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Catalyzing worker co-ops & the solidarity economy

Unions & Worker Organizations

Organizations of and for workers, dedicated to building worker power.

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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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May 8, 2023

Owning Together: Worker-Consumer Co-ops in Conversation

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“Multi-stakeholder” co-ops have become popular in recent years, but what does it really mean to bring different groups together for common ownership and governance?

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October 20, 2022

Worx Printing: A Union Co-op

Summary

In this special episode in honor of National Co-op Month, Kevin speaks with Kevin O’Brien, co-founder of the union co-op Worx Printing.

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March 21, 2022

A Cooperative Ecosystem and How Unions Build Power

Summary

Rebecca Lurie, co-author of the Union Co-ops Toolkit presents the ways in which Unions and Cooperatives can support each other to build worker power and strengthen each other's movements.

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January 24, 2022

A Union Tookit for Cooperative Solutions

Summary

The paper includes seven case studies of interaction and collaboration between labor unions and worker-owned entities, in which unions get out their tools to apply their power and capacity toward worker ownership for expanding avenues for worker power.

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December 9, 2021

How White Electric Coffee Became a Worker Co-op

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Two worker-owners from White Electric Coffee in Providence, RI describe how they converted their workplace to a worker cooperative.

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May 26, 2021

A Very Funny Co-op Bill in California

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Summary

A bill in California would create a very strange kind of worker co-op federation.

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March 29, 2021

Artists as Workers - A New Model for Organizing

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Jonny Sopotiuk and Zandi Dandizette discuss how they and other artists founded the Vancouver Artists Labour Union Co-operative.

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June 11, 2018

A Brief History of Cooperatives in California

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For thousands of years the San Francisco Bay Area supported a population of thousands of Ohlones, Miwoks, and Wintuns living in a stable life system based on peaceful collectivity.