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Transcript

The Mutual Aid Garage · Mechonomist Podcast

• 0:02
  SPEAKER_00: Good morning.
• 0:03
  There's been some questions about how the automotive free
• 0:06
  clinic worked and challenges,
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_00: strategies,
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: that sort of stuff.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: Basically, we did everything at cost.
• 0:16
  We didn't mark up parts,
• 0:18
  which saved customers 45% and labor was a solicitation of a donation.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: So
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: If we did two hours worth of work, our labor rate was $100 an hour.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: We told the customer it was worth $100,
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: but they could pay whatever they could,
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: even if that was nothing.
• 0:37
  We kept the doors open almost exclusively by individual
• 0:40
  donations from working class people.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: We did not get a lot of donations from wealthy people,
• 0:48
  and we didn't get a lot of donations from institutions or
• 0:51
  grants from institutions.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: We did get grants from
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: the Southern Power Fund,
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: Highlander Research and Education Center,
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: and First Christian Church of Montgomery.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: But none of these are big institutional funders.
• 1:08
  Big institutional funders are not really looking for mutual aid
• 1:11
  type work at this point in time.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: Some of the challenges are people really didn't get the concept.
• 1:18
  The customers would come in thinking that it was a for-profit
• 1:20
  business and that it
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_00: was a scam and that we were trying to screw them.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: And they didn't trust,
• 1:25
  a lot of customers did not trust us because of their
• 1:28
  experiences with mechanics in
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: the past.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: And in a lot of respects,
• 1:34
  there was a mismatch between the way our institution was set up
• 1:38
  and what customers
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: understood or expected the institution to be.
• 1:42
  And no matter how often or hard we tried to explain it to them,
• 1:46
  people just didn't get it.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: They understood mechanics as people who were trying to rip you off.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: and they thought we were trying to rip people off.
• 1:57
  Another sort of problem was the people that come to us are on,
• 2:04
  it's the shop of last resort.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: So people would bring to us cars that were beyond repair.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: People would not have the money to pay for parts.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: People would be in really difficult situations.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I can't tell you how many times people would tell us things like,
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we got this vehicle because my son OD'd and died.
• 2:28
  And it just that those types of stories over the course of five
• 2:33
  years just wears
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: you down to a nub.
• 2:36
  I think the biggest challenges are,
• 2:39
  of course,
• 2:39
  it was under-resourced the whole time.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: It was always under-resourced.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: It relied on my free labor to survive for the most part the entire time.
• 2:49
  But another big problem besides being under-resourced,
• 2:53
  we could have kept it open.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: That money wasn't what eventually caused it to close.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_00: What caused it to close was burnout.
• 3:01
  People were just dealing with people in really difficult
• 3:04
  situations all the time,
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: every day,
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_00: every single day.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: People who,
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: if they don't get their car fixed,
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: they're going to lose their job,
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: are not going to be able to get to healthcare appointments,
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: so on and so forth.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: It just burns you down.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: And burnout is really...
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: You know,
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: when you're doing this type of work,
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_00: I think the thing to really look out for is how to keep people.
• 3:25
  I think the biggest challenge is to how to keep people from
• 3:28
  burning out again under resource.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_00: You know,
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_00: that's a thing we like we said,
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: we had mostly working class people that supported us with funding.
• 3:37
  So we would get donations at tops a thousand or two thousand
• 3:41
  dollars from working
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: class people who are doing a little bit better.
• 3:44
  We never got the 20 or 30 thousand dollar donation from a real
• 3:48
  wealthy person.
• 3:49
  but really just people getting worn down to a nub because of
• 3:54
  always dealing with
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_00: people who are in the most difficult situations that you can imagine.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: And I say it's akin to work,
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: it's probably not as difficult as working in an ER,
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_00: but it's probably akin to working in an ER.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_00: You're the emergency room for people on their last leg,
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_00: for their cars.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_00: And it's just, it's really, it was really challenging work.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: It was really rewarding.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_00: We fixed almost 700 cars in five years.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_00: We did a whole lot of good,
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_00: but to say that it was easy or anything like that would be totally false.
• 4:33
  It was extremely difficult and challenging endeavor on all of
• 4:38
  our community's part.
• 4:40
  And we did have a lot of support from the community,
• 4:42
  whether financially or with volunteers or
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_00: So on and so forth.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_00: So we had we had a lot of support.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of people liked what we were doing.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: But like I said, it was really tough.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: And I learned a lot about myself and I learned a lot about the world.
• 4:58
  And some of your neighbors are in situations that are so dire
• 5:04
  that if they have a
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: flat tire,
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_00: they're going to lose everything.
• 5:09
  And we have people whose situations are so dire that if they
• 5:12
  have a flat tire,
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_00: they're going to lose everything,
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: and their cars are beyond repair.
• 5:16
  It would take $1,200,
• 5:19
  $1,500,
• 5:23
  $1,800 worth of parts,
• 5:20
  just parts,
• 5:21
  to be able to fix the vehicle.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, we tried to get people.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: We got donations of vehicles from people.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: We could get donations from vehicles.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_00: We would fix them up.
• 5:32
  And we tried to get people into better situations as far as
• 5:36
  vehicles go if we could.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_00: But it was just really a challenge.
• 5:45
  And I think mutual aid done right is going to be a challenge
• 5:49
  because people don't
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_00: understand the concept.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_00: People are in dire situations.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_00: And it's not all it's practical stuff.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's real nuts and bolts.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: Pardon the pun.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_00: Practical stuff and practical problem solving.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_00: that allowed us to do what we did,
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_00: which was a lot of good in terms of fixing 700 cars in five years.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_00: So that's the Automotive Free Clinic in a nutshell.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_00: Please watch the film when it comes out.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_00: It's called The Mutual Aid Garage.
• 6:25
  It's screening at Oxford Film Festival on March 1st at 10,
• 6:30
  15 a.m.,
• 6:30
  I believe.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_00: So please watch the film.
• 6:34
  If you're in the Mississippi area,
• 6:36
  Oxford area,
• 6:37
  please come up there and watch the film.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_00: And please like, subscribe, and comment on my post.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_00: Thank y'all.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_00: Peace, y'all.