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Catalyzing worker co-ops & the solidarity economy

Information Technology

February 10, 2025

Varieties of Worker Cooperatives in Tech

I want to share a framework that explains the different varieties of tech worker cooperatives. This framework helps us understand the various pathways tech workers can take to join the tech worker cooperative movement.

Citations

GEO Collective (2024).  An Interview with Yochai Gal of TechCollective.  Grassroots Economic Organizing (GEO).  https://geo.coop/articles/interview-yochai-gal-techcollective

September 30, 2024

An Interview with Yochai Gal of TechCollective

Co-founder of two worker co-ops, Yochai Gal, joins us to talk about his co-op's recent merger with another tech worker cooperative, and how the new co-op incorporated the best of both of the worker co-ops that formed it. Then Yochai shares his (rather critical) thoughts on the trajectory of the USFWC over the last several years, and why he thinks it has largely failed to fulfill it's original goals.

August 8, 2024

The Potential of Data Cooperatives in the Nonprofit and Social Service Sectors

Data management and work in nonprofit and social service agencies is generally less developed than the big data storage and analysis systems of platform capitalism. Data work in nonprofits is increasingly central to their operation, however, and the sector is experiencing rapid adoption of corporate data platforms. Given the value commitments of the sector, and this unique moment of development, the sector also presents strong opportunities for cooperativization.

Citations

Micky Metts, Keegan Rankin, Benjamin Melançon (2024).  Technology Cooperatives In The Movement - Where Are We Now?.  Grassroots Economic Organizing (GEO).  https://geo.coop/articles/technology-cooperatives-movement-where-are-we-now

June 17, 2024

Technology Cooperatives In The Movement - Where Are We Now?

Tech worker cooperatives have the potential to provide particularly crucial infrastructure for the communication and coordination necessary for a liberatory movement and a robust and just economy.

April 29, 2024

Fediverse Model Offers Social Media a Second Chance

The Fediverse, as Jakob Sitter Midttun writes, is an ensemble of interconnected – yet independent –  free, open source social media platforms utilizing federated protocols to seamlessly integrate with one another.

February 19, 2024

May First Movement Technology: Digital Radicalism

Resistance in the digital environment demands that we center our values, intentions, and dreams, focusing on other ways to live, be, and know. May First Movement Technology is a cooperative (primarily based in the United States and Mexico) that aims to put these values into practice: digital media that supports social struggles and grassroots movements working to create the world we know is possible.

January 29, 2024

Scaling a Co-op Beyond 100 Members

A look at how a worker co-op with 140 members, a flat pay scale, and no hierarchy functions.

January 25, 2024

How ‘Chamas’ and Mutual Credit are Changing Africa

Today I’m talking with Shaila Agha of the Sarafu Network about ‘chamas’ and mutual credit, and how they’re changing Africa.

Hammer preparing to pound in a screw.
January 23, 2024

Doubts About "DAO Tooling"

DAO tooling is a poor fit for co-ops (and everyone else too).

January 8, 2024

Creating a Support System for Platform Cooperatives in Thailand

In Thailand, several traditional cooperatives are offering products and services through digital platforms. While these may be considered Platform Co-ops, their primary revenue does not stem from the platform but from conventional business operations. This differs from the focus of this blog article, which refers to businesses that operate online through websites or mobile apps and are characterized by democratic decision-making and platform ownership by workers and users.