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Can The Nanny Work Your Park Slope Coop Shift? Uh, No
By
Garth Johnston
Published Feb 18, 2011
Modified Feb 18, 2011
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By
Garth Johnston
Published Feb 18, 2011
Modified Feb 18, 2011
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The precious problems of the Park Slope Food Coop are always entertaining, and the latest scandale to hit the grocery store does not disappoint. Today's Times picks up on a Fucked in Park Slope rumor that (gasp!) well-to-do members of the co-op are having their nannies work their required shifts for them (members must work 2 hours and forty-five minutes every month).
So, naturally, the Times (which loves the Coop) went to verify the rumor and... it appears to be not untrue. One nanny, who withheld her name for fear of getting her employers busted, told the paper that her bosses “are members, but they never go, because I go.”
And the members of the Coop the paper spoke to—some of whom wouldn't give their last names for fear of "retribution for speaking about co-op affairs"—didn't exactly squash the rumor with responses to the story like: "No, I don’t think it’s O.K.,” "completely unfair," and "as long as they’re getting paid and are O.K. with it... I think it is fine."
In the end though, the Times didn't really get any further than the FiPS bloggers. It very well may be true that loaded Slopers are sending the help to work their shifts but there isn't really much that the Coop can do about it anyway (“As much as people think we are Big Brother and watch people, we don’t know these things,” a co-op manager told the Times). But just to be clear, it is against the rules. As another manager told FiPS:
The only way this would be ok with the Coop is if the nanny in question was a live-in nanny. Then as part of the household, they would be expected to sign up as a member of that household. It is fine for one member of the household to do the workshifts for other members of their household. It is never ok for a non-member to work at the coop. Also, years ago the coop decided that it was not ok to pay someone outside of your household to do your shift for you.
Got that? Good. As you were.
Tagged
brooklyn
first world problems
Nannies
park slope
park slope coop
Garth Johnston
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