Jan and Maureen raise legitimate questions regarding ILCA decision-making on two un-related matters. Jan, I am reading between the lines here, but I suspect that your decision not to renew your ILCA membership came after the April 2007 vote by the ILCA membership-at-large to change the by-laws, so that voting privileges in the organization rest only with those who are IBCLC-certified. Everyone pays the same membership fee, everyone gets the same association benefits -- but now, if you want to vote for a Board member (wink, wink), vote for a by-laws change, or vote on a measure raised from the floor at the Annual General Meeting (which has never happened), then you must be an ILCA member who is also IBCLC. These by-laws changes, when first proposed, were discussed in eGlobe articles, listservs to members, on the website itself, and in the ballot materials themselves -- so I simply take exception to the notion that the change came out of nowhere. With full disclosure I'll note here that I personally voted for the by-laws change. The by-laws change was overwhelmingly accepted, by voting ILCA members who then included non-IBCLCs. It was made by vote of the membership, not by Board fiat. The change was triggered because ILCA is primarily comprised of IBCLCs. It has for years (perhaps even since its inception) limited certain leadership positions (Committee Chairs; Board members) to those who are IBCLC. The notion was to keep ILCA inclusive (anyone can join ILCA), but to limit leadership and governance decision-making to our primary market for advocacy: the IBCLC. I recognize, of course, that one can elect *not* to join (or renew) an organization with this sort of governance structure. Maureen asks about Lansinoh, a company which produces products that do *not* fall under the WHO Code, but whose majority stock holdings were purchased a handful of years ago by Pigeon (spelled like the bird), whose major market is in Japan and whose marketing practices of Code-covered products are famously non-Code-compliant. Remember, please, our Economics 101: a free market capitalistic economy means a company whose shares (stocks) are publicly traded cannot in any way restrict who the buyer might be. Stocks are put up for sale, and the person/entity who is willing to pay the most for them gets them. So: Pigeon bought up the majority of Lansinoh shares. BUT -- the corporate structure and governance at Lansinoh remains "firewalled" -- the same guys that ran that shop when it was bought are still running the shop. Lansinoh currently conducts itself in Code-compliant fashion -- largely because they are entirely exempt from its provisions, as they do not manufacture nor market any of the four product-types falling under the WHO Code. But if Lansinoh is the Good Child, owned now by the Bad Parent, does that mean that Lansinoh must now be considered non-Code-compliant, too? The WHO Code is entirely *silent* on the issue of such layered corporate ownership. It looks at marketing practices aimed at mothers (and health care providers), period. Nonetheless, I can assure you that the ILCA Board discussed this matter at length, at several Board meetings, as part of its overall endeavor to create a conflict-free mechanism for examining Code-compliance as part of our fiduciary responsibility to our members. Thus, the decision was made by ILCA to allow Lansinoh to exhibit at the ILCA conference (and similarly the JHL editors allowed them to purchase ad space) on the simple rationale that Lansinoh does not produce or market products that fall under the WHO Code. Again, a hypothetical. I am a Good IBCLC. I worked (until they closed the maternity unit Nov 2008) at a Bad Hopsital, which accepted formula bags and free formula. (This is a gross WHO Code violation, and Standard Operating Procedure for hospitals here in the USA, altho the number of BFHI institutions rises each year, hallelujah). Does that mean that I am to be considered non-Code-compliant? Do I have to quit my job where I ethically served hundreds of breastfeeding mothers a year? My self-determination on that question was NO. I didn't touch the discharge bags ... indeed, I used their presence as a "teaching moment" for my HCP colleagues. I only discussed formula, bottles and teats with mothers in a fashion consistent with my IBLCE Code of Ethics, IBLCE Scope of Practice and ILCA Standards of Practice. And I took that check from the hospital each and every month, and plopped it into my bank account, without losing a minute of sleep. Or this. I am a Good WIC peer counselor. I work at a Bad WIC Office, which allows posters from formula manufacturers to be hung on the wall. (This is not a rare occurrence in the USA.) Does that mean I am to be considered non-Code-compliant? Do I have to quit my job at WIC, where I serve mothers who come from population segments with the lowest BF rates -- and whom we know, from the research, will most benefit from my information and support? Even though my own interactions with mothers (including our discussions of Code-covered products) is handled perfectly ethically? Or this. I am a Good Researcher, teaching at a Renowned University. A pharmaceutical company which manufactures formula decides to donate a mega-lump of money to my university, to fund a building in another department way over on another part of campus. Am I now to be considered non-Code-compliant? Is the "money pot" from which my paycheck comes now "tainted" because a fraction of the funds within it came from the Bad Company? To repeat: ILCA made its decision vis-a-vis Lansinoh on an examination of the current company, its current governance make-up, and its current product-line. It does not produce nor market any of the products covered by the WHO Code. I recognize, of course, that one can elect *not* to agree with these conclusions by the ILCA Board. And you will no doubt let me know it, any second now .... Liz Brooks JD IBCLC FILCA (ILCA Secy 2005-11) Wyndmoor, PA, USA *********************************************** Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html To reach list owners: [log in to unmask] Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask] COMMANDS: 1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail 2. To start it again: set lactnet mail 3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet 4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome