[Voice of the People 1: Interview with Workers]

High school students interview people renovating the building on N. Racine in Chicago, a building operated by the Voice of the People, a cooperative tenants organization.

00:08Copy video clip URL Exterior shot of a Chicago street. 

00:30Copy video clip URL Doug Dobner, a board member on the Voice of the People, introduces himself. He and three other staff members are doing renovations on a building managed by the VOP on North Racine, priming the hallways to be painted as part of a collective effort. 

01:19Copy video clip URL The need for more people to contribute to their efforts at buildings owned or managed by VOP. Difficulties getting people to participate, especially in new buildings without many occupants. 

03:40Copy video clip URL Footage of them putting primer on the walls. 

03:52Copy video clip URL Merle Bentley talks about painting the building. A colleague teases him about his short responses to the interviewer, so he elaborates about this project helping him learn to be a carpenter and the usefulness of that experience. He talks about how VOP is needed to help people who get thrown out of their homes. 

07:14Copy video clip URL Footage of priming, sanding, and cleaning. 

08:50Copy video clip URL Barbara Beck, a manager for the VOP, discusses her work with the VOP and the cooperative nature of living in VOP buildings. The challenges and rewards of their model, which charges lower rents but requires participation from tenants in cleaning and maintenance. 

12:02Copy video clip URL Cindy Sennott and Kim Russell, two young girls, talk about helping out with VOP. They are “cleaning names off the walls.” 

14:27Copy video clip URL More conversation with Beck, who’s briefly joined by Joyce, a resident. The efforts to deal with cockroaches. 

16:50Copy video clip URL How people find out about VOP buildings.