Organizational Support & Development

Linda Wurzbach recently retired from a successful 12-person education consultancy using an employee ownership model.

Movers and shakers from Co-op Power, the Old Creamery Co-op, Real Pickles, River Valley Co-op, & UMass Five College Credit Union, Valley Alliance of Worker Cooperatives, Downtown Sounds, Flat Iron coffee house, Neighboring Food Co-op Association, Our Family Farms, & PV Squared.

In this session, Building Regional Cooperative Ecosystems, from Beyond Business as Usual 2024: Co-Ops and the Next Economy, you will learn more about the concept of a "cooperative ecosystem" and hear lessons from organizers building regional cooperative ecosystems as part of the global solidarity economy movement.

Josh talks with Kate "Sassy" Sassoon about her long history in co-ops of all different varieties and her current work as a co-op facilitator.

In this video, our panel of experts in the cooperative cannabis industry discuss challenges and opportunities to expand ownership and give reparations to those impacted by the War on Drugs.

Chris interviews worker-owners from Wholehearted Bookkeeping Co-op, Sunset Scholars, and Breadfruit Cooperative.

Chris interviews two attendees of the 2024 USFWC Conference, Frida Ballard and Damon Etawlyah.

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.

As the US Federation of Worker Cooperatives (USFWC) celebrates its twentieth anniversary in 2024, July marks seventeen years since the founding of its oldest member council – the Union Co-ops Council. Established to bridge worker cooperatives and organized labor, the Council has become a crucial player in both movements, fueled by the resurgence of unions and worker co-ops throughout the beginning of the 21st century.

This is a "nuts & bolts" session on transitioning existing businesses to worker-owned cooperatives. Attendees learn about the option and process of worker buyouts and hear a wide variety of company transition stories, from initial exploration through deal structuring, financing and post-transaction support. Business owners considering a sale to employees as well as current workers exploring or engaged in a buyout will find value in the session.