With our group, we for the most part turn down requests for outside
events like workshops, simply due to lack of volunteer time. We're
set up with a core group of people (sort of like the Board of the co-
op for lack of a better term) that has key access and run the shifts,
and the rest of the volunteers show up as they see fit. So only a
core vol. would do such workshops, and most have full-time employment.
For a while we did hire someone to take these on, and split the
proceeds 50/50. Sometimes it was corporate or government and the
total pay was $500, but most often it was maybe $100. In the end we
were making enough money to stay afloat just through shop operations,
so we canned doing outside events just from the hassle point of
view. We're in a fairly prosperous city (Canada's Capital) and
situated on the edge of downtown, so we don't tend to hear a demand
for extra services to those on low-income. We do our best to keep
our prices low in general (average bike price is $80), and each
staffer can adjust a bike's price as they see fit at point of sale.
For a long time we prided ourselves on being completely volunteer
run, and also receiving no outside funding (though of course
receiving quite a bit of community support from places like MEC that
have helped keep our cash outlay down). Currently, none of our
volunteers gets paid outside of myself, and I only get a monthly
honourarium as Director.
I've had this position since 2002, but in 2006 told the group I
needed some compensation to keep putting the time in, because
otherwise my hours should be spent on another part-time job to
supplement my income as a musician. Fortunately the group agreed,
and so I continue. While I receive no benefits or vacation time, I
also don't have a bad boss or dopey co-workers. ;) The important
thing for me is retaining flexibility in my hours so that I can still
continue to work as a musician, and the co-op has someone keeping the
place glued together.
Every now and then I've queried some of the staff on the idea of
getting paid to run shifts, and pretty well all have nixed the idea,
saying their day job pays them well enough and they are happy to put
in the time as volunteers. So that's how we operate for now, but it
could change if core staff departed and newcomers were wanted to
explore the pay idea.
Mark Rehder - Director
re-Cycles Bicycle Co-op
http://re-cycles.ca
On 23-Jun-08, at 11:22 AM, Macho Philipovich wrote:
>
> Hey everyone. We're trying to sort through a couple of issues at
> the shop right now, and I'd like to see if any others have
> experiences with similar situations that they could share.
>
> 1. We like to keep as many open shop hours as our volunteer
> capacity will allow, which doesn't leave much left for running
> other programs. Our shop is located in a poor part of town, and
> we're finding a lot of schools, community centres, and immigrant
> organizations are asking us to run workshops for kids. The said
> community organizations, though, are often willing to provide
> honoraria for this work. In the past we've just had the money
> donated back to the bike project, but now people who run the
> programs are starting to keep it for themselves, and we're kind of
> feeling torn. On the one hand, partnering with community
> organizations so that kids can have access to bikes and bike repair
> tools & skills is amazing, and is basically why we exist, and
> giving our volunteers, most of whom are low-income, some monetary
> compensation is great, especially since we are a very financially
> stable shop. On the other hand, there is also the concern that if
> volunteers start to be paid, it will take them away from our open
> shop hours, and leave other volunteers to do essentially the same
> work, only without getting paid. This could seemingly cause
> resentment, hard feelings, and the general deterioration of our
> shop. We're not, at this time, able to or interested in paying all
> volunteer mechanics all of the time. So this is something we have
> to find a way to reasonably resolve.
>
> 2. This question is especially directed at shops that view
> themselves as committed to radical social change, but answers from
> anyone are welcome. We've just switched over from a "free-for-all"
> kind of setup where people can waltz in to the shop, start
> wrenching away, and ask for help if anyone is around to offer it,
> to our new setup where people need to sign in with a greeter and if
> there are no available mechanics, they have to wait outside. This
> has almost eliminated the chaos and frustration that was until
> recently a staple at the shop, but also has people worried. We are
> starting to feel like we are "policing" people and treating those
> who use the shop with suspicion, and that the shop is starting to
> feel much more like a regular liberal social work program or soup
> kitchen where there is a clear divide between staff ("you've
> already had your one bowl of soup!") and people fixing their bikes,
> rather than a space where different people are welcome to make a
> meaningful contribution, and become empowered to be invested in the
> space and take a leadership role.
>
> Has anyone experienced either of these things in their shop? Any
> thoughts? Solutions?
>
> Thanks,
> Macho of the Bike Dump
> http://bike-dump.ca
>
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