Hello!
I am writing this letter as an individual
and also as a result of my interactions while president of the Illinois
Council of Certified Professional Midwives, ICCPM, with the midwives
guild/union: National Certified Professional Midwives Guild, NCPMG.
As one of the founders of the NCPMG, I feel a responsibility to other
midwives to pass on my first-hand knowledge of the workings of this
organization and to apologize to anyone who paid their money to join the
NCPMG due to my influence and who was disappointed with their membership.
Prior to forming the union, I asked many
midwives, including the MANA and NARM Boards, Citizens for Midwifery
board, and attorneys for input They were all very cautious and
warned that the union is a for-profit institution that is not in business
for the betterment of midwives, but rather to make money. They
warned that the union might help us, or they might just take our
money. What I have experienced is the latter and I feel swindled.
The union was formed by a small group of
us in Illinois in the hope that it would help us pass direct entry
midwifery legislation. At the initial meeting, I was told we would
have use of the union lobbyist--something that we could not afford on our
own and the union could intervene on our behalf with the agency issuing
cease and desist orders.
During the time I was a member and a
trustee, I discovered that many things the union said were not true.
Rather than enabling us to work better
together, the union has been just another divisive entity. In
Illinois, the vast majority of the membership were (and I expect still
are) wanna-be's. I think it is important for an organization that
proposes to represent me (a practicing CPM) to be composed of
predominantly practicing CPM's. Although initially the idea was for
the guild to be a vehicle to promote CPM's, the recruiter heavy-handedly
pushed to broaden the membership.
At the recent MANA conference in Lake
Tahoe, representatives of MANA, NARM, CFM and myself met with NCPMG
representatives, recruiter Bonnie Strauss, Corina Robles,
secretary-treasurer and Jane Dawkins, CPM, trustee. The purpose of
the meeting was to mediate some problems and misunderstandings that had
arisen over the year. I left the meeting with the understanding that
nothing had been resolved but I now had a clearer picture of the direction
of the NCPMG. I feel you deserve to know more information before you
plunk down any more of your money or are led astray by promises of
legislative assistance from the NCPMG.
Learn the reasons why I QUIT
the midwive's union.
Again, I apologize to anyone who spent
their hard-earned money in the belief that the NCPMG would help them with
their state's direct-entry midwifery concerns. I am sorry if the help the
NCPMG promised never materialized for your legislative efforts. If
you recently joined the union, and now are having second thoughts,
ASK FOR YOUR MONEY BACK.
Sincerely,
Yvonne Lapp Cryns, CPM
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