Portland Red & Black cafe is Back - and Hiring!

[loveliberate]

Forwarded message:

 

We're BACK!

 

Body: Hi all,

 

This message is just to inform you fine folks that the Red and Black Cafe is alive and well! We have just signed a lease on our new space at 12th and Oak in the Southeast. We have a lot of work ahead of us and will be working as quickly as possible to re-establish a safe, creative and active space for our community. We hope to be open in the first week of January.

 

That being said, we'll need a little bit of help. That's right, the Red and Black is hiring. Below you will find our hiring ad, the same one on our website. Please make sure you read the WHOLE AD, and direct all e-mails regarding hiring to the booking e-mail address.

 

In regards to booking, we are looking for artists and musicians! While events may not happen immediately, we definitely want to hear from you. Again, please direct all questions related to booking to our booking e-mail address. DO NOT send booking requests to this Myspace page. Please be very specific in your subject, as we get a ton of e-mails (and a lot of spam).

 

See you all soon!

 

- The Collective

 

------

 

Hiring for Red and Black Café Collective Member/Co-owner

 

Please read the whole ad.

 

About the Red & Black Café:

 

We are a worker-owned and –managed vegetarian café potentially going vegan when we move to continue our goal of being a socially conscious business. We are open from 7:30 am until 11 pm, and host performances and events in the evenings. We operated for 6 years at a location on SE Division and closed our doors on Sept. 26. We are signing a lease at a new space and expecting to set up the cafe and reopen as soon as possible. We have a loyal customer base in the neighborhood and in the greater Portland area and are excited to see everyone at the new location.

 

If you are sick of working for a job you don’t care about and for a boss who doesn’t care about you and you are interested in owning your own sustainable business that seeks to benefit Portland underdog communities…read below.

 

About the Job:

 

There will only be a few of the old collective members staying on so you will have the opportunity to heavily shape the new cafe. Goals we would like to keep and improve on are:

 

+ Being environmentally and socially conscious about what we purchase and how we run our business

+ Working collectively without hierarchy, one voice one vote

+ Being a community space for radical community groups and individuals to meet and hang out

+ Hosting resource lists and information about groups and services around Portland and the world and supporting community groups to the best of our abilities

+ Being as anti-capitalist as we can

+ Providing sustainable jobs for co-workers including health insurance, sick leave, vacation pay, childcare during our collective meetings

 

All workers attend biweekly collective meetings where our business decisions are made. We make decisions by consensus, so an ability to compromise and collaborate is a must. All workers are also expected to participate in the management of the cafe. Each worker is a member of at least one of the following committees: Ordering/Inventory; Maintenance; Bookkeeping / Finances; Art, Music & Events Booking; Scheduling.

 

What we’re looking for:

People dedicated to working hard, unlearning oppressive behaviors and breaking down hierarchies in our communities, labor rights, working with others, older folks who are dedicated to creating a radical Portland community space, disenfranchised folks who have trouble finding jobs and/or starting their own businesses—trans, genderqueer, queer folk, people of color, working class and poor folk, folks with criminal records, people with disabilities. And again, people dedicated to working hard.

 

What to Expect:

 

To work with 5 or 6 other people to open the new Red and Black Cafe and recruit other workers. Take on the current bylaws with the idea that changes can be made. Continue fundraising so we can pay off our loans and work towards worker benefits. Work hard to re-establish ourselves and improve our space!

 

Compensation:

 

Counter shifts: $8.00 / hour plus tips

Kitchen prep: $9.00 / hour plus tips

Meetings: $8.00 / hour (maximum of 4 hours / month)

Committee Work: $7.50 – $9.00 / hour, with some tips (maximum of 4 hours / month)

 

Additional committee work is unpaid and recorded as “sweat equity”. These unpaid hours are reimbursed over a period of time after you leave the cafe in good standing.

 

How to Apply:

 

Please email your resume and cover letter to the Red & Black Café at [email protected].

 

In your letter, please address the following:

 

+Describe any past experience working with collectives and/or group/political work you have done.

+Describe your vision for a radical community space run by the workers and the communities that support us.

+Describe past food service experience. What skills can you bring to the collective?

+Include any skills related to food service & preparation, business management, and any of our committees listed above.

+Describe your experience with consensus decision making. Are you willing and able to help move the café to a new location?

+Are you able to make at least a 1-year commitment?

 

Thanks for taking the time to read this, we are looking forward to hearing from everyone and we're extremely excited to reopen soon.

--The R + B Collective

[robert]

Thanks for the info!

 

Good to know.

[CountAgranoff]

You said they were thinking about going vegan. Where can we write to encourage them to it? Any idea.

[Odidnetne]

That sounds really good too, too bad I won't be out there for a while.

[gkleinman]

Glad to hear they are on their way back!