The cooperative movement was one of the first social movements of modern times, with roots at the beginning of the industrial revolution, and was an integral part of the early labour movement. The movement for worker cooperatives, workplace democracy, and social enterprises is resurgent around the world today.
The SSE is an overarching concept, combining substantive and statutory dimensions. It is defined by the values and principles it promotes, and by the range of organizations and enterprises that enshrine these values and principles in their missions and modes of operation. Placing their mission above the generation of profits for shareholders, these are mainly cooperatives, mutual societies, and non-profit organizations.
This article reviews and compares the literature from the U.S. and Italy about whether worker cooperatives foster economic inclusion of marginalized workers and whether worker cooperatives challenge or enhance structural inequality. The Author categorizes the various scholarship addressing these issues and analyses the resultant themes. Two questions warranting further research are proposed. First, how can Labor & Employment Law and Cooperative Law be designed or interpreted to work in tandem to provide dignified terms and conditions of employment?
After years of participating in an unjust economy, artists and culture bearers are searching for viable alternatives to the traditional models of cultural production. Cooperatives and the solidarity economy are gaining traction as a values-aligned solution. But what's the difference between a worker-owned cooperative and a purchasing cooperative? Is an ensemble a cooperative? Is talking about ownership inherently capitalist?
Solidfund members have agreed to pledge £30,000 from their cash reserve to buy loan stock in Stirchley Co-op Developments. Our financial services partner ICOF (Industrial Common Ownership Fund) agreed to match our members' commitment, making a total of £60,000. We hope and expect other organisations to contribute to this really important - perhaps once in a generation - effort to secure a new worker-led cooperative campus in Birmingham.
For Michael, Curtis, and Nicole, sharing decision-making power with a co-operative was an obvious fit. It reflects their values, their friendship, and allows them to share risk, capital, knowledge, and networks.
Many of us know the folk tale of Stone Soup, where a traveller convinces villagers to each contribute a small ingredient to a communal pot. Individually, no one believed they had enough to share. Together, they created a meal that nourished an entire community.
That lesson feels particularly relevant to the co-operative sector, where collaboration and co-operation among co-operatives has long been one of our greatest strengths.
Igalia is pleased to announce that we have reached an agreement with the workers of Bocoup to become part of our collective effort, bringing their well-aligned experience and values.
Igalia has grown steadily in recent years, expanding our cooperative with more and more people who care deeply about open source, the web, and collaborative ways of working. This union with the workers of Bocoup continues that trajectory, strengthening our collective with people whose commitments align closely with our own.
The New York Cooperative Summit is a one-day event brings together New York State cooperative members, leaders, organizers, and allies to share practical tools and strategies for starting, sustaining, and scaling the co-op ecosystem across the state. In 2024, the Summit was held in Syracuse and attracted 100 attendees, and last year the event was in Albany and attracted 125. This year we are planning for up to 150 attendees in Schenectady!
Restaurant owners are scrambling, as their business models don’t seem to pay the bills anymore, and the fallout has been hitting some unfortunate workers in the paycheck.
The problem’s not helped when there’s just one person or entity at the top of the restaurant pyramid to navigate these challenges, whom employees must trust implicitly, with zero visibility on what’s going on inside—or when the whole structure might crumble.
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At Taharka Brothers in Baltimore, every scoop of ice cream serves a bigger purpose. The company is a worker-owned co-op — no outside investors, just employees who democratically govern the business and share in the profits.
