How YOU can help change things re DFCSSFor many months, there has been much discussion on this board (and between supporters generally) regarding the conduct of our three DFCSS directors who also sit on the DFC board. There has been general dismay at events and general frustration that there is "nothing we can do" to change things.
We have all spoken about collecting signatures, petitions, protests,etc; however, there is something we can all do very simply if we feel strongly enough about it.
The Constitution of the DFCSS ( Clause 21) allows any individual member to request that another member should be expelled from the Society.
If a member wants to do this, then they need to write to the DFCSS outlining their complaint.
The DFCSS then need to act on this complaint and arrange an SGM to hear the complaint; and then the members present vote on whether to expel the person or not.
If two thirds of the people present vote against the member then they are immediately expelled from the Society.
As ordinary members of the Society, we all as individuals can exercise this right.
I myself today will be sending the note below to the Society.
If other people feel the same way, they are welcome to copy ( simply cut and paste) this note in full and send it to the DFCSS as well. They are of course welcome to amend the note as they see fit; or write a new note themselves.
If there are enough people who feel the same way about the people running our Society and the way we have been treated over recent months; then this is a way to democratically voice your opinion and force change.
If there are enough people send in their complaints then the DFCSS will have no option other than to arrange an SGM and then we can get things resolved. They should arrange an SGM in the event of one complaint however we have seen their reluctance to do this. If we can get a large number of people complaining then the pressure will be far greater and legally they will have no option other than to proceed.
The DFCSS have cancelled an SGM recently ( with no due cause)which should have been rearanged by now but which hasn't...
We cannot let this sort of thing go unchecked.
This of course also gives the people concerned the chance to explain their actions and outline their position which is only fair in an open and democratic organisation.
I hope that as many people as possible will send a note of complaint to the DFCSS and use the democratic process in place in our constitution to make changes and take the fans group forward.
A sample letter is below.
Send to The Secretary; DFCSS
Dear Sirs
I would like to make a formal complaint against the conduct of Mr Fraser MacDonald, Mr David Forbes and Mr Maurice Kidd who are all members of the Dundee Football Club Supporters Society.
As a member of the DFCSS myself, I feel their conduct in recent months as nominated Directors of the Society has not been of the standard I would expect of a fellow member; and as such I hereby make a request to the board of DFCSS to have the three members noted above expelled from the Society under the Society Rules as laid out in Clause21 of the Constitution.
Please take this as due notice of a formal complaint and I wish you to arrange a Special General Meeting at the earliest opportunity to hear this complaint and allow the members present at such a meeting to vote on whether the three people concerned should be expelled from the Society.
The reasons behind my complaint are as follows.
It is my belief that all three gentlemen whilst acting as Directors of the Society have systematically failed in their duty under clause 2 (vi) of the Society rules by not promoting, developing and respecting the rights of members of the community served by the club and people dealing with the Society as set out in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, having regard in particular to the need to provide information to members and conduct the affairs of the Society in accessible and open ways.
Examples of this include failure to disclose full information regarding Society business as required under Society Rules, failure to promptly and fully publish minutes from meetings of the Society board, failure to publish details fully and promptly from Society Question and Answer sessions and general failure to communicate adequately and fully with their members in an open and transparent way.
It is also my belief that these three gentlemen have failed in their duty as Directors of DFCSS by failing to adhere to clause 11 of the Society Rules under which they should request members to pay an Annual Subscription of such reasonable sum as the Society Board shall decide. Failure to implement this rule and request an annual renewal sum from Society members has lead to loss of income for the Society and means the Society has a members list which is out of date, not fit for purpose and not reflective of the current number of people who genuinely wish to be active members of the Society.
In my opinion this failure has hampered the progress of the Society and is unacceptable.
The fact that an Annual Membership sum is an integral part of Society Rules is further evidenced in clause 20 (1) which states that a member can be removed if they fail after written demand to pay their Annual Renewal Subscription. It is therefore very clear that an Annual Renewal Sum should have been requested of all members.
It is also my belief that all three gentlemen have failed in their duties as a member of the Society by failing to adhere to clause 116 which states that Members should be allowed to inspect the Members Register at the registered office at any reasonable time. It is my belief that fellow members have been deprived of this right by the Society Board. As directors, in doing so these three gentlemen have therefore failed to act in the manner expected of a Society member.
Finally, the Society arranged an SGM for the 15th June 2013 to specifically discuss matters relating to the running of the Society. It is clearly set out in the Rules of the Society in Clause 34 that any such meeting is not to transact any business other than that set out.
The Society board decided to cancel this meeting and thus deprived Society members the opportunity to discuss these specific matters relating to the running of the Society.
This was wholly undemocratic and totally against the stated aims of the Society and this behaviour by the Society board was in my opinion completely unacceptable.
I would repeat that for the reasons outlined above I believe that Mr Fraser MacDonald, Mr David Forbes and Mr Maurice Kidd should be expelled from the Dundee Football Club Supporters Society. I look forward to the Society Board organising an SGM at the earliest opportunity to discuss these important matters and allow the members present at the meeting to vote on whether or not these gentlemen should be expelled from the Society.
Yours
(Name)
This is YOUR chance to do very easily do something about this situation if you want to.
It will take two minutes to copy this into an e mail to DFCSS. It is up to you...