[Engaged] The Case of the Tent Village

[Shoka]

I would probably give the folks a heads up that the project would be ending soon and the boss may take steps to try to move them. I might then look to see if there are any local government resources available to send out rather than police.

The tricky part here seems to be whether to follow instructions as an employee in this situation. I am biased as a business owner, because I am in a unique position of being responsible for safeguarding the health and success of the business, so sometimes have to be the “bad guy.”

Jakuden,

I think this is a big part of what makes this scenario applicable to many different cases. Sometimes we are in the position to have to "follow the rules" or "do as we are directed" even if that direction might not be what we personally would have chosen to do.

In this situation there is a bit of wiggle room where you would have to determine what your level of comfort is walking the fine line between doing what people would like you to do and doing what you think is right.

Gassho,

Shoka
sattoday

[Shoka]

The tents need to be relocated unless they have purchased the land they occupy or gain title by the law of adverse possession.

Gasho, Jishin, _/st\_

Jishin,

So per the scenario they aren't on the land that you are working on. They are on a neighboring land, which you don't own.

Do you make the assumption that the owner of that land hasn't given them the right to be there?

Gassho,

Shoka
sattoday

The tents need to be relocated unless they have purchased the land they occupy or gain title by the law of adverse possession.

Gasho, Jishin, _/st\_

This depends. Are they camped on public land? If so then they are not breaking any laws. I am not sure about all states, but some states you folks have do allow folks to live on public lands.

If they move onto private property, then yes they need to move on or be moved.

We should never be in such a situation, this is the most important point. However, if someone choose to live this way we should allow them. This being said, they still need to have respect for the space they occupy (i.e. no garbage or human fluids, etc). Being a productive member of society will support your way of wanting to live your life.

Gassho
Shingen

Sat/LAH

[Jakuden]

I would probably give the folks a heads up that the project would be ending soon and the boss may take steps to try to move them. I might then look to see if there are any local government resources available to send out rather than police.

The tricky part here seems to be whether to follow instructions as an employee in this situation. I am biased as a business owner, because I am in a unique position of being responsible for safeguarding the health and success of the business, so sometimes have to be the “bad guy.” I consider the emotional effects my decisions will have on my employees and when possible, compromise. But sometimes they do not completely understand my decisions and I know sentiment might run against me. It’s challenging and stressful to be the one who makes the call on when it’s time to be benevolent and when it’s time to make the business profitable and responsible, but I have made peace with the fact that these situations will fall back to the rest of the universe and its consequences if we cannot take them on, and I am not the only one that can bear the responsibility to help.

Gassho,
Jakuden
SatToday/LAH


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[Jishin]

The tents need to be relocated unless they have purchased the land they occupy or gain title by the law of adverse possession.

Gasho, Jishin, _/st\_

[Shoka]

Hey everyone,

So I’m back with another hopefully interesting discussion topic for the Engaged Center. Below is a real story and most of the circumstances that you might need to take into consideration to determine what action you would take.

Your assignment (if you choose to play):
Read the situation and comment as to what you would do and why. What comes up for you when you think about the situation and what factors play into how you would move forward.

This is meant to be a fun intellectual conversation about how you would react and what action you would take.

The Case:
Recently you have had several tents move in along the fence of your construction site. There are people living in them who come and go. The people have not caused any disturbances and are not on the property you are working on.

The owner of the construction project asked if there is any action you are going to take. You had replied no because they were not on the project site, and had not caused a disturbance, so there was nothing that needed to be done from your point of view.

There is now concern that when the construction fence comes down, the tents will be move closer to the new buildings. Some are suggesting that when the construction fence comes down in a couple weeks, the authorities should be alerted and try to get the tents to move elsewhere.

Additional Facts that weight in the decision making:
Construction has been going on for over a year, and has not had any problems with security or people coming onto the jobsite and causing trouble.

The jobsite does have a security guard who is onsite through the evening and weekends. And the tents have been set-up near the location where the security guard regularly takes up his post. Your assumption is they chose this location because there is security.

The people living in the tents, as far as you know have not broken any laws.

What action do you take?

• Do you do nothing because as far as you know they have done nothing wrong?
• Do you give in to the owner wanting them to be moved along and start calling the authorities now because it’s going to happen anyways?
• Do you give the people who are living in the tents a heads up that in a couple weeks the fence is coming down and they might want to find somewhere else before then?
• Is there something else you would do?

The same as before this is a real situation. I’m not looking for advice to what to do, but instead opening up the topic of what would you do and why. Also think about what comes up for you when you think through this situation and share those thoughts as well.

Gassho,

Shoka
sattoday