Toronto YMCA Mismanagement

Dear Board and Committee Members:

I would like to make each of you aware of serious mismanagement problems at the Greater Toronto YMCA. The problems strike at the very heart of the YMCA’s ethical values. They have led to:

• The rejection by Metro-Central General Manager Lesley Davidson of a petition signed by seventy participants objecting to the squandering of YMCA resources by Metro-Central management.

• The refusal of Ms. Davidson to explain her rejection of the petition to members.

• The unwillingness of any of the managers involved to inquire into an important supplementary objection, signed by 38 of the petitioners, regarding persistent, dishonest misrepresentations on the part of YMCA management in addressing the concerns of members.

• Our inability to resolve these issues within the current management structure.

I have made earnest efforts, since submitting our petition to Ms. Davidson on March 22, to resolve our problems with YMCA management. Ms. Davidson has been adamant in her refusal to explain a decision which is inconsistent with the YMCA’s own data.

Turning to President Richard Bailey has also proven unhelpful. Mr. Bailey is committed to the view that it is not within his powers to review such matters, and he has declined even to discuss them.

Our issues involve overt mismanagement; ethical breaches; and violations of the YMCA’s “Commitment to Service.” I cannot understand that a person in Mr. Bailey’s position would be unwilling to consider issues of this nature with the performance of his own subordinates.

Mr. Bailey has instead insisted that the matter is out of his hands, and that the YMCA’s Resolution Procedure obliges him to appoint a dispute resolution committee to deal with our concerns. I have carefully read the Resolution Procedure. It is not applicable to complaints about a general manager, and there seems to be nothing there that would prevent Mr. Bailey either from inquiring into our concerns, or from taking action.

I was nevertheless prepared to go along with the proposed procedure -- even though Mr. Bailey acknowledged there was no provision for appealing the committee’s decision. However, even before a meeting ever convened, it became clear that we could not expect a fair hearing.

Mr. Bailey’s appointed committee chair, Vice President Linda Cottes, stated that Ed Dewar would not be permitted to accompany me to the committee meeting. The only explanation she has been willing to offer is that Mr. Dewar is not a current member of the YMCA.

Mr. Dewar was the organizer of a petition in 1997, signed by 50 members, which addressed the identical issue raised by our current petition. Mr. Dewar met at the time with the same two individuals who are at the center of our problems: Ms. Davidson, and Greg Miller, the Athletic Director. They rejected Mr. Dewar’s petition at the time, just as they recently rejected our current petition.

Mr. Dewar has belonged to various YMCA’s since 1960, and was a member of the Toronto YMCA for most of the period from 1975 to 1997. At various points up to six of his family members have been members at the same time. Two of Mr. Dewar’s sons are currently members.

Mr. Dewar was good enough to volunteer his time when I asked him recently to appear with me before the committee. His many years of participation at the YMCA and his direct involvement with the specific issues would clearly have been helpful to any genuine effort to assess the situation at Metro-Central. Ms. Cottes’ refusal to permit Mr. Dewar’s participation came as further evidence of what we have become accustomed to from YMCA management: Bad faith.

Since YMCA management has proven unreceptive to the concerns of members and participants, I have resolved at this point to contact corporate sponsors of the YMCA, in the expectation that financial contributors will be more influential in bringing reform to the YMCA.

In the meantime, I strongly urge you to promptly appoint a representative to examine the details of our issues. Your representative should be completely independent of current management. The problems are easy to understand, and you will have my full cooperation.

Sincerely,

Uriel Wittenberg
uw@urielw.com
[Phone #]