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Catalyzing worker co-ops & the solidarity economy

Worker Cooperatives

Businesses that are owned and democratically controlled by their workers/employees (called "worker-owners").

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December 7, 2023

Worker Co-op Marketing

Summary

Marketing /visibility - including Marketing the Worker Co-op Advantage Marketing /visibility - including Marketing the Worker Co-op Advantage

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November 27, 2023

The DisCO Conspiracy

Summary

Stacco Troncoso gives an overview of the DisCO (Distributed Cooperative) model, which he alternately describes as a brand, an econoimc LARP, and an open source conspiracy to take over the world.

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November 20, 2023

The Pioneers of Cooperativism and Climate Justice: Owen, Fourier, Du Bois

Summary

In response to the ambitious call of the Platform Cooperative Consortium, I will seek to examine them through the lens of environmental scholars. Can these cooperative pioneers also provide insights into climate justice?

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November 6, 2023

The Spanish Civil War: Lessons in Economic Democracy

Summary

The Spanish Civil War and Revolution of 1936 was arguably the 20th century’s greatest experiment in economic democracy. Seizing the opportunity opened by the conflict between the Spanish Republic and right-wing Nationalists, Spain’s workers and peasants built a new economy in the midst of the chaos. 

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October 12, 2023

Turning Up the Cooperation with Louder Than Ten

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Summary

Rachel and Travis of Vancouver's Louder Than Ten worker cooperative talk with Josh about their business and why they decided to make the conversion to a worker co-op.

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October 9, 2023

Cooperative Enterprise and Market Economy: Chapter 8

Summary

Chapter eight of Cooperative Enterprise and Market Economy.

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September 18, 2023

What is the Union Cooperative Initiative?

Summary

At the June 2023 meeting of the USFWC's Union Co-ops Council, Jonny Sopotiuk presented on the Union Cooperative Initiative (UCI), an exciting project out of Vancouver, BC founded in 2021. Jonny shares about the history of the UCI, its co-ops and prospects, their strategies, and how the union co-op model is proving successful.

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September 1, 2023

Accelerating Worker Ownership

Summary

An online panel facilitated by co-op researcher-practitioner Emi Do that brings together presenters from several such projects: CoTech, Exit to Community Collective, Platform Cooperativism Consortium, SPACE4, Start.coop, UnFound Accelerator, and Union Cooperative Initiative. These projects advance democratic business formation and co-op theory-building, and they offer valuable lessons on the promises and challenges of accelerating worker ownership today.

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July 6, 2023

Solidarity Economics

Summary

Professor Jessica Gordon-Nembhard explores the potential of cooperatives and solidarity economics as pathways towards economic democracy and justice.

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July 3, 2023

The Co-op Food System We Need

Summary

Shylah Wolfe spoke to Dru Oja Jay about what kinds of cooperative systems for food production, distribution and processing are already being built and how we'll probably have to expand them pretty rapidly to feed ourselves.