As we end 2023, we turn to the light of a new year. As hard as the suffering and injustice is this year, and as we know with great sadness that it will not go away next, we remain steadfast in shepherding in the kind of change we seek to make in the world. We bring it on with love and joy as best we can. We are grateful for the present moments for that love and joy as we build strong and democratic spaces, empowering people, with some level of faith that as the struggle continues, we continue to bring forth warm and compassionate care in the work we do, the communities we do it in and the people we touch. May we move with grace in the new year!

We have had a meaningful Fall term and here are postings that share the learning and activities we have been a part of! Enjoy and feel free to follow up with aspects you may want to be a part of!

We want to close out this year by thanking our partners, students and comrades as work carries on to building a more just and equitable world in small and large places. See some of our collaborations here:

Coop Cincy Symposium and the Union Co-op Council

Co-op Cincy hosted its symposium in October and we were there along with many from the Union Co-op Council of the US Federation of Worker Cooperatives. Read more.

 

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Network, learn and collaborate more with the US Federation of Worker Cooperatives, Union Co-op Council

Learn how to organize for co-ops within your union, how to organize a union within your co-op, or to chat with other union co-op organizers. Read More.

 

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Sociocracy for All, New York City Network of Worker Cooperatives and DAWI at 10 years old!

In October CWOP and the Murphy Institute at SLU hosted training with SoFA in partnership with Brooklyn Legal Services A. NYCNOWC had its Annual Assembly at CUNY SLU. Democracy at Work Institute celebrated its 10th year this season with a party in Brooklyn. Read more about these events.

 

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Resist & Build: Report Back From the Solidarity Economy Movement

On the weekend of October 20th, 2023 two CUNY graduate students affiliated with the Community and Worker Ownership Project (CWOP) at the School of Labor and Urban Studies traveled to Richmond, Virginia to attend the Resist & Build Summit, organized by the US Solidarity Economy Network. Dozens of leading organizations in the national solidarity economy (SE) movement attended, with the aim of collectively building up the movement. Read more.

 

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Our Intern from the Colin Powell School Internship Program- we say thank you!

Read Exploring Worker Justice: A Journey into the Intersection of Immigration, Labor Rights, and Cooperative Business Models by Vanesa Crowe, Colin Powell School Internship Program participant and economics student who is deeply passionate about social service. Read more.

 

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Community Education: Co-ops 101 and A Report from the Field

The paradox of noble-cause corruption, unethical actions taken in pursuit of the greater good, is so prevalent in the non-profit sector that it’s become normalized. And due to the United States government’s ongoing divestment in public health, we have no choice but to rely on these organizations to access social services and support. But what kind of “support” repeatedly results in systemic violence being inflicted on marginalized individuals and communities? And what kind of “support” industry fails to support its workers? Every larger system is responsible to the people who make it work, as well as to the people it serves. Both direct service delivery and efforts at larger social change are undermined in an eroding environment that fails to support its workers. Read the report.