There was so many rich quotes from the national worker cooperative conference that took place in Berkeley last weekend.  Many got lost in my unreadable handwriting.

Here are only a few that I was able to capture: 

"This isn't for everyone.  Co-ops are awesome."

--Hilary Abell, WAGES Executive Director.

"They say that young people are the future, but they don't treat us like that.  It's like we're a burden. ...We're the leaders of today, not just tomorrow."

From grocery stores and bakeries to bike shops and day care centers, worker-owned cooperatives are gaining popularity across the country. How are they faring in the recession? What solutions do co-ops offer for today’s recession/depression? If they gain even more popularity, could they transform the economy and the way we think it should work?

Guests include Dan Thomases, a founding member of Box Dog Bikes co-op, John Kusakabe of the Arizmendi Bakery co-op, and Hilary Abell of Women's Action to Gain Economic Security (WAGES).

Permanent link to this article: http://geo.coop/node/434

By Sonia Pichardo, Ph.D.

Although there were no mortarboards worn on Jan. 10, 2010 at the Green Worker Co-op Academy graduation, there was a great deal of pomp and circumstance surrounding the graduation of the Fall 2009 Co-op Academy Class. The graduation took place in the flower-filled grand, domed reading room at Gould Hall at Bronx Community College - a first for the Academy.  The graduation was hosted by the Center for Sustainable Energy.

by John Gallagher for Common Dreams

The Mo' Green Town proposal by New York City activist Majora Carter just might hit the sweet spot in Detroit urban agriculture.

Carter visited Detroit recently to talk up her plan to create a worker-owned urban agriculture cooperative venture. By pooling the efforts of numerous small growers in Detroit, it would attempt to grow big enough to generate real profits and a return for investors. But it would be run by local community growers themselves.

Read more here...

By Lauren Kozol