Truth will Out, as Mr Shakespeare wrote…..

The last few weeks have crystallised for me the error of our collective ways. In life and in business, we are so accepting of bad behaviour. It seems pathological lying, obfuscation and complete disregard of personal responsibility is the order of the day.

Just think on the number of times you have read an article or heard commentary on instances of unequivocal lying on the part of politicians – the rorts, the mates’ deals. Consider the journalists and media organisations you would once have been completely trusting of who have clearly done the bidding of their employers at the cost of their personal integrity. And dare I draw the ire of many, reflect on the appallingly bullying behaviour of a handful of elite athletes, dismissed as crowd pleasing antics.

How did we get here? When did we accept these behaviours? When did we decide that we didn’t need to maintain social mores of courtesy, honesty, and empathy for others?

A case in point. Anyone who knows me and follows me on social platforms and on LinkedIn will know I have been relentlessly trying to draw attention to the plight of the employees of the Melbourne Theosophical Society (MTS) in Australia. This began with the booksellers and now encompasses the librarian and bookkeeper.

Again, those who know me understand the depth and genuineness of my love of books and bookstores, and my career trajectory of bookseller, librarian, and law student and worker. 

It is in the context of these passions, and a personal knowledge of the five booksellers who have worked at The TS Bookshop, that I offered any support I could give to their campaign to #savethetsbookshop. I have written to every theosophical lodge around the globe (of which there are 80) as well as sending letters directly to the international headquarters in India and the international President. I have also contacted the major news outlets via social media, trying to garner interest.

I am going to pepper this article with quotes from the update on the petition site on change.org as of 14 August 2022 (the petition is named Save Melbourne’s iconic TS Bookshop and Library). 

At 5.11 pm on Friday (12 August 2022), the entire staff of Melbourne Theosophical Society were made redundant, effective immediately. The library and TS Bookshop are now closed.

The fight to save these vital parts of Melbourne’s heritage is not over! But it is with a heavy heart that we inform you of this act of cultural vandalism by the MTS Board.

Staff had been formally told just hours earlier that a final decision on retrenchment would not be taken until Monday. Despite this, the five booksellers, the librarian and the MTS bookkeeper were emailed at close of business with confirmation of immediate redundancy.

To provide some background, the bookshop has operated since the 1920s and the library (J.A. Farquharson Library) collection includes rare spiritual texts, early editions, unique manual lecture notes and a significant collection of theosophical journals dating back to the 1890s. 

A search of MTS has them listed as a company under the status of a charity and with a purpose to advance religion. Their website sends you to the national website for The Theosophical Society under the banner ‘Melbourne Lodge” where they describe one of the benefits of membership as follows:

Many of our members appreciate the long-term value of belonging to a society which stands for unity rather than division, free exploration of Divine Wisdom with like-minded people, and which holds a special regard for the Sacred in the midst of a materialistic world.

And invite you to: 

Discover our exceptional libraries.

The emblem of the society: 

There is no religion higher than the truth.

Keep the emblem in mind as you read the next excerpt from the update on the petition site:

In a final act of gaslighting, the board posted a notice on the MTS door that reads “Temporary closure — coming soon, new bookshop and library”.

Let us be clear: the board has agreed NO PLANS for these spaces. It began to consult its members only AFTER the staff had been laid off and the shutters drawn on the business. New job descriptions circulated for the lodge refer only to a “gift shop”.

If you are on the TS Bookshop mailing list, you will no doubt soon receive an email that the bookshop is closed because staff quit. This is not true. They were made redundant.

New jobs for which staff were invited to apply were as “administrative assistants” working across the lodge, including in a “gift shop”. The word bookshop was never used. The vast majority of these jobs entailed acting as gophers for directors and managing lodge events. There were four jobs between the seven serving MTS staff, with half the current hours. 

The truth would seem to be missing in the actions of the board of late, inclusive of no genuine consultation with staff and no attempt to inform members of their intentions.

Everyone will tell you their work is ‘special’, unique, or different from everyone else’s work. I believe every type of work has its own nuances, jargon, and is, at the end of the day, what the individual makes of it.

That said, my experience tells me that booksellers and librarians have a social contract with their patrons. In the case of booksellers, they are engaged in a commercial transaction while at the same time providing a window to the world of ideas for readers of all ages. I believe they are part of the wonderful community of artists who explore the human condition be it through song, art, or writing. Librarians are custodians of a society’s thoughts, beliefs, and actions at any given moment in time through the collections they curate.

Back to the update:

A job description for “Librarian” was in fact another admin position supporting the board. It contained no description of the specialised work a librarian does. Instead, it involved running events, promotions, buildings management, stationery ordering and money handling.

No positions as bookseller were offered, no guarantee made that the bookshop would continue, and not one of the staff felt the jobs offered were serious, suitable, or even practical. They seemed almost designed to be unacceptable. None of the staff therefore applied.

As I outlined above, when I started supporting their campaign, I knew the five booksellers. I now have come to know the librarian and the bookkeeper. These are people who have worked tirelessly for MTS by providing a bookshop and library that are posters for the very best of such institutions. Each of these people have a sense of compassion and concern for their fellow citizens that have ensured places of safety and welcome. And they guaranteed that the move from one location to another after decades was organised and seamless.

How is that at a grass roots level, be it MTS or any other organisation or activity, there is a disconnect between the stated aims of the organisation and the way they treat their staff? How can it be that for years we have heard the terms ‘corporate responsibility’ and ‘duty of care’ but constantly come across instances of those in positions of power and leadership behaving with a staggering arrogance and disregard for those in their employ. As individuals, we express our concern over our coffee, but do we actually call this behaviour out?

Perhaps if we did, generally, call out such failures we would have different politicians, company CEOs and clergy.

Anyone of you reading this who can affect corporate behaviour, I implore you to create change from within. For those of us who are the recipients of this failure of leadership, assert your rights with support from others. And that is where we, the bystanders, come in…we all have the power to call out such situations and to support those living through the ramifications of errant boards, managers or leaders.

A glimpse of what each staff member has been going through in the eye of this particular storm: 

This has been an extremely stressful time for all of us. One of the staff has successfully won a bullying claim at WorkSafe against two of the directors. Another has been on stress leave for much of the year. We are now trying to pick ourselves up to take the fight forward.

And the fight is not over. The Board has acted not only over the heads of staff but of its own members. Now one fifth of the MTS voting membership has formally called a special general meeting to remove the board. Members are shocked at what has been done in their name but without their knowledge.

We hope that sense will prevail and our beautiful library and shop will reopen — and that Melbourne Theosophical Society itself again becomes an active spiritual beacon for seekers.

This last excerpt from the petition update exemplifies the bona fides of the people who have been made redundant – they are still thinking of the society and their patrons.

I remain a fan of the Canadian satirist and one-time broadcaster Rick Mercer, catching him on YouTube when I need a fix of intelligent ‘ranting’ on the ills of the world or simply a good laugh at his adventures throughout Canada. I feel this article is my Mercer-type rant.

I am so exasperated at the unprincipled and destructive behaviours of so many, especially those in a position to lead by example. And the present situation for the staff of MTS is classic – all they have ever done is their very best. All of them – booksellers, librarian, and bookkeeper – deserve so much more from the employer.

As is famously said, it is important to bear witness. All of them, and supporters like myself (and hopefully new supporters among you who read this article) will at least know that we called out the MTS Board and might make members of all organisations pause and check the reality of their behaviour against the stated aims of their organisation.