Since it opened in March, the Durham Co-op has come to symbolize the ideals of democracy, egalitarianism and fair trade. Owned by its members—people who buy shares— the co-op, for many, is a rebuke to Whole Foods, which pretends to be progressive but is actually a large corporation run by a libertarian, anti-union CEO.
Cooperatives have been put to good use by refugees and host communities at different stages of intervention from the start of the crisis to integration in their host country. They step in providing direct assistance for refugees and delivering basic goods and services.
As a result of the legal battle waged against the workers of the occupied self-managed VIOME factory in Thessaloniki, Greece, the state-appointed trustee is now organising a series of auctions with the aim of liquidating the plot of land on which the VIOME factory is located. A possible sale of the land would create the legal ground for evicting the workers from the factory.
A good example of how co-operatives can make a difference in people’s lives comes with the use of the social co-operative model in prison systems around the globe.
Under scrutiny, Durham Co-op withdrawing referendum on worker shares, governance
Faced with a public backlash over a change to the Durham Co-op Market articles of incorporation, the stores' board of directors won't hold a vote on worker governance as planned. The vote, which is open to all co-op members, has been going on for nearly two weeks; it was scheduled to end tomorrow.
The first Bottom Lines Business Summit is over. It will not be the last. It was a peak moment after several years of work with two friends and colleagues, Paul Eldrenkamp and Jamie Wolf, to design and build a new program for the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA).
When I arrived in the main auditorium the first day, it was packed, clearly beyond the organizers’ wildest expectations for attendance, and the sense of urgent expectation in the room was palpable. We’d clearly been itching to have this conversation for some time, and were excited to dig in and build the connections and momentum to take the project to the next level.
In a wide-ranging discussion, Ralph talks community and worker ownership of businesses and the decision to use the atomic bomb with distinguished scholar and author, Gar Alperovitz. And Ralph answers our listener questions.
My experience at the Platform Cooperativism summit was Wow, everyone here really gets it and so many are doing awesome things; and then Hmm, there are still some really important differences to be worked out; and then We'll have to continue for months to figure out strategy for building fair platforms and we also
Our current employment system of renting, hiring or employing people conflicts with the justice principle. In a factory operating under the employment relation, the people working in the factory jointly produce whatever is the product. Consider a company that produces widgets, for example. Those widgets are the positive results of their responsible actions.
At the UN|COMMONS conference (October 22-24) the Berliner Gazette and Volksbühne at Rosa-Luxemburg Platz hosted more than 500 participants and visitors, who explored over the course of three days the commons as a new way. Here we present our findings.
The local movement of worker cooperatives, supported by the City Council, has increasingly caught the imagination of workers and organizers. What is the potential and what are the limitations of worker co-ops in building a movement for economic and social justice?
