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Cooperatives and USA Black History Month

Like the UK celebration, which takes place in October, Black History Month sees events and activities held to honour the legacies of notable African American figures, and explore the experiences and struggles of African Americans throughout history.

March 20, 2023

Cuba's Farming Cooperatives

Cuba’s thousands of agricultural cooperatives are responsible for about 56% of Cuba’s growing land, and employ an estimated 300,000 cooperative worker members. Some observers say the cooperatives more efficient than the state-owned parts of Cuba's agricultural production.

Shane Burley is a writer and filmmaker based in Portland, Oregon. He is the author of Fascism Today: What It Is and How to End It (AK Press, 2017) and Why We Fight: Essays on Fascism, Resistance, and Surviving the Apocalypse (AK Press, 2021), and the editor of the upcoming book No Pasaran: Antifascist Dispatches from a World in Crisis (AK Press, 2022). He is currently co-authoring a book on antisemitism for Melville House Books. He previously was the editor of a special issue of the Journal of Social Justice entitled “Antisemitism in the 21st Century.” His work has been featured in NBC News, The Baffler, Al Jazeera, Jacobin, The Independent, Full Stop, and The Daily Beast. He is a member of the News Guild, CWA Local 7901, the National Writer’s Union (UAW 1981), and the IWW. He speaks English.

March 23, 2023

Where Mutual Aid Comes to Its Own Assistance

“Mutual aid is putting the saying ‘We are all we’ve got’ into practice, and trying to meet some of the survival needs of struggling people, including ourselves, while building community and working towards [long-term] solutions that don’t depend on the state.”

Equal Voices: Molly (and Dora)

Being able to incorporate pets into care and support is something that I think the majority of us will agree to be both a novelty and quality of life-changing. Whether that be in the form of me showing pictures and videos, chatting about and even introducing my pets to the people I support, I have always seen such positive results in doing so. My good friend Iris and I - whom I have been supporting since January 2022, often talk about animals, the pets we have both had and those we would like to have, as well as religiously watching David Attenborough together.

March 27, 2023

Design Principles for Radically Unorthodox Movement-building

The networks, organizations, and movements that we generate reflect the quality of our own consciousness in the moment. What does the global state of human consciousness tell us then about the movements that we're capable of building?

Annual Global Sociocracy Conference

Online: May 4 + 5 2023

Across all timezones.

In sociocracy, the ultimate power is power that is shared, power that can be found distributed within each person.

Teams that argue, compete or lack clarity about their purpose and processes give their power away.

When we learn how to organize ourselves and work together towards a common goal, we can achieve more than we ever could on our own.

Inside Vio.Me, Greece's factory run by workers with no boss

In 2011, workers at the Vio.Me factory in Thessaloniki, Greece, stopped receiving wages. Management and owners abandoned the facility shortly afterward. Instead of dispersing, the workers of Vio.Me held an assembly and voted to take over management of the factory themselves. Over the past decade, they’ve kept the factory running, jointly determining production decisions through democratic procedures, and sharing in the profits.

How Policy Is Building a Social Economy in South Korea

For context, the grassroots response to the 1997 economic crisis was extraordinary. For example, Korean citizens mobilized to donate 227 tons of their personal gold items (with an estimated total value of $3 billion) to help pay off the debt.1 This citizen activism prompted government action to honor the sacrifice. Specifically, $90 million of the liquidated gold (about three percent of the total) was dedicated to a workers’ welfare fund, with part of the proceeds used to help create the “People’s Movement Committee for Overcoming Unemployment.”2

March 30, 2023

The Newish Kids on the Block

With an unprecedented 20+ new start-up home care cooperatives under development across the country, the home care cooperative sector has reached a tipping point. In this session learn from young co-ops about their reflections on the start-up experience, including what they wish they had known before, the surprises they encountered along the way, and their recommendations and tips for future start-ups.

Could intentional communities help us live better?

With traditional housing options becoming more expensive and unobtainable for many, is it time to think outside the box when it comes to housing?

Intentional communities offer people the opportunity to live more sustainably, to pool resources and be part of a community.

So when housing is so scarce, and loneliness so common, why are we not seeing more of them? 

Guests:

Elena Pereyra, Chair of Cohousing Australia

Katie Noad, Women's Intentional Community, Hamilton Hill

April 3, 2023

Should a Worker Co-op Have Investor Owners?

Ajowa and Josh share their thoughts on whether worker co-ops should have investor shares with voting rights.

Golden Co-op Radio

Golden Co-op Radio is volunteer-powered community radio for the town of Golden, British Columbia. Since 2022, a small but resourceful group of volunteers have worked hard to build a radio station from scratch. Its mission: to provide a variety of local content and act as a source of information during emergency situations. Golden Co-op Radio has blossomed into a community hub with a growing number of volunteers and members.

Skill Up! Co-op Clinic Virtual Summit Announcement

The USFWC Co-op Clinic invites you to attend our half-day Virtual Summit: a space for deepening education and growing capacity for worker-owners, cooperatives, and support organizations.

This is an opportunity to connect with other cooperatives across the country this spring, and meet the Co-op clinic team and the greater USFWC community. The summit will be hosted via Zoom and all sessions will be accessible in English and Spanish. Session recordings with closed captions will be provided to registered participants.

Celebrate and Support Latina-Led Worker Cooperatives: May 5, 2023

This August, four Latina-led worker cooperatives will be open for business in east central Jefferson County. These cooperatives will fill unique needs in the area and build community wealth for their members.

Join us for our Incubadora Colectiva Celebration and Pitch Night on Friday evening, May 5, at Clements Center in Lakewood. Come enjoy a delicious meal, hear their business pitches, and have a chance to support their businesses. 

You won’t want to miss seeing the launch of these exciting cooperative businesses!