Wow! This is a great thread, with lots of thought provoking viewpoints. I would like to recommend the book, Stories From the Farm, which is first hand accounts from a hipppy farmers commune.  Their struggles to maintain balance and be free of opresive hierarchy may prove relevant. besides, its often hilarious to imagine the controversies unfolding, like when the mostly vegan commune was thrown a curve ball by a member who made her own ice cream from her breast milk.
   Anyway, I was wondering if any co op managers have tried volunteer recognition events, like a chili dinner, or volunteer T shirts. A little recognition goes a long way, and its great for everyone in an organization to have their significance celebrated.  Sometimes the people with the dirtiest hands are the most quiet.
  As for the "more left than thou" dynamic, it pushes people away.  I have two friends I recommended to my local bike co op.  They both felt they were treated poorly, for not being "cool enough".  One friend laughed it off, and the other just thought it was so cool that the hobos were being treated well that she forgave all the "bigger fan of Noam Chompsky than you" attitude. But they will not be back.  In an age so dominated by the petrochemical industry, riding a bike is the revolution. Where are we going to get tires after the oil collapse  anyway?
                                                                                                PEACE BE WITH YOU!
                                                                                                Art B.
                                                                                                (hermit who fixes bikes in his garage)

---

> From: mark@drumbent.com
> Date: Mon, 26 Nov 2007 00:53:42 -0500
> To: thethinktank@bikecollectives.org
> Subject: Re: [TheThinkTank] full-timers/directors/project coordinators: how's the job treating you?
>
> On 25-Nov-07, at 2:44 AM, omar wrote:
>
> > it seems the "get organized" vs. "more leftist than thou" dynamic
> > plays out at all levels of many community bike projects. when our
> > ed left in 2001, the 4 full time staff members stepped up to manage
> > our organization collectively. by 2005, 3 of the 4 had left
> > because, bottom line, they couldn't work together, and projects had
> > dropped to the point that we'd atrophied to a single community bike
> > shop. now, realizing that shit flows downhill and if someone's
> > going to clean it up they should be recognized for it,
>
>
> hehe - thanks Omar. That's the metaphor I try to avoid, but it's
> accurate. Physically so for me last week, as I cleaned the slimy,
> oily gunk out of the sump under our wash-up sink. (yuck...)
>
> > we've developed a hierarchy, people have assumed managerial and
> > coordinator roles, and we're once again getting a lot done. there
> > are still folks who complain that there's too much structure and
> > want to make things more egalitarian - funnily enough though,
> > they're also the ones who rarely step up, have a hard time showing
> > up to work their shifts and don't seem to get much done.
>
>
> Yes, indeed...
>
> > i love my job. its crazy and stressful some days, constantly
> > challenging, infinitely rewarding and a hell of a lot of fun.
> >
> > --
> > omar bhimji
> > project manager
> > pedal bike depot
> > p. 604.708.4992
>
> Mark
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