Tag Archives: worker coops

Notes on Our Economy

After last month’s economic democracy conference at SLU, new ideas and conversations are bubbling up in New York City and beyond. How can we implement some of our best ideas about democratizing our workplaces and our economy?

One attendee, Evelyn Wright of Commonwealth Hudson Valley, wrote a blog post outlining her work and ideas and summarizing some of the conversations that the day generated

Last Friday I went into the city for a daylong conference on Economic Democracy and System Change at CUNY’s School of Labor and Urban Studies. Deputy Mayor Philip Thompson opened the day with a talk about why we need economic democracy, how economic democracy differs from the socialism and social democracy of the twentieth century, and what the city is doing to promote it. Continue reading Notes on Our Economy

With Help from JSMI, NYC Releases Worker Coop Resource Guide

From the Worker Cooperative Resource Guide for Skills and Services New York City, Summer 2017:

New York City is seeing a surge of interest in cooperative businesses. It is no wonder. The call for justice will always increase as people experience the rise of injustice. Businesses that are good for the workers and good for communities are able to answer this fundamental clamor for equality.

The New York City Council has made a significant investment into cooperative businesses over the last three years. During this time a network has matured that offers an array of strategies and services, from education and training programs to the technical assistance of other cooperators, cooperative business developers, lenders and lawyers. Business owners, entrepreneurs, urban planners, unionists, community activists, job seekers each can find support for expanding their missions through the cooperative business skills that can be accessed through these pages. Continue reading With Help from JSMI, NYC Releases Worker Coop Resource Guide

Photos: Cooperative Events at Murphy

By Rebecca Lurie

This Thursday, the worker-owned cooperative Action OSH hosted their Grand Opening at the Murphy Institute, celebrating the National Day of Workers’ Health and Safety. Along with allies from the Center for Family Life, United Steel Workers, NYC Network of Worker Cooperatives and the Murphy Institute Community and Worker Ownership Project and elsewhere, this group will bring knowledge and power to immigrant workers in our city.  We stand proudly in support of this team of educators and activists

Later in the day, the Murphy Institute Community and Worker Ownership Project joined with Green Worker Cooperatives to welcome Luis Alberto Duenas Casal from Cuba. He is a co-founder of the Cuban worker cooperative SCENIUS and a leader in the Cuban cooperative movement. Following Principles #5 and #7 of the international creed for coops, “Education, Training and Information” and “Concern for the Community,” we learned through conversation and presentation how the economic transformation in Cuba is supporting a redesign of their Social Economy.

Friends and comrades enjoyed a full day of learning and networking!