STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Monday, 22 April 2013 -- Earth Day

[Demeter]

9. GOOD NEWS ANTIDOTES: Worker-Owned Cooperatives: Direct Democracy in Action By David Morgan

http://www.nationofchange.org/worker-owned-cooperatives-direct-democracy-action-1366380176

...The cooperative movement is experiencing a string of these moments now, and is burgeoning with renewed activity. I see this first-hand as a co-owner of the Toolbox for Education and Social Action (TESA), a worker-owned cooperative that participates in many co-op networks. We’ve facilitated hundreds of co-op workshops around the country, and taught thousands with our resource Co-opoly: The Game of Cooperatives. It’s our philosophy that cooperatives enable direct democracy and local control over the economy. As participants in the co-op movement, we help to turn flashpoints into lasting social change. Fortunately, the path to a community-controlled economy is well worn, and the adaptive responsive networks of the movement are buoying this energy. Over decades, these movement-based networks have quietly built support structures to transition us to a new economy. And with renewed demands for economic justice, they are springing to life.

The Model

As many look for ways out of the capitalist morass of boom-bust cycles, worker cooperatives have taken center stage. Cooperatives are democratic enterprises where both ownership and decision-making power are democratically shared. As a result, they keep money and power in the hands of the community. There are many types of co-ops—credit unions, housing co-ops, food coops, and so on — and though they abide by the the same Cooperative Principles, all coops operate differently. Worker cooperatives involve everyone in decision-making on a one vote, one share-per-member basis. All also equally owns the company. Even though only 1 percent of the cooperatives in the United States are worker owned, their organizing success has recently made them a focal point in the struggle for economic justice. Indeed, Occupy Wall Street participants launched a worker-run co-op print shop in Brooklyn called OccuCopy.

These organizations are inspired by successful historical examples, like the Mondragon system in Spain, and Emilio Romagno in Italy, which provide a model for economic transition and sustainability. Today’s co-ops are also guided by an earnest, evidenced solidarity—in other words, they put their money where their mouth is—which provides support for members and fellow organizations alike. Guided by cooperative principle number six, which promotes cooperation amongst cooperatives, partnerships between co-ops were easily realized. They multiplied and soon turned to regional alliances, which snowballed into national networks...

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