That members be provided with ample opportunities and encouragement to participate in coop activities and community life at Woodsworth.
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1. Five years ago, block reps had a range of duties: welcoming new members, presenting them with an information packet, arranging cleanup details with the staff, delivering the Weekly, and meeting periodically with other block reps. Today, the block rep system appears primarily to sen/e as a delivery mechanism for the Weekly. There is no longer a block rep coordinator and no joint meetings.
2. 51% of all members report knowing the name of their block rep.
3. A review of Board minutes shows that the topic of participation has come up on Board agendas only once (Oct 1987) in the past three years. The issue was on members’ meeting agendas frequently in 1983-84, but has since been an infrequent topic.
4. In June, 1984, the membership passed a participation by-law and policy, making mandatory an average of 4 hours volunteer time per month, with exceptions granted by the Board. The policy is apparently still on the books, but is not enforced.
5. The Co-operative Housing Federation of Toronto is currently reexamining the clause in the model by-laws making participation mandatory.
6. 85% of all members report that they believe the co-op provides ample opportunities for members to participate in volunteer and social activities.
7. 66% of all members report taking part in last year’s spring clean-up. 51% report attending a social in the penthouse after a members’ meeting. 37% report attending last year’s street dance.
IMPLICATIONS
The block rep system has degenerated from being a major part of the co-op’s infrastructure for supporting participation to being a newsletter delivery service.
Members seem to believe that Woodsworth provides ample opportunities to participate. Participation in spring clean-up and the social after members’ meeting is positive, but street dance attendance does seem to be falling and this should be considered.
The development and enforcement of participation by-laws as a means of increasing participation has not been successful and should be abandoned as a strategy. Maintaining the current level of participation and building on that base should be accomplished by identifying and promoting the benefits (i.e., education and skills enhancement, meeting neighbours, etc.) rather than by devising unenforceable rules and punishment.
RECOMMENDED ACTlONS
1. The production of a revised members’ handbook must be a major priority. The members should budget in 1989-90 an adequate amount of money to support a committee that will hire the necessary help to write, print and distribute one copy of a revised handbook to each coop unit by December 1, 1989. In each following year, a budget and policy should be put in place to ensure regular annual updates for the handbook.
2. The Board should make the rejuvenation of the block rep system a major priority in the coming year.
3. The Board should gather information and report to the membership about other housing co-ops that have hired full or part-time community development workers in order to support participation and volunteer committees.
4. The Board should bring forward to a members’ meeting a plan for designating and honouring a Woodsworth Member of the Year, as a means of rewarding outstanding co-operative spirit within our community.