Gary B
I came from a decade in fruit and vegetable retail at my father's shop in Leeds, so I've had a fair amount of experience in wholefoods and customer service.
I started on a short-term temporary contract in September 2004 (knowing an existing coop member through the Internet let me know when Suma was hiring these positions.) The first three months at Suma saw me losing about a stone and a half (back with reinforcements since then, I'm sorry to say) but what really made me sit up and take note was the fact that I could and did make a difference.
I pretty much gravitated towards work in the fridge. My nasty habit of cheerfully working in there wearing T-shirt and jeans (I like to have a Hawaiian shirt on for when we have visitors) seemed to end with me becoming the unofficial go-to person for chilled picking issues, a responsibility I'm trying to spread onto several shoulders. Early 2005 saw me apply for membership, and two years after that - the time of writing - I was elected to the Management Committee. Suma gives people the chance to prove themselves, but it's up to the person to take these opportunities.
I've got a somewhat oblique sense of humour, and I started a trend towards Hi-visibility vests with logos on them. Tofu Ninja, Caution - Wide Load, Ice Maiden, Born to be Bald, and many more comprise my wardrobe. A number of colleagues have their own personalised versions also.
When I'm (rarely) not at Suma, I spend most of my time on the Internet. I've edited player-submitted articles for an online game's website for nearly ten years, I took over a retail worker support forum back at Christmas 2006, and I occasionally crash snowmobiles on holiday. I don't 'do' warm weather.
SICK OF ALL THE CRAP, life had thrown at me,
I took to the road, where I thought I could be free.
Caravans, busses and trucks, into homes they were converted,
Horsebox, tepee and bender all with woodstove inserted.
Wood smoke, dreadlocks, piercings, dog on a string,
From the fall of winter 'till the first sign of spring.
Self-sufficient communal life styles, doing whatever you will,
became increasingly difficult with the Criminal Justice Bill.
Eviction after eviction and the Highland Law Clearances,
trying to negotiate at the many court appearances.
Five years on the road, I had definitely had my fix,
I decided to start my education, at the age of twenty six.
BA Hons Printed Textile and Surface Pattern Design,
Full time in Leeds, the course suited me fine.
Fair Trade product development and my textile designers' role,
with this dissertation, I achieved my 2.1 goal.
I developed my own work, paintings were produced,
They sold in galleries, and my student loans were reduced.
Then on to teacher training, D&T in secondary schools,
taking the register and enforcing the many school rules.
I wanted to help non-academic, creative children fulfil dreams
but it was all about ticking boxes, when I saw behind the scenes.
Now I provoke creativity through several workshops,
very rewarding results, there are lots.
Still producing my own work, some of you will know,
February in Berlin, will be my next show.
Here at Suma, I can be creative, I feel can be free,
I can finally be myself, with like-minded people around me.
Before Suma I worked for a company that made computers. The company got bigger and bigger before attracting the attention of a foreign businessman who decided that moving the work to his home country would be a really good idea. Well, a good idea for him anyway. So, I decided to take a leap into the unknown and applied for a six-week casual contract with Suma.
Initially, I checked off orders and drove a reach truck. I made myself as available as possible and was offered more work. After some encouragement from a couple of Suma members I approached personnel and asked for a TM interview. I intended to use the chance of the short-term contract to force myself into changing my life but never intended to stay long term. Well, almost eight years down the line I find myself to be a very committed member who finds it hard to imagine working in a "straight" company ever again.
At present I work in the sales office, pick in the warehouse, check off orders and drive a reach truck. I have also trained others in all of these roles. Oh and I almost forgot, I work at least twice a week in our Quality Control department.
To be honest working in Q.C. is the most fun I have ever had whilst being paid. I never know if I will be auditing the canteen, writing letters to suppliers, helping to organise a Health and Safety in the workplace event or filling in feedback forms for trial members after they have visited the department for their tours. The rest of the team have become good friends and attended my civil partnership ceremony last year.
One amusing story whilst at Suma was when my colleague Emma and myself visited a supplier (who I will only name if you ask me nicely). Towards the end of our visit we asked to be shown the outside of their building. We walked out of the door to hear it shut behind us. They then refused to open the door again to enable us to say goodbye and thank you. Yes that's right, they simply left us standing out in their yard.
I came to Suma after working for an industrial auctioneer. It was an American owned company and the job basically entailed purchasing the assets of manufacturing companies that were either going under or shifting production abroad. It was not what you would call an enjoyable job and on top of that I worked for, what must be, the worst man in England.
Prior to working for the most awful man, I was at uni reading for a geography degree and before that I travelled, taught English in Thailand for 2 years and have been self-employed (in the antique trade). In between the degree and the most awful man, I published a book, have given hundreds of presentations to teenagers in schools across the country and have done quite a bit of work for various environmental and social charities.
I have been aware of Suma for over 20 years, but, to my shame, never gave the company much thought. I think I was rather dismissive and simply assumed that there would be too many lentils and woolly jumpers for me. However, when a friend came home after a year travelling the globe and declared that she wanted to work for Suma, I wondered why. 'Why Suma, what's so special about them?' thought I. After a bit of research into the company I realised why she was so committed to becoming a member and also realised that Suma would be perfect for me too.
I applied for Trial Membership, but my initial application was unsuccessful. I was horribly disappointed at not being offered a position and the disappointment did not abate, so, six months later, I re-applied and was accepted onto the Trial Membership program. If the guy who called me to say they would like to offer me a position had been in the room with me, I would have kissed him for sure. I was absolutely over the moon and smiled for a month.
I am currently undergoing my 3 month probationary period at Suma, so am still doing my 'rite of passage' in the warehouse. Driving pallet trucks and picking orders for our customers is both physically and mentally exhausting, but, I have to admit, that I do love it. I am thinner and fitter than I have been for many moons and have almost mastered the art of compiling a perfect pallet (straight edges, flat top, well wrapped and symmetrical). Although I haven't done much else at Suma I do feel that picking customer's orders is one of the most important aspects of the company. People who buy our products want the correct amount of the correct product and this is what we aim to do in the warehouse (sincere and huge apologies to the lady who received lentils when she had ordered nappies – I must have picked your order at the end of a long day. I am sorry).
Warehouse work at Suma is not simply warehouse work. We are all part of the whole and as a Trial Member I have been encouraged to observe various meetings and to participate in many aspects of the company, in order to develop a good understanding of how things work, who does what and what our principles, values and standards are. So far the company has more than lived up to my expectations and all I can say is that Suma is a really cool company and the Sumanoids I have met so far are a pretty cool bunch of people. Suma is still going strong after 30 years, the members haven't compromised the initial principles and it is a marvellous example of how a democracy should work. I am very proud to be with them.
I love the fact that Suma has a strong ethical policy and adheres to that policy and am incredibly proud to work for the largest equal-pay workers co-operative in Europe. I also love working for a company which will not compromise it's sound principles for the sake of financial profit.
I started working for Suma in 1981, before which I studied politics and carried out some economic research. I first discovered worker coops and Suma during my research activities and was instantly intrigued by the prospect of working for a cooperative.
Over the years I have worked in many areas, but my average week currently comprises of about four roles. I work in personnel carrying out development and strategic work. Developing agreed personnel coordination systems for Suma has been a huge challenge since I started in the job in 1994 but I find it very satisfying. We have very few big arguments now and can get on with running the business, unlike many worker coops. In the warehouse I drive a reach truck, which leads on to my job as health and safety coordinator. I also chair meetings of the management committee.
I once received a telephone call that woke me up in the small hours. Is that suma? said a policemans voice, your truck has been abandoned in a lay by in Wiltshire and is being looted. It turned out that the driver, while passing a Stonehenge free festival, decided to pop in for a bit. His visit turned into an indeterminate sampling of the recreational substances on offer. Passing hippies found the Suma truck and, well, free the lentils man.
There is so much I enjoy about Suma, the challenge, being a partner - its my other family, the huge respect and interest it gets from people outside, and being an economic pioneer. Cooperation is the future say many economic gurus and we are (as usual) already living in the future.
I am the UK worker coop representative for cooperatives UK so I go and meet people from other European and world worker coops. Worker coops are growing fast in most parts of the world and we are coordinating and assisting that growth.
In my spare time I am a fanatical veteran rower (in a big 8). I recently did the boat race course on the Thames in a veteran race - a lot slower than the real boat race.
Immediately before coming to Suma I worked on an organic farm in Calderdale and delivered lots of veg boxes throughout the valley. Before that I spent many happy years as a juggler and circus performer: doing shows, running workshops and making equipment. I once set my trousers on fire when a juggling stunt went wrong. The worst thing was it was during the first show of an all day gig and I had to spend the rest of the day and do several more shows with a large and rather embarrassing hole in my attire. I used to have 21 body piercings and I can cook a mean roast dinner.
I got bored with veg boxes and wanted more of a challenge. I needed a job that would suit my individualism and unusual approach to life. Suma is the perfect place for me to work. I love the collective responsibility and joint ownership.
At Suma, I drive 2 days a week, pick orders (injured arm permitting), am workflow co-ordinator for 1 day a week and also work in customer accounts.
Although I love driving, workflow co-ordinator is probably my favourite job at Suma. This involves co-ordinating all the runs that are picked on that day, allocating pallet spaces to one or more orders and keeping the pick team supplied with work. When you add in the fact that: you never know exactly how busy each run is going to be till late on in the day, drops might change from one run to another, runs might change to a different sized truck etc, then the whole thing becomes like a strategy board game. You have to play off the fact that pickers need a constant supply of work throughout the day against the need to wait as long as possible before making decisions about pallet allocations. Its a job that requires attention to detail, a good knowledge about that days runs, the ability to multitask and a lot of bottle to boot. I love it despite the hard work and stress.
Dan N
Immediately before Suma I worked in sales for a mobile phone company. Before that I did an Environmental Science degree at Salford University, the best part of which was spending 6 months in China, and 6 months living a low impact lifestyle in Spain.
I applied for trial membership at Suma, and after 9 months of training and assessment I was voted in as a member, sounds easy now but certainly didn't feel like it at the time.
I have three main jobs at Suma. They are driving our Somerset delivery truck, which means a 4.00 start and two days on the road delivering. I have taken my Class 2 LGV since being at Suma allowing me to drive our 18t trucks. It's a great job and I thoroughly enjoy getting out and seeing the customers. This is my alternative to a trip to the gym, as I can have up to 9t of goods to deliver when I set off and a good bit of it will need to be unloaded by hand.
My other role is running our sales development team, which is all about bringing in new business. This might be identifying areas where we are not selling as much as we might, capitalising on new market areas, or expanding already successful activities, this is my brain work for the week and something I very much enjoy, as it is a real buzz when you bring a new customer on board. Alongside this I spend a day most weeks loading the trucks for deliveries the next day, sounds easy enough but causes real problems if done badly.
Other roles I have had at Suma include a two year spell on our management committee, which is an elected role to a position that is similar what a director might have in a non cooperative business, this was incredibly interesting, giving me a really good understanding of how the business fits together. I have also done my share of picking orders and checking delivered goods into the building.
I really enjoy the variety of work, and the opportunity to change role and get training. I very much enjoyed the month of paternity pay I got when each of my daughters was born, but not enough to have another. Flexibility is a big thing, being able to ask for hours to work around childcare, and to reduce or increase days worked to suit changing circumstances. Also I really enjoy the debate you get when 150 people run a business, yes it does work, and yes we do make decisions. Am also fairly keen on the free canteen, and the discounts on our whole product range. I think the biggest thing is feeling that you have an interest in the place you work, if we do well and make a profit we split the profit between us, comes in quite handy around Christmas.