Cohousing-L Mailing List: Work Requirements and Contracting

[Victoria (victoria]

Sorry about the attachments, trying again in plain text in the message
should work!  No more attachments shall come forth from me to the list, I
promise!

So this Trillium's Work fairshare policy  that we are working with after
tons of controversy.  Section VII is still under consideration.

Vicky Leary
Trillium Hollow
Portland, Oregon

I:  THOUGHTS
* We come to community to both give and receive.
* We are committed to create a sustainable community.
* We want to keep community fees as low as possible by doing as much of the
work as possible ourselves and hiring out only what we cannot do.
* We need all differing levels of competence, time and energy available in
order to accomplish the work of the 7 Teams.  Though other work is
appreciated and valued, such as cooking, cleaning up after meals, going to
general meetings and setting up the Trillium Hollow Musical Appreciation
Society, these are not Work Fairshare contributions.
* Knowing what members are doing and how much time they devote to the
community is a way of acknowledging, honoring and encouraging member support
and involvement in the community.
* We want an honor system with no monitoring of others taking place.
Coercion of any kind would detract from the positive work atmosphere that is
most desirable in community, and thus is best avoided.
II:  GOALS
1. To foster a positive sense of community via making sure the essentials of
our community get done, by (a) encouraging people to contribute time to the
community by using positive reinforcement rather than reliance upon coercion
or social pressure, and (b) enhancing community well being by providing
opportunities for social interaction in community via work.
2. To ensure the survival of Trillium, and protect our financial investment
by making sure the work of the teams gets done.

III:  WORK FAIRSHARE - HOW IT WORKS:
1. Each Team or Committee who needs volunteers for tasks that need doing
will regularly post them on the JOBS POSTING section on the bulletin board
in the Common House and multiple locations.
2. All adult community members will make their choices of work by signing up
for the task(s) they intend to do.
3. When the task is completed please check it off and note the date.
4. Each adult will write down volunteer hours worked and give this
information to the Work Fairshare coordinator before the first Sunday of the
month.  This can be done anonymously.
5. Every month the coordinator of Work Fairshare will add up the total
number of hours spent in tasks, divide it by the number of people reporting
and post the average amount of volunteer time gifted to the community during
that month.
6. There is no prescribed time quota.  The average time reported becomes the
guide for people who wish to do so to use as they choose what to do about
the amount of work they want to volunteer the next month.
7. Time volunteered is reported by the person who did the work.  No one will
be checking to see whether the time reported is accurate.
8. Teams will decide what to do about tasks for which there were no
volunteers.
IV MONEY ISSUES
A value of the time economy system is that by stepping outside of the
monetary economy and building a time-based economy a community can affirm
the values of sharing and cooperation, as opposed to the monetary system's
market economy values of comparative advantage, self-interest and other
privileges.  Time economies affirm that community work is done for the good
of the whole.  This is one form of time economy that works by what can be
called "rational altruism," or a form of gift giving that benefits the
giver.  This goal includes avoiding the use of money, either in payment to
the worker for work done for the community (reward), or in payment by a
member to the community in place of contributing time (pay-off).  Putting a
monetary number on our work devalues it.  All work given to the community is
important.  This value would be undermined by valuing labor at varying rates
for different forms of work.
V  POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT:

Some form of encouragement and reward is important, such as:

 1.  recognition by other community members for each person's work (we need
to become very creative in how we recognize member contributions - including
using the Trillium Hello).

2.  personal satisfaction for doing good work that is appreciated by others.
3. knowing that other members are also doing the best quality work they can
for the community results in an esprit de corps and sense of group
awareness, appreciation and commitment.
4. knowing that other members are contributing a similar amount of work for
the good of the community decreases resentment.
 VI MANAGEMENT and LABOR RECORDS

Although it is not necessary that there be a high level of accuracy in
the recording of labor contributed, there are other uses for labor records
beyond the computation of an average.  Records are important in order for
the community to recognize and honor members who have contributed time to
various projects.  Also, accurate records help the community better plan its
expenses and projects.

VII
In these situations ~

· Those who are unable to contribute in any way to work fairshare.
· Those who are out of town for over 4 consecutive weeks at a time.
· 'Absentee' owners - defined as those with units for sale who are no longer
actively involved in the community; and those with an essentially empty unit
who are likewise uninvolved.

~ it is recommended that a monthly sum of $125.00 be added to HOA fees, to
enable the community to maintain the property and services.

It is possible that some members on fixed incomes may become unable to pay
increases in condo fees, special assessments or pay an increase in HOA fees
when they cannot contribute time.  In this event, on a case by case basis,
the Board can offer special options, including:

Deferment of all or a part of condo fees and Work Fairshare payments to be
fully reimbursed with interest paid from the first dollars from the sale of
that unit when it closes.  This becomes a binding agreement on the member
and his/her heirs.  (This option balances personal responsibility, provision
for special individual needs and sustainability of the community.)