that they vote NO! to voicewriters having a say in TCRA, an association for stenographers, and they will also know about the dishonesty, shenanigans and GASLIGHTING going on in THEIR association by THEIR Board of Directors.

P.P.S.  TCRA Board of Directors, don’t you have enough to do representing stenographers?  If you have the time to do surveys, maybe it’s time for y’all to RESIGN!  TCRA members are busy trying to make a living and keeping up with transcripts.  We don’t have time for your dumb surveys.

Why did the Board of Directors need to go into an EXECUTIVE SESSION for 32 minutes and come out of that executive session with a MOTION to poll the membership about potentially allowing voice writers as Professional Members of TCRA?  Why the big secret of an Exec Session?

FYI, the motion PASSED with ELEVEN board members approving and ONE lone abstention.  Is there some bullying going on?  Do some board members need to be voted off of the board because they’re pushing a crazy agenda?  These are the sorts of questions that are raised when there are secret executive sessions and shenanigans happening on a board.

If you are a TCRA member, be sure to VOTE NO! in the poll!

The Texas Court Reporters Association is an organization that represents and advocates for STENOGRAPHERS.  Don’t water down that representation and advocacy by adding voice writers to the mix!

Texas Court Reporters Association Board of Directors Regular Meeting

 June 10, 2023 – Zoom Conference Call

8:30 a.m.

MINUTES

[Excerpted]

Motion to go into Executive Session by T.B. at 8:47am; seconded and passed with 12 in favor and 0 opposed.

Motion to go out of Executive Session by S.T. at  9:19am; seconded and passed with 12 in favor and 0 opposed.

Motion by D.T. to poll the membership about potentially allowing voice writers as Professional Members to TCRA; seconded and passed with 11 in favor and 1 abstention and 0 opposed.

Motion to adjourn by P.F. at 9:21am; motion seconded and passed with 12 in favor and 0 opposed.

WAKE UP, TCRA!

FRANK N. SENSE

P.S. Please forward this to every TCRA member that you know so they can know about the SHENANIGANS going on at their Board of Directors’ meetings, and they VOTE NO!, too.

That’s right!

Everybody on the NCRA Board should RESIGN!

The Strong Committee is the only committee of NCRA that really cares about protecting our stenographic jobs!

Go to the NCRA website and look at all of the research and facts the Strong Committee has uploaded.

Everything that the Strong Committee has done should be implemented as the Strategic Plan for NCRA for the next five years.

Recently, the Strong Committee even blew the doors off the stale Ducker Report that has been used as the backbone for many of our past “leaders” launching their lucrative new careers in competing industries under the guise of the impending shortage of steno reporters.  Why hasn’t the NCRA Board even said a word about it?

RESIGN NCRA Board members!

It is our belief that NCRA’s business is simply to protect the continuation of the business of NCRA, and NOT the livelihoods of stenographic reporters.

The only way that members even have access to the board is through the buffer of NCSA.  Why is NCSA even necessary?  The board members are so elite and out of touch that they need a buffer from their members!

RESIGN NCRA Board members!

The current president has always been very vocal on social media in the past.  He became president, and we hear radio silence.  But you get to listen to his “town hall” addresses if you sign up for them.  Why does the board keep their membership at arm’s length?

Please, NCRA Board, for the good of the profession, RESIGN!  And let the steno reporters who care about the profession lead us into the future!

Let’s all get STRONG again!

WAKE UP, NCRA!
FRANK N. SENSE

P.S. Hmm, now we’re kind of curious about who was in leadership around the time of the Ducker Report.  Whose idea was it?  Why was it even necessary?  How much was spent on it?  Why did membership even need to pay for a report that contained one short sentence that had such a negative impact on stenographic reporters and became “manna from heaven” for so few?

P.P.S.  And while we’re digging into history, what happened to all of the money from the sale of NCRA’s fully-paid-for building?

All of us here at WUNCRA are happy to let you know that the videographers were NOT SUCCESSFUL in their bid to change the bylaws of NCRA!

That’s the good news!!!

The bad news is that overheard at the convention was that the videographers are planning on submitting ANOTHER bylaw amendment next year!!!  But hopefully the Board of Directors have gotten the message from the membership that they represent that enough is enough, and adding turmoil again next year will just be way over the top after two years of the same old thing.

Thank you to all of the members who were informed and voted!!!

WAKE UP, NCRA!
FRANK N. SENSE

Please make sure that you cast your vote AGAINST! videographers determining your destiny, Stenographers!!!  Changing the bylaws is hard to do, but the videographers are persistent!!!  If you think they are causing chaos now, imagine the damage that they will cause if we allow them full voting rights!!!

We have the power to stop this!

PLEASE VOTE AGAINST!!! … RIGHT NOW!!!

WAKE UP, NCRA!
FRANK N. SENSE

P.S.  Polls close on 7/22/2022 (TODAY!) at:

10:30 a.m. Eastern Time
9:30 a.m. Central Time
8:30 a.m. Mountain Time
7:30 a.m. Pacific Time
4:30 a.m. Hawaii Time (Sorry, Hawaii! – But your votes are very important, too!)

P.P.S.  If you have trouble casting your vote, send an email to:  [email protected]

The polls are open!!!

We have received a number of inquiries from NCRA members about not receiving the email from NCRA with the voting link.

Please check your spam folders.  If you receive the weekly email blasts from NCRA, they have your updated email address.

If you have questions, or need help voting, contact:  [email protected]

But please VOTE A SOLID NO! to videographers becoming full voting members of NCRA.  Please do not abstain!

There is NO REASON that videographers should be able to determine the destiny of stenographers.

Notice how the videographers have already banded together to even get these bylaws amendments to a vote – two years in a row?  Aren’t you asking yourselves why?  Well, all of us here at WUNCRA are wondering, too.

WAKE UP, NCRA!
FRANK N. SENSE

P.S. It’s not too late to get all of the NCRA members that you know to vote AGAINST!!! videographers horning in on the fate of stenographers.  Polls are open until 10:30 a.m. Eastern time tomorrow.

P.P.S.  Please vote NOW! while it’s fresh on your mind.  This is very important.

VOTE NO! TO VIDEOGRAPHERS HAVING FREE REIN IN NCRA!!!

Please don’t put off this very important opportunity to VOTE!!!

Drive your own destiny!!!  VOTE NO! … RIGHT NOW!!! 

It will take less than a minute of your time.

WAKE UP, NCRA!
FRANK N. SENSE

P.S.  Please spread the word to NCRA members that you know to VOTE NO!, too.
P.P.S.  Very important!!!

Please Vote NO! on July 21 to Videographers Having a Seat in the Governance of NCRA!
The Destiny of Stenographers MUST Remain With Stenographers!

Thank you to the folks that let us know that even the Board of Directors of the Deposition Reporters Association of California oppose the proposed NCRA bylaws amendments:  “… we do not feel that videographers have the same background, concerns, or vision of the future as working stenographic reporters …”

We want to reiterate that NCRA membership voted on this issue last year, and the videographers lost that election.  Now they’ve tweaked the language a little bit, and here we are again.  Why is the Board of Directors of NCRA putting us through this AGAIN???!

Also, please vote a solid No! and do not abstain when voting.  Abstentions can muddy the waters.

Please make sure to VOTE NO! on every bylaw amendment on July 21^st.

WAKE UP, NCRA!
FRANK N. SENSE

P.S. Please send this to every member of NCRA that you know so that they understand the necessity of their vote on the 21^st!

P.P.S. Please place a reminder in your phone so that you remember to vote NO! on July 21^st!!!