By Hazel Corcoran

I had the great fortune of meeting on January 20^th with Amy Johnson, the new Co-Executive Director or "ED" of the US Federation of Worker Cooperatives (USFWC) and the new ED, Melissa Hoover of their non-profit development partner, Democracy at Work Institute (DAWI). Melissa was the first ED of the USFWC and held that position until recently. We met at their shared office in Oakland, California. I was in the Bay Area primarily to support a group seeking to replicate a very successful San Francisco area worker co-op in Calgary.

It was inspiring to learn more about the US worker co-op movement, and at the same time very thought-provoking, even sobering on a variety of levels. In effect, we discussed our many differences, but also the increasing number of similarities between the US FWC and the CWCF. We also discussed particular points of potential collaboration.

There are extremely few organizations in North America which have a mandate of federating the worker co-operatives in their regions. Of the active organizations, it's primarily only six: CWCF, USFWC, the Mexican Confederation of Co-operatives of Diverse Activities and the three based in Quebec: the Forestry Co-op Federation, the Paramedic Co-op Federation and the R�seau ("Network" of Worker Co-operation). There are also a variety of city-based initiatives such as the Winnipeg Chapter of CWCF, and the Network of Bay Area Co-operatives.   

Arguably at this point in history, CWCF has more in common with USFWC than with any other organization on the planet. Canada and the US have approximately the same number of worker co-operatives, on the order of 350-400 in each country - despite the fact that the US has almost 10 times the population of Canada. However, given the fact that a very significant majority of the worker co-ops in Canada are in Quebec, whose worker co-ops traditionally do not join CWCF (only indirectly, through the three Quebec WC Federations), CWCF (primarily serving Canada outside Quebec) and the US FWC have more comparable numbers of worker co-ops per population than might be obvious in the numbers per country.

Both CWCF and USFWC struggle to some degree figuring out how to offer value-added, valuable services to our worker co-op members on shoestring budgets. There are certain services / activities which CWCF has developed that USFWC wishes to explore and/or offer in their context. These include CWCF's self-directed RRSP program for co-ops and CED Investment Funds, and the proposed agreement with the Worker Co-op Confederation in France ("CG-SCOP") on sharing business succession materials / resources. In the other direction, USFWC is developing a webinar series for new members of worker co-ops, and has done a road trip for both meeting worker co-op members and also recruiting members - activities which CWCF might want to adapt and use in Canada. The USFWC is open to such exploration. 

Both organizations are offering services to worker co-ops in our countries. Although both have English as their primary working language, CWCF seeks to offer as much in French as possible and USFWC to offer as much in Spanish as possible. Both have regional structures yet it seems there may not be a critical mass for support in the worker co-op movement in North America for both a regional & a national level - with the clear exception of Quebec and a few others. Further there are similar challenges in making the regional structures work well in terms of multiple layers of dues, accountability, etc.

DAWI is the space for focus on worker co-op development, and it currently has funding from both the US Department of Agriculture's co-op development resource center program, and from the Catholic Campaign for Human Development. Combined, these and other small funders have enabled DAWI to have seven staff members across the country, whereas the roughly equivalent entity, CoopZone in Canada, has only about 6 hours per week of staff time.

What was perhaps most interesting is the fact that US FWC is accustomed to working in an environment with virtually no government support or prospect of same such that it has not developed much expertise or experience in lobbying, whereas CWCF was at least between the year 2000 until 2012 in a space where small but important government support was available- thus CWCF has had a significant focus on government relations.   Now while the USFWC enters a phase where government support to worker co-ops and development is becoming possible (whether state, federal or even municipal such as in New York City etc.), in Canada, true federal government support seems very challenging at this point in time. Although CWCF continues to lobby for worker co-op interests, CWCF would do well to focus on what we ourselves can support people in doing within the market economy and with our own resources - which is more the way the USFWC and its members have run their affairs.

This takes me back to the reason for going to the San Francisco Bay Area in the first place - which is to help a group in Calgary to replicate a highly successful Bay Area worker co-op. That is the type of market-based solution which we can do on our own, whether or not we have government help. Obviously, with some government support such as for financing or to pay for technical assistance, replicating a successful co-op, like any co-op development, is easier to do. However in the Bay Area, it's been done successfully both with a bakery/pizzeria co-op and also with an immigrant "least toxic" house-cleaning worker co-op. There has been little government support, yet with this "anti-franchising" approach, much has been possible.

This replication model has long been on the radar of CWCF, but for the first time we are working with a group in Canada, assisted by the Californians who have pioneered the approach - based on the strengths they saw in Mondragon, Spain but adapted for their region. We now seek to adapt their adaptation and essentially franchise it here, for the benefit not of a multi-national or other franchisee, but for the worker-owners.  This is a story to be continued.  

Chalkboard with P6 criteria at Seward Community Co-op in Minneapolis, MN

 Through P6, we're re-investing in the work grocery co-ops across the US have been doing for the last 30 years, which is building social justice and sustainability in the food system. Co-ops built the natural and organic marketplace, but over time incredible consolidation has occurred in our food system. Large corporations now own, control, and profit from a vast percentage of the natural and organic food industry. P6 examines ownership and control and redirects profit to producers who create the kind of food system we want to support by focusing on small, local, cooperative producers.  Click here to read the article and/or watch the video. 

The Madison Common Council, known as city councils or commissions in other cities, approved the initiative on Nov. 11, 2014. This allocation is the largest by a U.S. municipality. Earlier last year, New York allocated $1.2 million to help worker cooperative development.  

City and community planners hope to use the money to not only create jobs and cooperatives, but to boost poor neighborhoods, form union cooperatives, create group entrepreneurship and to develop cross-sectoral cooperative collaboration.  

Rebecca Kemble, President of the US FWC whom many of you may have met at our CWCF conferences, lives in Madison and is currently running for Madison City Council.  If you want to read this full article click here. 

 
Ville-Coop, decembre 2014, Num�ro 9

Le tribunal de commerce d'Albi a accept� l'offre de reprise de la plus ancienne fonderie de France par une partie de ses ouvriers r�unis au sein d'une soci�t� coop�rative et participative (Scop).Convaincus des perspectives d'avenir de leur entreprise, ils avaient d�cid� de pr�senter une offre de reprise dans le cadre d'une Scop � la suite du placement en liquidation judiciaire de leur fonderie en juillet. L'entreprise oeuvre dans le mat�riel ferroviaire, les manufactures de pneumatiques, la motorisation navale, terrestre, a�rienne, l'�nergie hydraulique, l'armement et le mat�riel agricole.

http://www.centrepresseaveyron.fr/2014/11/22/albi-des-ouvriers-reprennent-leur-fonderie-la-plus-vieille-de-france,944625.php