So you want to be an ACORN Organizer?

This website is people have worked for ACORN, who may be working for ACORN, and who may want to work for ACORN

What your workday will look like? Well on Saturday you will work at least 4 to 6 hours after having already worked 50 hours for the week. SO if you work 5 hours on the weekend that makes a minimum of 55 hours a week no overtime. Most ACORN staff work at least 60 hours a week when they are lucky. During a campaign somehow 80-90 hours aweek with no overtime is demanded. Your reward? 6 dollars and 50 cents per hour. Sound good? No wait there is more.

10-14 hours aday No complaints

At 25,000 a year that is 8.6 dollars at best and on those weeks you work 12 hours day 7.89 cents Those weeks you work 80 hours? a generous 6.50 cents for your trouble.

Some things your pasty white Head Organizer won't tell you when you start in hopes yo will conform:

1) No you can't leave at any part of your 10 hour day to make sure your kids got to school, check on your grandmother, or any other worthwhile endeavor.

2) They will use office performance as an excuse to not pay you. Sometimes until you quit and fade away.

3) They tell you you have to get two members a day. Actual quota is usually about 50% whatever they say.

4) You can negotiate your first organizing turf. If there aren't any homeowners, in the turf you will probably fail unless you are in a neighborhood that isn't too poor and isn't too rich.

This stinks because most of us do this work to assist directly affected neighborhoods in building power not people with a new Mercedez in the driveway.

5) Your Head Organizer is as stressed out about your performance as you are if not more. Because their state or regional organizer is stressed and the person above them, and etc... ACORN is a top down organization regardless of what they tell you.

6) If you do even a mediocre job your Head Organizer will try to steal you away to another city with tales of how great a head organizer you will be. DON'T DO IT!!!! They will burn you out, You will lose connection to your drive community and you will just make your head organizers job easy by getting to take over your work. More than likely you will hate the community they send you to and not be well trained to manage a staff and you will quit.

More Notes and tips to come.