[TheThinkTank] full-timers/directors/project coordinators: how'sthe job treating you?

[Jay Varner]

if you want to talk about hierarchy and power structure, you have to
recognize that a director of a non-profit is an employee of the co-op.
therefore, i and the other organizers of the co-op are the director's
boss.

but thinking about it that way is silly. making "more left than thou"
judgments about it is immature. i do "consider a collective form of
organizing where responsibilities, anxieties, and rewards are shared
equally". but, until the revolution i have to consider a world where i
have to pay bills. for atlanta, or any city, to have an affective bike
co-op, a lot of work has to be done. we tried to have a handful of
people do all the work in spare time. that does not work. it became
clear that managing a bike co-op is, at the bare minimum, one
full-time job. with all of us lacking a trust-fund, we had to figure
out how to support someone to carry the load.

oddly enough, since we made that move, our co-op has secured grants,
increased open hours for the community and, god forbid, increased
revenue.

what are we going to do with all the money we're bringing in? well, we
are going to further and broaden our mission to create equitable
access to cycling by providing affordable bicycle maintenance services
and education.

making this work has meant paying someone to work full time. if it has
created a hierarchy, the director is on the bottom. as a member of the
co-op, she is equal to other organizers. before hiring her, we would
talk about what we wanted to do, achieve consensus and then... things
would happen very slowly.  NOW when we decide something, it happens
quickly because it is someone's full-time job to MAKE it happen. so
guess what? atlanta has a kick-ass bike co-op. it's one thing to talk
about left-wing theory, it's a bigger thing to put put the theory into
practice.

On Nov 21, 2007 6:20 PM, lance ayer <lanceayer at gmail.com> wrote:
> Our initiative has taken on an egalitarian approach yet informal power
> structures still develop which lead to some people carrying more of
> the burden than others. Mainly this process is a function of member
> activity, those who are more active carry more of the load. Although
> this is not an egalitarian result, it is an equitable one. So far it
> has been working and moral is high. That being said we are still a new
> initiative and have not had to combat the problems that arise with
> longevity. I would be interested to here from those in similar
> organizational structures about their experience with issues
> surounding  informal power structures as well as potential solutions
> or preventative measures. Also it is hard to ignore the benefits of
> having a director or coordinator, how would you suggest disseminating
> this role among a collective?
>
> Cheers,
> Lance
> Calgary, Alberta
>
>
> On Nov 21, 2007 3:15 PM, Adam Weber <adamlweber at gmail.com> wrote:
> > Friends,
> >
> > While you might not be able to "imagine it any other way" many of your
> > comrades in the bicycle community can and do. Perhaps consider a
> > collective form of organizing where responsibilities, anxieties, and
> > rewards are shared equally. Taking the role of "director" and weeping
> > over your martyrdom is not an attractive quality. Hierarchy is not our
> > friend, whether it rides a bike or drives a car.
> >
> > Adam (Chicago)
> >
> > On Nov 20, 2007 10:06 AM, R.  Dugas/Vélogik/Carrefour jeunesse emploi
> >
> > Saint-Laurent <velogik1 at cjestlaurent.org> wrote:
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Very busy, very exciting, lots of good opportunities to develop stuff and
> > > fascinating people to work with. I've been doing this for 4 years now and
> > > can't imagine it any other way.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > I think it's the same in other organizations related to community enterprise
> > > because we tend to believe in what we do and therefore really invest
> > > ourselves in our dreams working.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > And hiring staff will not make you have less of a workload, quiter the
> > > contrary in my experience.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > richard
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >  ________________________________
> > >
> > >
> > > De : thethinktank-bounces at bikecollectives.org
> > > [mailto:thethinktank-bounces at bikecollectives.org] De la part de rachael
> > > spiewak
> > >  Envoyé : 20 novembre 2007 09:32
> > >  À : The Think Tank
> > >  Objet : [TheThinkTank] full-timers/directors/project coordinators: how'sthe
> > > job treating you?
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > since taking on directing sopo full time, i've come to find that this job is
> > > all kinds of intense.  wonderful, but exhausting.  i'm wondering.. how much
> > > if it is me and how much of it is this job?  is it unique to community bike
> > > shops, or is it like this for other kinds of organizations?  or is it more
> > > about the organization being a start-up?  for the folks in a similar
> > > position: what's your day like?  hanging in there?
> > >
> > >  thanks!
> > >  rachael
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > Thethinktank mailing list
> > > Thethinktank at bikecollectives.org
> > > http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.org
> > >
> > >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Thethinktank mailing list
> > Thethinktank at bikecollectives.org
> > http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.org
> >
> _______________________________________________
> Thethinktank mailing list
> Thethinktank at bikecollectives.org
> http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.org
>