Workplace Democracy

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

 In this conversation with John Abrams, author of From Founder to Future, we explore how founders can strategically pave the way for a more equitable future through the worker co-op model and how work can influence every area of life.

When is a “Coop” not really a cooperative? The short answer is whenever the actual activity of the “cooperative” is not carried out by the members but by employees. The problem is, of course, not in cooperation per se but in the hiring, employing, renting, or leasing of people to carry out the supposedly “cooperative” activities of the “cooperative.”

This timeline presentation goes over the highlights of 20+ years of worker cooperativism in the United States. 

Chris interviews worker-owners at the 2024 Worker Co-op Conference in Chicago, Illinois.

There is widespread agreement on the need for a bold economic development strategy aimed at realigning the interests of business with those of local communities. Less clear is what precisely needs to be done. We argue that an effective way to achieve this goal is by decommodifying business ownership through the democratisation of private companies.

Interviews with Julian Hendrix and Esther West from the 2024 USFWC Conference.

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.

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.

GEO is kicking off a special collection in honor of the 20th Anniversary of the founding of the US Federation of Worker Cooperatives.