Breaking news via the Carrboro Citizen: tonight employees of Weaver Street Market are presenting a petition to the WSM Board of Directors against the proposed relocation to Hillsborough!
Just got a fax saying that a group of Weaver Street Market employees will call for a moratorium against the coop's proposal to move its food prep operations to Hillsborough.
According to the fax, more than 100 employees have signed a petition calling for the moratorium. It will be presented to the coop's board of directors at a meeting tonight at Carrboro Elementary School at 6:30 p.m.
- The Carrboro Citizen: WSM employees call for moratorium, 6/19/07
Kirk's got the text of the workers' faxed announcement here. (Fax?)
Issues:
Comments
Blair, you forgot to mention
Blair, you forgot to mention behind the Cauldron is some of the best organic blueberry picking in the OC.
Gene, you might want to stop reading as I'm about to whine about Lot #5 again...
With Lot #5 and the loss of the Wallace Deck component our Town missed an opportunity to tip the balance. I work across Church from Lot #5 and my office mates and myself drop plenty of cash in the Downtown corridor (some of us even have offices looking down onto Franklin St. - "eyes on the street"). The Town could've said "we recognize in imbalance" and taken steps to remediate it but....
Beyond office space, light industrial, research/development there's also the missed opportunity of siting a public arts gallery/performance/creation space, cultural attraction or other entity that we so sorely miss down here.
Gene, rant off...
Our economic development
Our economic development report, which is less than a year old, tells us that land cost is a major detriment to light manufacturing locating in Carrboro. Kind of makes sense.
Nonetheless, they suggest that some light manufacturing or assembly might locate along Hwy-54 but, if you look at the map and consider how much of is in the watershed, it's not at all clear where that might go.
I feel pretty secure postulating that, if WSM had requested a zoning change to build their bakehouse in Carrboro, we would have looked at it pretty favorably (the devil being in the details, of course).
Dan- even if you had
Dan- even if you had provided rezoning for them, the cost per square foot is so high in Carrboro relative to Hillsborough that I would guess they would still move. If it were my business, I know I would move to increase the bottom line or possibly just to stay afloat. Short of providing fiscal incentives, Carrboro cannot keep them here.
If it were my business, I
While that is a valid viewpoint for a private business, the nature of a co-op makes it an entirely different beast. As an owner/member, in a way, WSM is my business, and as far as my tiny fraction of ownership goes, I'd prefer to keep my business close to its roots. The goal of a co-op is not to increase the bottom line, it is to provide a service desired by its members. Among the services I want provided, and am willing to pay for with my checkbook every week when I buy my groceries, are fair waged jobs in the local community which encourage walking and alternative transportation. Aside from providing a space, Carrboro shouldn't have to make a special effort to keep them here.
Then perhaps you should fire
Then perhaps you should fire the current management, since they sure are acting like a business, if in fact they are not - as you claim.
I must say, for all the talk of WSM being a Co op, it is nothing at all like the few food Co ops I was involved with a long time ago (25 yrs). I wonder if it really still is? Selling memberships does not make you a Co op, otherwise the local gym would be one too.
John, My gym membership
John,
My gym membership allows me to use the facilities.
My WSM membership allows me to elect representatives to the Board of Directors, to receive a discount or dividend, and to participate in the annual meetings of the organization.
Last I heard, the only food coop still using the 70s model requiring all members to volunteer is the Park Slope Food Coop in Brooklyn. All member must work (2 3/4 hrs every 4 wks) and only members may shop there.
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