Member-Owner Rights & Responsibilities
When you invest in a PeopleShare, you become a co-owner of People’s Food Co-op. Your co-op thrives on the participation and loyalty of all its co-owners, so participation in your co-op is encouraged. Below you can read about your Rights and Responsibilities as a People’s Shareholder.
Rights
You have a right to participate in People’s democratic process. You have a right to:
- Vote by ballot for individuals running for Board of Directors seats in People’s annual election;
- Vote by ballot for changes to bylaws as proposed by the Board of Directors in People’s Annual Election;
- Run for a seat on the Board of Directors;
- Attend Board of Directors meetings.
You have a right to privacy.
- Personal information such as your name, contact information, patronage points/purchases, or any other personal data is only requested and used by certain authorized People’s staff in a manner that allows the conduct of normal business, and for no other purpose;
- Personal information is never sold, transferred, or given to any other entity;
- Personal information is kept secure, locked, and is only accessible by certain authorized People’s staff for the purposes of normal business, and for no other purpose.
You have a right to a safe and respectful environment while shopping at People’s.
- Every person’s age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, skin color, size, religion, creed, national origin, mental and physical ability will be honored and respected at People’s. Intolerance, bias, discrimination, or other untoward behavior is not acceptable at People’s.
Responsibilities
As a People’s Member-Owner, you are a co-owner of a business, and have certain responsibilities.
You are responsible for:
- Supporting your business by shopping at People’s;
- Contacting People’s if there are changes to your membership information (name, address, etc). Send an email to update your information.
- Keeping your PeopleShare active by making timely investments in your share; click here to make an investment.
- Staying informed about the current state of your co-op (for example, through reading People’s Annual Report and Grassroots Newsletter, attending the Annual Meeting, contacting People’s with questions or feedback, etc.);
- Maintaining People’s as a safe and respectful environment by always honoring all persons’ age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, skin color, size, religion, creed, national origin, mental and physical ability.
