ok, more then.

[charlz_lynn]

thanks for all the support in response to my last post. so here's the deal...
lv sent out a letter to all who were in leadership positions last year, asking how we can cut back our areas. just our own areas, no one else's. that's not so hard. i had a couple ideas, and i shared them, and grover and i have been talking about lace, too... and even though i'm not in leadership, i shared that, too.
the hard part was trying to explain that we, in main kitchen, actually work our asses off. without sounding like a whiner. they've been talking about cutting our crew back in numbers, again, and physically it just doesn't make any sense. i already worked a bunch of 12 hour days last year, and so did the folks in prep, and probably all the other areas of the kitchen, i just don't know. because regardless of how many festies are there, we still have to have bodies directing them. to give a little perspective, we were 10 crew members fewer than gals last year. it's hard to not feel picked on when we just keep shrinking, and just keep having to work longer days. especially with fewer festies, because no one shows up for their fucking workshifts! so we're doing the physical work while directing all the shiftworkers, which is more exhausting than i could ever describe. if i'm lucky, i have about 50 shifties through dinner, and three other people working to help manage all that, last year we'd get one person who signed up, then jb would go get more people. so we'd end up with about 14 people to serve dinner to 3,000, and two or three crew members on directing the whole service circus. and ps. i had lost my voice by friday from talking for 8-12 hours straight every day.
so that was the letter, basically. trying to talk her out of making us smaller. because the first two people come out of service. which means no breaks for me, and (if i'm the AC again) i'll have to ask my crew to work 12 hour days most of the time, too. it's just fucked, and i have to say it, not fair. because however whiney this sounds, it's true: i have friends who work 5-6 hour shifts. that's great for them... but maybe their crews could be smaller before mine.
ok, this version is quite a bit more angsty than what i wrote lv. but you get the idea.

Comments

Hand squeeze

[jige.livejournal.com]

I hope she hears you. All sounds fair enough to me.

So assuming that there is 0 cut to your staff, what do think of making the majority of the workshifts in the main kitchen if not all of them?

That would mean at orientation, festies could only sign up for Main Kitchen and everyone else would just have to deal with either less festies than they usually have or none at all.

The pitfalls to this off the cuff suggestion would be perhaps that it doesn't mean that people wouldn't still ditch their work shifts OR that having TOO many people show up would be more chaos than it is worth.

The other critique may be that even if the physical burden is alleviated, the constant direction and and quality control is exhausting so more festies doesn't really get to the root of the issue on your crew.

We all do different work with different stressors, but one of the great equalizers, I think, should the number of hours worked daily and trying to get MK staff to an 8 hour day, at least, is a start. No?

I think that yours is a very important and knowledgeable voice, Charlz. I have always learned from your skills and experience which, given your place in the Mich world and the crews you have worked on is kind of unique. This is what leadership is about.

Jige oxxoxo

[notyourmama2.livejournal.com]

And here's another idea...two years ago, the call went out to the worker community that Dart load-in was really overloaded, and needed all the help they could get. I went and worked 4 hours on my day off, and it was one of my best festival experiences.

Last year, the same sort of word went around for raffle, and being a temporary part-time raffle bitch was the most fun ever.

I love that idea of using some of my time on another crew...it's more rewarding than another nap (although fest naps are good). I know we're unskilled labor if you put us in MK, but there's no reason why we can't round up some more hands for you all from us, voluntarily and on our own free time. And it would make more bonds between MK and Galz, which would be fabulous.

Anyway, so that's on my list for this summer.

hi

[missbunnys-tale.livejournal.com]

been thinking about this, becassue womb is doing the same thing. weve gone from a crew of 21 three years ago, and are getting squeezed down to 13+ 2 cords this year. major changes physically (yes, lace, new tent set up) and organizationally.

one thing we are doing, is asking campers to bring more of their supplies in an insert that will be sent with tickets, and adding a womb section onto website (possibly.) I wonder if it would support main kitchen to do something like that - take a little of the food burden off by added a "suggested personal food" list, or adding an insert about the herstory and importantce of doing a volunteer shift at MK...

people who attend fest are going to have to become a little more self sufficient as the staff and resources diminish.

u know way more than i do about MK, but brainstorming can lead to either seizures, or genius.

xo m