Worker Cooperatives

When Workers Own Their Companies, Everyone Wins

Sean McElwee

This New Republic article explores how cooperatives can support a green and democratic economy.

Worker Co-ops on The Rise in New York

Spencer Rumsey
Long Island Press

A look at the rise of worker cooperatives in NYC against the backdrop of a growing national movement.

Community Wealth Building Conference

September 27th, 2014
Aurora, Colorado

Breakout session topics fall under the following themes:   Read more about Community Wealth Building Conference...

Worker Co-ops Gain Foothold in Cuba

Delegation of cooperative leaders become acquainted with Cuba's new non-agricultural co-ops

At the end of 2012, the Cuban government approved a law that permitted for the first time the formation of non-agricultural co-ops. Read more about Worker Co-ops Gain Foothold in Cuba...

Our Harvest

Our Harvest is the first union worker-owned cooperative catalyzed by the Cincinnati Union Coop Initiative (CUCI). The Co-op farms on multiple properties in Cincinnati and sells its produce through CSA programs and other markets. Our Harvest is committed to creating family-sustaining jobs, producing sustainably-grown produce, building a food hub to strengthen the local food system and increase access to healthy food, and sustaining these efforts by training new farmers. Read more about Our Harvest...

Interfaith Business Builders

Interfaith Business Builders is a faith-based nonprofit aiming to develop, support, and promote employee-owned, cooperative businesses in Cincinnati’s low-income neighborhoods. In 1995, it launched its first enterprise, Cooperative Janitorial Services, which now has 15 worker-owners.  Most recently, it has been supporting the development of Community Blend, a fair-trade, co-op coffee shop. Read more about Interfaith Business Builders ...

Cincinnati Union Coop Initiative

Aiming to create jobs that are family supporting and to improve Greater Cincinnati’s local economy, the Cincinnati Union Cooperative Initiative (CUCI) focuses on catalyzing the development of Cincinnati-based worker-owned cooperatives. Read more about Cincinnati Union Coop Initiative...

The Asset Learning Conference

September 19th, 2014
Washington, DC

Research Director Steve Dubb and Research Associate Sarah McKinley will moderate a panel on community wealth building in Native American communities. Read more about The Asset Learning Conference...

2014 Academy of Management Annual Meeting

August 2nd, 2014
Philadelphia, PA

Research Director Steve Dubb will be serve on a panel discussing "How can we use diverse forms of community and employee ownership to build wealth in low-income communities, promote sustainability and advance the principles of economic democracy." Read more about 2014 Academy of Management Annual Meeting ...

The Real News Network Interviews Hilary Abell and Kali Akuno on Scaling Worker Cooperatives

Hilary Abell, author of our new report Worker Cooperatives: Pathways to Scale, and Kali Akuno of The Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, discuss ways in which cooperative development can support social justice and economic security.

How Much Outside Help Do Worker Co-ops Need to Get to Scale?

Confronting the challenge of incubation
Though they end up as owners and decision-makers, workers in low-income communities often don't start off doing all the work of developing and growing a worker-owned cooperative themselves. This is even true for the Mondragón Cooperative Corporation, the world’s single largest worker cooperative network and a leading source of inspiration for efforts to build worker cooperatives to scale in the United States.

Cooperators Confront the “System Problem”: Editors' Introduction

Thomas Hanna and Andrew McLeod
Grassroots Economic Organizing

Senior Research Associate Thomas Hanna and Andrew McLeod of Collective Seeds Consulting Cooperative guest edit Grassroots Economic Organizing (GEO)’s blog series, Scaling-Up the Cooperative Movement.

The Latest Trends in Sustainable Communities

Gar Alperovitz and Michael Shuman
Solutions

Democracy Collaborative co-founder Gar Alperovitz joined BALLE co-founder Michael Shuman in a conversation on how to build sustainable communities through inclusive local economic development.

After Piketty, the ownership revolution

Gar Alperovitz
Al Jazeera America

In an Al Jazeera article Democracy Collaborative co-founder Gar Alperovitz presents a critical perspective of Thomas Piketty’s best-selling book Capital in the Twenty-First Century— emphasizing how democratizing ownership of capital can address the vast wealth inequalities that Piketty so powerfully documents.