All posts by Przemyslaw Bielawski

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

Exploring Worker Justice: A Journey into the Intersection of Immigration, Labor Rights, and Cooperative Business Models

By Vanessa Crowe

As an Economics student who is deeply passionate about social service, my participation in this internship alongside Rebecca helped refine my ideas and interest in the public sector. The research aspect of this internship was especially transformative as I did a deep dive into understanding the alternative options for excluded workers in the labor market. This work is important because as an immigrant myself, seeking and exploring the challenges faced by immigrant communities and using structures that are already built in our society like the importance around collective and communal living, is essential to making sure this economy can work for us and not the other way around. Continue reading Our Intern from the Colin Powell School Internship Program- we say thank you!

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

By Abbie Harper 

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

Co-op Any Town – Building a Solidarity Economy in place with guests to the class “Cooperative Management for a Changing World”

Author: Rob Persons, SLU MA student

The economy doesn’t work for the vast majority of people. Wages are low, costs are high, and employers treat workers like replaceable cogs. The system needs to be changed, but mainstream politics doesn’t seem up to the task. Where will the change come from? Continue reading Co-op Any Town – Building a Solidarity Economy in place with guests to the class “Cooperative Management for a Changing World”

SLU Urban Studies student Natalie Cassar explores social problems in New York City’s housing market

In SLU’s Urban Studies undergraduate program, students deepen and explore their interests in social, economic, and political issues affecting city residents.  Students in URB 340: Contemporary Urban Social Problems with Professor Sofya Aptekar helped select which social problems they would study together as a class, then chose one issue for a deep-dive final project. Continue reading SLU Urban Studies student Natalie Cassar explores social problems in New York City’s housing market

Dolphin school and BCC partnership

Dolphin Schools
Brooklyn Communities Collaborative and Community Worker Ownership Project Fellowship

As a culminating event for our graduate certificate in Workplace Democracy and Community Ownership five Fellows pitched their ideas to a convening of colleagues, comrades and “Dolphins”, (note this was not your standard Shark Tank). With stakeholders, community partners and some financial investors, we discussed four proposals, each grounded with a deep goal of improving social determinants of health in Central Brooklyn. Continue reading Dolphin school and BCC partnership