Employee ownerships are usually keen to amplify what they see as their natural ownership advantage with a range of management initiatives aimed at getting buy-in from employees on a deeper level, using systems theory, business school ideas, and Maslovian notions of needs hierarchy to wring out the extra juice. All this management is, of course, costly.
Investor ownership is the default for technology companies and startups. Typically, founders go from owning 100% of a company, to gradually selling more and more in sequential fundraising rounds. Often, investors will purchase 20-30% of a company in each round of funding. After several rounds of funding, investors are likely to own a vast majority of the business, many times over 80%.
We are asking for the help of the global movement in restoring the power or acquiring a generator, so that we can continue the production without obstacles and also help us become more independent. We, therefore, call all unions, collectives, Greek, European and global comrades to help in obtaining a generator with biodiesel capability which costs 32.000€.
[W]hat has been truly astounding has been the uptake due to COVID-19. In the past we have seen that CIC [community inclusion currency] usage goes up when National Currency is lacking but never to the extent it has now.
Resiliency does not equal immunity to a global pandemic and economic crisis, however, and worker co-ops have certainly felt the impact from the coronavirus outbreak.
“Whole segments of work have disappeared overnight,” says Ross Newport, a longtime worker-owner at Community Printers. Community Printers, a cooperative with 33 members, is an industrial-scale print and packaging shop, having been in business since 1977.
Thursday, May 14th from 2-4pm PST/ 4-6pm CST/ 5-7pm EST
What is an economic downturn, and how have our people responded? What can we learn from their stories of resisting and building that apply to us in this moment? Join solidarity economy historians and organizers to get grounded in the ways our ancestors built and resisted, and begin to strategize how mutualism and cooperation might apply in our communities during times of economic crisis and pandemic.
The history of rural life is a history of technology.
In this interview, we explore the machinery, systems of distribution and technological innovations that transformed many Irish rural communities when they adopted the cooperative model in the late 19th century.
As the epidemiological impacts of COVID-19 grow exponentially, so do business closures, unemployment rates, poverty, housing and food insecurities.
Rather, the takeover of our cities by firms like Airbnb shows the need for a more profound solution — one that changes the balance of power, through truly community-owned and -run platforms. By replacing extractive platforms with a democratic alternative, we can cut out the exploitative middleman, allowing service providers and users to benefit from the full fruits of their labor — and data.
Buen Vivir, in a literal sense, means good life or good living. It stresses living in ways that promote the collective well-being of both humans and nature.
“This is the newest history on the block in Columbia Heights,” Teresa Edmondson says.
