How did you hear about the bylaws amendments that will give videographers the right to vote in the NCRA? Most folks that we’ve heard from say they found out from their state association, a fellow court reporter, or even perhaps this very blog. But where almost no one seems to have first heard about it is from NCRA itself. Of course, you would think that an organization — whose members have to produce readable transcripts every day — would know better than to use super small microtype to “publicize” the bylaws amendments on its Website. Then, again, maybe the whole point of the microtype was for the changes to go virtually unnoticed.

But thank goodness NCRA is still a democratic association and this change must be put to a vote!

So, whether or not you wish that the board was more forthcoming with their very important proposal to change the bylaws, the amendments ultimately have to come out into the sunshine for a vote!

Bylaws are the roadmap to our association. They tell the board and staff how we, the membership, want to see OUR association run. Back in 2010, when the roadmap was amended by a landslide vote of membership, the words “verbatim stenographic reporters” were added six times in Article III, Sections b) and c), the “Privileges” section — the very section that the board is wanting to change. That landslide vote was a “shout-out” of membership to the board and staff that NCRA’s membership wanted the National Court Reporters Association to focus on VERBATIM STENOGRAPHIC REPORTERS exclusively!!!

Another issue that we have in the proposed Article III, Section c) is that it allows the board of directors to “define” whether a videographer “maintains his/her certifications.” We fear that a future board could somehow change and skew those definitions with clever wordsmithing, lowering the standards for videographers even further. (Upon further research, videographers don’t even need to spend $880 to get certified. The only mandatory day they need to attend is the Saturday event for $550!)

It is so very clear that membership voted that it wanted NCRA to remain an organization focused on Verbatim Stenographic Reporters only in 2010, and adding all of the videographer verbiage in Article III sounds exactly like the afterthought that it is.

Let’s all have another SHOUT-OUT VOTE, and not put a fork in the roadmap of NCRA.

Wake up, NCRA!!!

Please send www.wakeupncra.com to at least ten reporters to get out the vote on July 30^th.

Frank N. Sense

P.S. We’ve included Amendment #2 for your perusal – in a larger font than on NCRA’s Website. The proposed changes are italicized in red.

Amendment #2

Article III-Membership

Section 7–Associate Members

c) Any person seeking to become or who has been certified by the Association as a Certified Legal Video Specialist (CLVS) shall be eligible to become an Associate Member.

e) Associate Members shall not vote, except as allowed for in Article III, Section 9 b).

Article III-Membership

Section 9–Privileges

a) All classes of Members shall enjoy the privileges of the Association except where certain privileges are specifically restricted to a specific class of Member in this Constitution and Bylaws.

b) All Members may attend meetings of the Members and participate in any debates at such meetings. Only Participating Members who are verbatim stenographic reporters and Registered Members who are verbatim stenographic reporters, as well as Retired Lifetime Members and Honorary Members who have been verbatim stenographic reporters, and Certified Legal Video Specialist Associate Members in good standing, upon payment of the equivalent of Participating Member dues, shall be eligible to vote and/or make or second motions at such meetings or to vote by electronic mail or other means of electronic transmission as specifically authorized under Article IX (“Voting Members”).

c) Only Registered Members who are verbatim stenographic reporters or Retired Lifetime Members who have been verbatim stenographic reporters or Honorary Members who have been verbatim stenographic reporters shall be eligible to hold an elective office of the Association.

d) Only Members in good standing holding NCRA certifications, who maintain their certifications as required by the Board of Directors, may use the NCRA certification designations associated with his/her certifications.  The only exception is nonmember Certified Legal Video Specialists who have maintained his/her certification as defined by the Board of Directors.

Rationale:

Proposal 1) is to add the formal name of the CLVS certification. Regarding 2) and 3), the Board of Directors charged the Constitution and Bylaws Committee with exploring the possibility of allowing voting rights by Certified Legal Video Specialists who are NCRA members, without changing the Associate Member category.

Proposal 4), Section 9, subsection d), is a revision of current Article III, Section 10, subsection b), which more appropriately belongs in Section 9.

We’ve heard it all before, a proposal gets made, a committee gets formed, the proposal gets vetted, and suddenly the camel’s nose comes under the tent by way of a “fully reviewed and vetted” proposal that is against the interests of Verbatim Stenographic Reporters.  Then when the camel’s nose is already under the tent, the Board says, “Let’s let membership decide.”  But membership knows that once the camel’s nose has gotten in the tent, very soon we’ll have a big, old camel in our tent.

Verbatim Stenographic Reporters know this, and we have stated over and over and over again that we want NCRA to remain an organization focused on Verbatim Stenographic Reporters only.

So hairs are just being split when we hear that videographers won’t hold board positions because a new category of “associate” membership was created only allowing them to vote.   The Board is leading us down a slippery slope.

Doesn’t the Board even wonder why videographers want to be included by having voting rights in NCRA?  We sure do!

It’s not hard to imagine them eventually voting themselves the right to hold board positions.  Is this special “associate member” category the first camel nose in the tent that begins with videographers, then eventually leads to electronic recorders and voicewriters?

Wake Up, NCRA!!!

So, videographers are chomping at the bit to get voting rights in NCRA.  Please make sure that NCRA has an e-mail address on file by July 15^th so you can cast your coveted vote on July 30^th.

Frank N. Sense

P.S.  Please send this blog site, www.wakeupncra.com,  to 10 Verbatim Stenographic Reporters so that they know about this very important issue and they cast their votes on July 30^th.

Wouldn’t it be great if we could become RPRs by just attending a three-day seminar for $880, taking a written knowledge test and a production test like videographers?

Not only have we never seen a videographer who can write 225 wpm, we’ve never seen one that can read back steno/testimony.  We’ve never seen one that can do realtime, captioning, or CART.  And why is that?  It’s because these are skills developed through years and years of hard work that belong exclusively to verbatim stenographic reporters.

The very nice folks who happen to be videographers should not have any vote at all that could in any way influence or ever lead to influence over NCRA – an organization whose members have said over and over and over again that it should only represent the interests of verbatim stenographic reporters.

Wake up, NCRA!

 Frank N. Sense

P.S.  Please make sure that NCRA has an e-mail address on file so that they are able to notify you when voting begins on July 30^th.

P.P.S.  Also, please send this blog to 10 verbatim stenographic reporters so that they know about the very important vote on July 30^th.

Please make sure that NCRA has an e-mail address on file by July 15^th so that you are able to vote on a very important proposed bylaw amendment on July 30^th.

The proposed bylaw amendment, if passed, will allow VIDEOGRAPHERS “associate” membership into NCRA – allowing them “associate” membership rights, including voting and potentially holding board positions in the future!!!

We are sorry, but we don’t understand why the board would spend any of their valuable time even pursuing this already-settled issue. Haven’t we, the verbatim stenographic reporter members of NCRA, already spoken LOUDLY and CLEARLY in a survey a few years ago that we want NCRA dedicated solely to verbatim stenography and advancing the causes near and dear to verbatim stenography?

WAKE UP, NCRA!!!

Frank N. Sense

P.S. Please send this Wake Up, NCRA! blog to 10 reporters so that they can send it to 10 reporters so that we all VOTE on July 30th.  We need to get the word out quickly!!!