Building Worker-Centered Platform Ridesharing

TYM members, discouraged by the financial limitations of self-directed IRAs, turned their attention to the work of Michael Shuman and the Next Egg (a co-creation of Shuman, the Sustainable Economies Law Center, and the LIFT Economy). Through Next Egg, TYM members can collaborate with others across the nation who have the same mission to transition their money from Wall Street to Main Street. 

Another problem that TYM members are trying to address is lack of liquidity for local investments, which is a big challenge for older people who want to invest their retirement money for awhile but who may need their funds for nearer-term living expenses. 

Pat said: “Traditional savings and retirement investments are pretty liquid but if you invest in real estate, or small local companies, you may not be able to sell it if no one is able to buy it. So we’re looking for ways to develop a secondary market – like a stock market. 

“If we’re serious about the idea of real local investing replacing national extractive investing, we need a secondary market to be part of the solution. We don’t know how to create one. We hope that’s part of what Next Egg or the National Coalition for Community Capital is thinking about

Read the rest at Transition US

Experience tells us that governance in member-owned co-operatives is distinct from that in investor-owned businesses, yet we do not understand fully how this operates in practice.  This research study of governance in large co-operatives helps to fill the gaps in our knowledge.

Read and download the full report from Co-operatives UK.

Last fall, when restaurants were working desperately to keep their doors open amid coronavirus restrictions, A Slice of New York pizza shops in Sunnyvale and San Jose voluntarily closed for an entire week to give employees a paid, mandatory break.

The decision came after one brutal Friday night shift — following six months of brutal shifts — during which co-owner Kirk Vartan watched employees physically and emotionally break down around him. The next day, he called a board meeting.

A Slice of New York is a worker cooperative, meaning the closure had to be approved by the employee-run board. Shutting down for a week would cost upwards of $25,000, not counting lost revenue, but would give the staff paid time off to rest and recharge. The board agreed.

“This is their profits, too. This is where people are taking time to think about the long term and that’s where I see people really understanding the weight of ownership,” Vartan said. “It’s not about today. It’s not about what you get. It’s how do you sustain and what does it take to sustain?”

Read the rest at Mountain View Voice

City Hall Steps--May 14, 9 am

Join us as we gather on the steps of City Hall to call on elected officials to support the creation of worker cooperative jobs through two reforms:

1. funding to help support new and existing worker cooperative businesses; and
2. legislation improving business conditions for NYC worker cooperatives.

Click here for directions and to RSVP