Grassroots Democracy in Venezuela

michaeljohnson — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 15:58:37 -0500

a struggle for participatory budgeting in the largely agrarian municipality of Torres (population 197,000) in the central-western Venezuelan state of Lara

Canadian Co-operative Association urges candidates to support the co-operative movement

ajowa — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 21:50:11 -0400

Ottawa, April 12, 2011 -- With the first leaders' debate taking place April 12, the Canadian Co-operative Association is encouraging co-operators and friends of co-operatives to email party leaders and candidates in their riding to ask them to support co-operative recommendations for the next government through an on-line tool on CCA's web sit

A big idea for boosting our cooperative economy?

michaeljohnson — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 12:48:56 -0500

The New America Foundation (NAF) has made a large size policy proposal for basic economic development in the US. To these untrained eyes and ears it would seem that it is offering a public home for building on and expanding our cooperative economy here in the states. So I am passing it on to the more knowledgeable for assessment and action.

Green Mayor Promotes Mondragon Model in California

michaeljohnson — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 20:28:33 -0400

The Mayor of Richmond, California, Gayle McLaughlin, recently held a public presentation why she believes Mondragon should serve as a guiding example for how economic development should proceed in her city.

Richmond, California's Green Party Mayor Signs "Letter of Intent" with Spain's Mondragon Coops

michaeljohnson — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 12:00:16 -0400

At the conclusion of the seminar, Mondragon's Director of Cooperative Dissemination, Mikel Lezamiz, and I signed a letter of intent and endorsement to pave the way for initiating conversations with stakeholders in Richmond and beyond. I want to share with you what I learned and also hear your ideas.
To this end I would like to invite all who are interested to a presentation and discussion on Mondragon and the potential for worker cooperatives in Richmond. The same presentation will be given on two dates...

Reuters reports that Cuba to expand use of employee-run cooperatives

michaeljohnson — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 12:31:24 -0400

Cuba will soon turn some small-scale manufacturing and retail services into cooperatives as the state retreats from minor businesses in an effort to boost the island's troubled economy, government and Communist Party sources said.

Worker Cooperative Section of the San Francisco Congress

michaeljohnson — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 00:02:45 -0400

Below is a report from Steve Rice (volunteer with the Network of Bay Area Worker Cooperatives [NoBAWC]), Poonam Whabi (Design Action Collective), and Rick Simon (Just Alternatives for a Sustainable Economy) on the Worker Co-operative component of the Congress. This component calls on local government to...

San Francisco Community Congress: background and update

michaeljohnson — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 23:41:57 -0400

San Francisco Community Congress: background and update

(EDITOR’S NOTE: A very interesting grassroots development happening in SanFrancisco: The San Francisco Community Congress.The goal is to “devise practical, locally actionable proposals to shape and direct future policy affecting the local economy and the provision of critical human services.” Their mantra, “another San Francisco is possible.” If the devil is in the details, then this appears to be the beginning of a premier Solidarity Economy project.

GEO is...

Carl Davidson's report on US Social Forum 2010

michaeljohnson — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 11:33:41 -0400

High-Energy Gathering Fires Up A New Generation of Activists in U.S. Left and Social Movements By Carl Davidson Keep On Keepin' On! When 15,000 vibrant and politically engaged people gather in one spot for five days and organize themselves into more than 1000 workshops, dozens of major plenaries and late night parties across five major cultural hot spots, no one article can claim to give a full account and get away with it. But an event on that scale livened up Detroit, Michigan during the week of June 22-26 at the US Social Forum, when Cobo Hall and several nearby universities were buzzing with thousands of people trying to shape a new world. 15,000 Attend Detroit Social Forum I won’t even try to capture it all. I’ll just affirm the common conviction that it was a major happening on the left and a huge success, an inspiration and an affirmation of hope that progress is being made towards a better future. Then I’ll humbly offer my take on it. We’ll start with some highlights and, for those who aren’t familiar with the Social Forum movement, offer a few explanations.

Jan 2010 Senate Proposal to Incentivize ESOPs

robinhooddcf — Fri, 14 May 2010 14:01:27 -0400

Legislation by Senators Sanders and others is meant to incentivize ESOPs.

Public Policy & Governance

Grassroots Democracy in Venezuela

Canadian Co-operative Association urges candidates to support the co-operative movement

A big idea for boosting our cooperative economy?

Green Mayor Promotes Mondragon Model in California

Richmond, California's Green Party Mayor Signs "Letter of Intent" with Spain's Mondragon Coops

Reuters reports that Cuba to expand use of employee-run cooperatives

Worker Cooperative Section of the San Francisco Congress

San Francisco Community Congress: background and update

San Francisco Community Congress: background and update

Carl Davidson's report on US Social Forum 2010

Jan 2010 Senate Proposal to Incentivize ESOPs