A worker’s Collective is a business managed and operated by the workers. Workers control the assets of the business and decide jointly how the business should be organized and run. Glut uses a consensus-based-decision making process to make all business decisions. Every member of the collective is a member of the Board of Directors, and every member of the Board of Directors gets equal say in making all decisions. Our collective meetings are every other Monday at 8pm in our store. In accordance with our bylaws all meetings and financial statements are open to the public.

Employment Structure:

There are three levels of Employees at Glut, who you may see doing things like stocking shelves, helping customers, and running the registers. These include Collective Members, Support Workers, and Volunteers. You must volunteer at Glut for at least 6 months before you will be considered for a paid position.

Collective Members are the “worker/owner/managers” of Glut, the full time staff members who have made a long term commitment to maintaining and furthering the fundamental values of Glut. At all times, we try to have at least two thirds of our staff be Collective Members.Each collective member is the manager of a different section of the store. To see the faces you recognize, and learn who orders which section of Glut, meet the Current Collective!

Support Workers are generally either newer employees, or part-time employees who help support the collective in the day to day operation of the store. Most collective members start out as support workers, but not all support workers choose to become collective members.

Volunteers are community members who want to help out at Glut in exchange for store credit. Some people volunteer just once or twice a year, others volunteer every week or two. Anybody can be a volunteer, and you don’t need any special training. Volunteers get paid $7.25 per hour of work (Maryland minimum wage) in “Script,” or store credit. Store credit is calculated, and can be used for purchases on the day of work, or saved up for later. We have one volunteer for each staffing shift through the week. The Glut work day starts an hour before we open, and ends and hour after we close. We have three shifts per day, seven days a week. They are Morning (8-1), Afternoon (1-5) and Evening (5-8 on sat, sun, and mon, and 5-9 tuesday through friday).

To sign up to volunteer, call Glut (301-779-1978) anytime starting at 9am on Sunday’s. The shifts often fill up within half an hour, so call early. You will be told what shifts are available for the following week. A Glut work week runs from Tuesday through Monday, a little confusing at first, but our uniqueness is what makes us wonderful!