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by Charles Carreon
(Author's note: This
piece combines elements of speculation and satire, those cynical-sweet
aspects of the writer's nature that cannot be repressed. Ideally, I would
prefer not to write disclaimers of this sort, but due to the heavy
atmosphere that tends to numb some people's ability to take a joke, I feel
obligated to. I think many readers will find things here that they
themselves have thought, and for those of my sisters and brothers who
consider themselves part of the beleaguered and uneasy "establishment" of
the Co-op, have a cup of Valerian before you read further.)
The moment a person walks in the door at ACFS they are subject to the
unspoken rules of the Co-op Caste System. This system affects
relationships outside the store to some degree, but exercises its most
potent influence within the Co-op building itself.
Possibly due to Eastern influence, the Co-op system has four divisions:
The Collective Caste, The Cashier Caste, The Member Caste (with its
sub-division into working and non-working members), and lastly, those
misbegotten members of the lowest stratum, The Unacceptables. A typical
interpersonal interchange illustrates the one-way movement of authority
characteristic of these class distinctions -- a Cashier, for example, may
tell a group of Members to quiet down, but a Member would be overstepping
his station by asking a Cashier to hurry up. Membership among The
Unacceptables is easily obtained. It is automatically granted to people
who hang out around the now-absent table; incompetent or insistent
musicians qualify with a minimum of fuss, while a surly attitude and a
pair of buckskins grant automatic membership.
The Member caste is variegated, of course, and many of the people in it
are only dimly aware of the system which occasionally deals them a jolt --
a run-in with a Cashier, a dry look from a Coordinator. It is the most
mobile Caste; from there one may move up into the Cashier Caste and thence
to Coordinatorhood, and writing articles like this one can knock you right
down among the Unacceptables in a flash, never to return.
One enters the Cashier Caste by virtue of a willingness to take on the
responsibility the role demands, and a desire to gain the benefits.
Reduced prices are a consideration, and those with dreams of a paying job
had best be ready to place their foot firmly on this rung of the ladder.
The Cashiers participate intimately with Coordinators and among
themselves. As in any group of workers in a business, among themselves
they discuss the stresses of the job, the shortcomings of customers, as
well as sharing the general sense of advantage which comes from paying
less.
The Collective Caste is essentially closed. New members of the caste are
elected by a group which is dominated by the opinions of Collective
members. As I have noted previously, membership in the Cashier Caste is
exceedingly helpful, but by no means a guarantee, since Collective jobs
are essentially passed hand to hand as one of the more treasured
possessions in the community, and the preference of the outgoing
Collective member in favor of a specific successor carries a great deal of
weight. A favorite and invariably successful strategy for appointing a
successor is a three-step process that works like this:
(1) A collective member begins to show signs of collapse, and takes a
vacation, during which a close friend steps in to take her/his place for
the duration of the vacation;
(2) After returning, the Collective member has rediscovered the meaning of
life, which does not include his/her present job, and a sign-up sheet
presently appears to announce an opening on the Collective;
(3) After much reading of resumes and an exhaustive series of interviews,
it turns out the member who stood in during the outgoing member's vacation
is the right person for the job, and thus the transferal is accomplished
without a hitch.
Aspiring Collective members, take note -- as in any organization,
advancement at the Co-op may take months and even years of planning, the
cultivation of appropriate friendships, etcetera. During the time of your
apprenticeship be eager to absorb jargon and buzzwords, for in your
interview you will be asked to share your vision for the Co-op. This is
essentially a vocabulary test, one for which you must be prepared.
Forceful statements or startling ideas will lose points for you; be
careful to formulate a bland socialist pablum with a side of lightly
minced alternative concepts. This will go down easily without chewing and
will save you the embarrassment of having someone choke on a seed. As a
final word: Unacceptables, buzz off; save ink, breath, and mental energy
-- you haven't got a chance.
As a sidelight on this issue we may consider the interesting fact that
Collective members do not always arise from the Cashier Caste on the basis
of ability or other business aptitudes. On the contrary, such concerns are
minor, and the hiring committee has proved itself capable of hiring a
person who doesn't know a crescent wrench from a pipe wrench to fill a
position announced as an opening for someone to handle building and
maintenance, when in fact a number of people with experience in that area
were rejected. This sort of organization dynamic tempts the conclusion
that Collective members are drawn from a predetermined group of people, a
clique that perhaps, like a Brahmin, one is born for, and Collective
members thus may belong to a slightly inbred family whose lineage might be
traced by an astute observer back through the years to the original
formation of the Co-op itself.
(December, 1981, Issue 36, "More Than Food," Ashland, Oregon)
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