Embrace the Quirky!
Collective Organizing
“We believe in collective process and a nonhierarchical distribution of power within our own group and in our vision of a revolutionary society.”
Combahee River Collective Statement, 1977
What do you think about collective organizing, when and where is it strategic and necessary. Who do we trust to make the small decisions that hold a space together? What does collective organizing look like in the age of the internet? And on the real..does it make sense that only a couple of us are admins on this NING site...or should we have a weekly consensus process for a new logo?
What do you think?
Below we have an example of collectivizing within a non-profit organization. What are the structures that you come across in the groups you move in? How's it going?
Project South: Institute for the Elimination of Genocide and Poverty uses a “flat pay scale”
Steph Guillioud of Project South teaches and reflects on that structural choice here:
A flat pay scale means every full-time staff earns the exact same salary and receives the same benefits. Our salaries increase by about 4% cost of living every year. We have $38,000 annual salaries in 2009 for 5 full-time staff.
Historically, Project South has always had this structure as a way to reflect a collective staff formation. We have always considered a “collective” structure to be an evolving one, that strives for as much horizontal power as possible. We strive to confront and address systemic power differences including race, class, and gender that happen in intra-organizational work. We also believe that leadership and weight is held differently across the organization based on experience and strengths in particular areas. This leadership is not recognized by salary but by division of labor and authority over different areas of the organization.
The flat pay scale is a strategic decision and policy implemented by board and staff to reflect our principles as an organization. In our recent transition from the founder director to a collective Executive Leadership Team, we re-visited the policy and re-affirmed it based on the same principles. The flat scale allows for deeper and more frank conversations about wages, compensation, class, and movement work.
what is a structural choice that you are working with? how is it going? email us at brokenbeautifulpress@gmail.com
Combahee River Collective Statement, 1977
What do you think about collective organizing, when and where is it strategic and necessary. Who do we trust to make the small decisions that hold a space together? What does collective organizing look like in the age of the internet? And on the real..does it make sense that only a couple of us are admins on this NING site...or should we have a weekly consensus process for a new logo?
What do you think?
Below we have an example of collectivizing within a non-profit organization. What are the structures that you come across in the groups you move in? How's it going?
Project South: Institute for the Elimination of Genocide and Poverty uses a “flat pay scale”
Steph Guillioud of Project South teaches and reflects on that structural choice here:
A flat pay scale means every full-time staff earns the exact same salary and receives the same benefits. Our salaries increase by about 4% cost of living every year. We have $38,000 annual salaries in 2009 for 5 full-time staff.
Historically, Project South has always had this structure as a way to reflect a collective staff formation. We have always considered a “collective” structure to be an evolving one, that strives for as much horizontal power as possible. We strive to confront and address systemic power differences including race, class, and gender that happen in intra-organizational work. We also believe that leadership and weight is held differently across the organization based on experience and strengths in particular areas. This leadership is not recognized by salary but by division of labor and authority over different areas of the organization.
The flat pay scale is a strategic decision and policy implemented by board and staff to reflect our principles as an organization. In our recent transition from the founder director to a collective Executive Leadership Team, we re-visited the policy and re-affirmed it based on the same principles. The flat scale allows for deeper and more frank conversations about wages, compensation, class, and movement work.
what is a structural choice that you are working with? how is it going? email us at brokenbeautifulpress@gmail.com
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Iesha Mona on -
I have always committed to working strictly for non-profit organizations in social services. Thankfully, I have been blessed to be provided with opportunities that have allowed that to happen. As a social justice activist, I feel that this is one effective way to live out my passion and see the fruits of my labor in the community I serve.
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