Worker Cooperatives

Cooperative development is the most important social change work that a person can do.

At the June 2023 meeting of the USFWC's Union Co-ops Council, Jonny Sopotiuk presented on the Union Cooperative Initiative (UCI), an exciting project out of Vancouver, BC founded in 2021. Jonny shares about the history of the UCI, its co-ops and prospects, their strategies, and how the union co-op model is proving successful.

An online panel facilitated by co-op researcher-practitioner Emi Do that brings together presenters from several such projects: CoTech, Exit to Community Collective, Platform Cooperativism Consortium, SPACE4, Start.coop, UnFound Accelerator, and Union Cooperative Initiative. These projects advance democratic business formation and co-op theory-building, and they offer valuable lessons on the promises and challenges of accelerating worker ownership today.

Professor Jessica Gordon-Nembhard explores the potential of cooperatives and solidarity economics as pathways towards economic democracy and justice.

Shylah Wolfe spoke to Dru Oja Jay about what kinds of cooperative systems for food production, distribution and processing are already being built and how we'll probably have to expand them pretty rapidly to feed ourselves.

This article analyzes a proposed law to recognize worker cooperative formation in Georgia and proposes how movement lawyers can support organizers’ efforts to build a solidarity economy through and beyond this bill.

How the VAWC Inter-cooperative Loan Fund helped save the fledgling worker co-op Flat Iron Coffeehouse.

Vernon interviews Jessica Gordon-Nembhard, Ph.D., Professor at John Jay College, and Ajowa Nzinga Ifateyo, Co Editor at Grassroots Economic Organizing. Both are also economic social justice advocates. Vernon and his guests will discuss the Unsung Cooperative Hero Award, and its first recipient Ella Jo Baker.

An economy of production for use would grow only as fast as the population and the people's needs, making sustainability more attainable.

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