Canadian Worker Co-operative Federation

 La F�d�ration canadienne des coop�ratives de travail

January 2014 Newsletterwww.canadianworker.coop
Vol 6, Issue 1 
                                

                                                                                                                                                           

      

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In This Issue
Executive Director's Message
Message de la directrice générale
Blueprint for a Co-operative Decade - tele-learning session
Just Us & SEIU Sign Collective Agreement
Data Commons Cooperative
Mondragon Corporation
La Corporation Mondragon
Co-operatives and Mututals Canada
ICA seeking input re: co-op principles
Young Famers using Co-ops
Unicorn Grocery
Essential Trading
Take a Deep Breath... the Coop Movement Isn't a Failure
Capital and the Debt Trap - Paperback Announced
Collective Courage
International Summit of Co-operatives-News
Message from the Executive Director, Hazel Corcoran

 [La version fran�aise suit.] 

  

 

CWCF's Board elected its new officers at the December Board meeting. Alain Bridault of la Coop�rative Orion in Quebec City continues as President, and Eric Tusz-King of EnerGreen Builders Co-op in Sackville, NB continues as Vice-President. There is a new Board Treasurer, Jamie Campbell of ParIT Worker Co-op in Winnipeg, Manitoba. CWCF would like to express its appreciation to Reba Plummer of Urbane Cyclist who previously served as Treasurer.

 

CWCF has many activities underway or planned. The Board recently established a Business Succession Committee. The purpose is to create a plan to address the looming business succession crisis /opportunity (i.e., the many baby boomers who own small businesses and will be retiring soon), to encourage and support more business transfers to worker and multi-stakeholder co-ops. The Committee is made up of people who have been involved in supporting conversions to worker co-ops. CWCF has carried out significant research and hosted a conference in this area of promise to scale up the worker co-op movement (see this list of resources ), but so far has only supported a small number of successful conversions to worker co-ops, e.g., Careforce, Yellowknife Glass Recyclers and the Greenhouse Co-op.

 

We continue to work on the indivisible reserve issue (in keeping with the resolution passed at the last AGM). In addition, as CWCF is in the final year of our three-year strategic plan, we will embark on a strategic plan consultation process, to culminate at the AGM this fall. Related to this will be a series of member telephone interviews in coming months.

 

A regional meeting for worker co-op members is being planned in Atlantic Canada, likely in March. We have assembled the Planning Committee for the CWCF Conference on Nov. 6-8 in Wolfville, NS. This region includes several worker co-ops including Just Us! Coffee Roasters and Careforce, as well as many other co-ops (Acadia Cinema Co-op, the Wolfville Farmers' Market, Scotian Gold Apple Growers Co-op, Deep Roots Music Co-op, etc.). In conjunction with the second Quebec International Summit in October, 2014, we are working with the Quebec R�seau to again host a complementary event for worker co-operators. More will follow soon on all of these upcoming events.

 

I'm pleased to report that there have been two new worker co-op member applications to CWCF this month: Aster Environmental Group Co-op in Moncton, NB and Together We're Bitter Co-operative Brewing in Hamilton, ON (website coming soon). CWCF continues to place small technical assistance grants in worker co-ops, primarily start-ups. If your co-op requires technical assistance, please check out information on our program here.

 

We are delighted to feature an article on Just Us Coffee Roasters' Co-op and the SEIU signing a first collective agreement. Congratulations to all! However we are very saddened to report that the Mondragon Caf� in Winnipeg after a very difficult period has regretfully decided to close its doors; we understand that Mondragon's last day will be Sunday, January 26th, 2014. You can read more here.  According to the Mondragon Facebook page, they will have special menus and events throughout this last week, with ex-Mondragoners working alongside the current members.  There will be a huge celebration on Saturday night.    

 

Last but not least, one of the things on which I am quite focused is work on the board of the new Co-operatives and Mutuals Canada. In my role as Chair of the Governance Committee, I am supporting the board in working through a series of by-law and policy issues. We are making good progress, and the new organization will officially launch on April 1st.   The CMC Congress will take place in Moncton, June 18th-20th.

 

We are always seeking articles about happenings in our worker co-op members. If there is anything going on at your co-op about which you'd be willing to have us report in a future newsletter, please let us know. Send story ideas to: Kaye Grant, CWCF Communications Manager, communications@canadianworker.coop.

 

In co-operation,

Hazel Corcoran

 

 

 

Message de la directrice g�n�rale, Hazel Corcoran

Le Conseil de la FCCT a �lu son ex�cutif lors de sa r�union en d�cembre. Alain Bridault de la Coop�rative Orion � Qu�bec continue en tant que pr�sident, et Eric Tusz-King d'EnerGreen Builders Co-operative � Sackville, N.-B., continue en tant que vice-pr�sident. Notre nouveau tr�sorier est Jamie Campbell, de la coop�rative de travail ParIT � Winnipeg. La FCCTvoudrait exprimersa gratitude � RebaPlummer,qui aservien tant que tr�sori�re l'ann�e derni�re. 

 

La FCCT a de nombreuses activit�s en cours et pr�vues. Le Conseil a r�cemment cr�� un Comit� sur la transmission d'entreprise. Le but du Comit� est de cr�er un plan pour r�pondre � la crise/l'opportunit� imminente dans la rel�ve d'entreprises (c'est � dire, les nombreux baby-boomers propri�taires de petites et moyennes entreprises qui prendront leur retraite bient�t), pour encourager et soutenir plus de transferts d'entreprises �ux coop�ratives de travail et de solidarit�. Le Comit� est compos�e de personnes qui ont �t� impliqu�es dans le transfert d'entreprises aux coop�ratives de travail. La FCCT a d�j� effectu� des recherches importantes et a organis� un grand Congr�s dans ce domaine prometteur pour amplifier le mouvement des coop�ratives de travail (voyez la liste de ressources), mais jusqu'� pr�sent, n'a �t� impliqu� que dans quelques conversions r�ussies de cooop�ratives de travail (par exemple, Careforce, Yellowknife Glass Recyclers Co-operative et la "Greenhouse Co-op").

 

Nous continuons � travailler sur la question de la r�serve impartageable (conform�ment � la r�solution adopt�e lors de la derni�re assembl�e g�n�rale annuelle(ici)). En outre, compte tenu que la FCCT est dans la derni�re ann�e de son plan strat�gique de trois ans, on commence un processus de consultation sur le nouveau plan, pour aboutir la AGA cet automne. Avec tout �a il y aura une s�rie d'entretiens t�l�phoniques avec nos coop�ratives de travail membres dans les prochains mois.

 

Une r�union r�gionale pour les coop�ratives de travail est pr�vue au Canada Atlantique, probablement au mois de mars. Nous avons r�uni le comit� de planification pour le Congr�s de la FCCT du 6 au 8 novembre � Wolfville, en Nouvelle-�cosse. Cette r�gion comprend plusieurs coop�ratives de travail, y compris Just Us! Coffee Roasters et Careforce, ainsi que de nombreuses autres coop�ratives (Acadia Cinema Co-op, le March� de fermiers de Wolfville, Scotian Gold Apple Growers Co-op, le Deep Roots Music Co-op, etc).  Conjointement avec le deuxi�me Sommet international � Qu�bec en octobre 2014, nous travaillons avec le R�SEAU du Qu�bec d'accueillir � nouveau un �v�nement compl�mentaire pour les coop�rateurs/trices du travail.  Plus d'information sortira bient�t sur tous ces �v�nements.

 

Je suis heureuse d'annoncer qu'il ya eu deux nouvelles demandes d'adh�sion des coop�ratives de travail la FCCT ce mois-ci: : Aster Environmental Group Co-op Moncton, NB, et Together We're Bitter Co-operative Brewing Hamilton, ON (site web � suivre bient�t). La FCCT continue d'accorder de petites subventions pour l'aide technique dans les coop�ratives de travail, principalement des start-ups. Si votre coop�rative a besoin d'aide technique, s'il vous pla�t v�rifier des informations sur notre programme ici.

 

Nous sommes ravis de pr�senter un article sur la signature de la convention collective entre Just Us! Coffee Roasters Co-op et le syndicat SEIU. F�licitations � tous! Cependant, nous sommes tr�s attrist�s d'annoncer que le Cafe Mondagon � Winnipeg apr�s une p�riode tr�s difficile a malheureusement d�cid� de fermer ses portes le 26 janvier 2014. Vous pouvez en lire plus ici.

 

Finalement, l'une des choses sur lesquelles je suis bien concentr� est le travail au Conseil de la nouvelle organization � Coop�ratives et Mutuelles Canada". Comme pr�sident du comit� de gouvernance, j'appuie le conseil dans le travail d'�xaminer une s�rie de questions des r�glements int�rieure et de la politique. Nous faisons des progr�s, et la nouvelle organisation se lancera officiellement le 1er avril. Le congr�s du CMC cette ann�e aura lieu � Moncton, du 18 au 20 juin.

 

Nous cherchons toujours des articles sur les �v�nements et les nouvelles sur les coop�ratives de travail. S'il y a quelque chose qui se passe � votre coop�rative dont vous seriez pr�t � nous faire part dans un prochain bulletin, s'il vous pla�t laissez-nous savoir. Envoyer vos id�es d'articles : Kaye Grant, Directrice des communications de la FCCT, communications@canadianworker.coop.

 

En coop�ration,

Hazel Corcoran

 

 

Blueprint for a Co-operative Decade - Tele-learning session 

CWCF and CoopZone are hosting a tele-learning session for their members about the Blueprint for a Co-operative Decade of the International Co-op Alliance (ICA).  It will take place on Wednesday, January 29th, 2014 at 3:30 pm Eastern Time for 90 minutes.   

 

The Blueprint, building on the International Year of Co-ops in 2012, is a high-level framework for the co-operative movement globally, with a focus on co-op growth and on five themes:   

1) Participation,  

2) Sustainability,  

3) Co-operative Identity,

4) Legal Frameworks, and  

5) Capital.    

The presenters will be US FWC President Rebecca Kemble (on the overall Blueprint), CWCF director Yuill Herbert (on the sustainability scan), and CEO of The Co-operators, Kathy Bardswick (on capital).

 

If you would like to participate, RSVP to Hazel as soon as possible (hazel@canadianworker.coop), and at the latest by January 28th at the end of the day.  

 

  

Just Us! and SEIU Sign Collective Agreement

 Respectfully submitted: Debra Moore, Co-founder/Member

 

Just Us! Coffee Roasters Co-op and the Service Employees International Union or "SEIU" (representing the employees at the Spring Garden caf� in Halifax) signed a collective agreement in December, and I believe the result is seen as positive by the Union and the baristas involved. I know that it is seen very positively by the Co-op.

 

Prior to this, over the past few months Just Us! had quite a journey, and it was a steep learning curve for all of us. Having a unionized workforce was not in the vision of Just Us! at the beginning. However, once we got through the initial stages of the union organizing, which were admittedly challenging, we began to see real benefits not only for our Co-op in general but for baristas specifically.

 

As we educated ourselves, we discovered the "Union Co-op" model (basically a unionized worker co-op, established with help from the union), which has been put in place recently in North America as a collaboration of the United Steelworkers Union and Mondragon. It is getting a lot of attention, and I think that we are going to see more of this approach developing. At Just Us! we now have a head start. Also, the SEIU in the US has in place one unionized worker co-op, Co-operative Home Care Associates in New York, so they have experience we can draw on.

 

While a union was not in the original vision of Just Us!, the idea of a place where workers owned the business, the structure was democratic and not just one or two people reaped the benefits was our vision. Just Us! over the years has supported the union movement through donations, some of us participating in campaigns and us having written materials available in our library or circulating among us.

 

Once we started in on the negotiations for the collective agreement, it turned out, as we suspected, that the negotiation was very amicable and the Union representative commented on this more than once. Of course, what we discovered is that the Union and Just Us! have similar values around employment, and so the negotiations were much more around the procedures that we would follow around employment at Just Us!. In the end there is much more clarity for both management and for the workers, and there are good processes in place for dealing with concerns.

 

When several of us founded this Co-op, we would have never imagined where it would go. This latest journey with the development of the Union has been challenging but inspiring. When listening to our producers, it is all about them finding their voice and then advocating for change. It is a similar experience for the employees who are now part of the Union. Prior to the unionization drive, Just Us! had also launched a revised member organization approach with the intent of increasing the number of members. This, too, has borne fruit as several employees have become new members as a result.

 

Just Us! has always been about advocating for change, and through these past few months we have found ourselves right in the middle of a movement that is happening both in the US and Canada around retail workers and their working conditions. I'm pleased to say that Just Us! is the first of several coffee shops in Halifax to sign a collective agreement. The journey that we have been on is not over, and I believe that Just Us! will be looked at as a model for improving working conditions for baristas.

 

The challenge for Just Us! itself is to put in place a positive approach going forward that leaves us with a workplace that truly meets our vision statement: People and the Planet before Profits. I believe we are on the path to do that.

 

Data Commons Cooperative

  

  

  

  

Submitted by Jamie Campbell, Data Commons Cooperative Board member (for CWCF) 

             

The Canadian Worker Co-operative Federation has relationships with many organizations provincially, nationally, and internationally. Since 2006 we have been a participant in a project (now incorporated as a co-operative) called the Data Commons Cooperative.

 

What is the Data Commons?

 

The Data Commons is a movement building organization. The cooperative gathers information and creates tools that make it easy for members to access each others' data, and broadcast information to the public. What this means for worker co-ops and developers is easy access to information that has been absent in the past - the ability to know just who and where other co-ops are. Similar efforts have fallen short of their aspirations in that they have failed to properly plan for the fact that information changes over time, resulting in obsolete and unusable information.  

 

The Data Commons is carefully structured to ensure that information is kept as current as possible, so that it is reliable on an ongoing basis. If information for a particular entry cannot be refreshed (for instance, the contact person cannot be reached and isn't keeping their own data current) the entry will be marked so as to make it clear when the last update was. To help keep information consistent across organizations, the Data Commons makes use of an in-house tool called Coopy, specializing in data merging. To facilitate broad use of the data, users have a variety of options including embedding search results in their own applications; in their own websites; using the data commons directory website http://find.coop/ or a combination of these options.

 

Historic

             

The Data Commons Cooperative, Inc. was incorporated July 5th, 2012 in Massachusetts with an initial board of five directors. Prior to incorporation, a steering committee consisting of seven representatives from various organizations conducted due diligence and planning to ensure that a solid plan and vision was honed prior to formal incorporation The first AGM, which included director elections, took place June 14, 2013. The board expanded to seven directors. Since inception, Data Commons membership has grown from 7 founding members to 21 current members. Each prospective member files an application which is reviewed by the board to best ensure that members are a good fit for the cooperative.

 

Additional Goals

 

In addition to data sharing, the Data Commons also plans to facilitate email list opt-in for participating organizations (for instance, if a member of CWCF wants to be kept up to date with what's going on in the National Cooperative Business Association sphere), as well as making available a marketplace that enables the directory to provide direct access to procuring from members.

 

Data Segments

 

Different data has different efficacy and exposure. Members have complete flexibility in this area. Members can choose a subset of information to make available to the public, via sites such as http://find.coop/ (and potentially the member's own site). Other data may have a greater degree of confidentiality, but may still be useful to share between, for instance, boards and/or executive directors of members.

 

Governance Structure

 

The Data Commons is ultimately governed by its members, which are primarily second-tier organizations such as federations and associations (including both the Canadian Worker Co-op Federation and the United Stated Federation of Worker Co-ops).  Members are empowered to elect a board of directors, with a subset of the board up for re-election annually. The director terms are staggered to strike a balance between board stability and an ongoing renewal of energy and opportunity. This board handles due diligence issues such as keeping the organization on track in carrying out its mission, and overseeing administrative tasks such as government filings. However, in that the Data Commons is a grassroots organization ultimately responsible to its membership, it also invests in direct engagement with members, to try to ensure that the directory provides value to each and every member.

 

Data Commons Sustainability

 

Data Commons operations to date are sustained by membership dues, grants, and volunteer efforts from both the board and technically proficient volunteers. Dues are currently set at 0.1% of a member's previous year's budgeted expenses, with minimum dues of $100 One advantage to using a budgetary percentage for dues rather than a set value is that it creates a reciprocal relationship between members and the Data Commons. As the Data Commons is able to help support member growth and success, dues go up, enabling the Data Commons to expand and provide better support to members, and helping members to further grow.

 

Current Activity

 

As an organization still in its first year, the current focus is on ensuring that our existing services provide the best value possible to our existing membership. Once this root foundation is firmly in place, we will expand investment in both expanding our membership base and our service capacity.  While the membership is largely umbrella-type organizations, the idea is to bring in very grassroots groups (such as SolidarityNYC) and very large groups (such as New Economy Coalition, Solidarity Economy Network) and everything in between, in order to maximize the benefits that each kind of association can bring to each other.

To learn more about the Data Commons, see:  http://datacommons.find.coop/.    

 

Mondragon Corporation: Saving Jobs

A total of 417 members of Fagor Electrodom�sticos are already working in other cooperatives of the Mondragon Corporation. The strong commitment of the Corporation to employment is materialized thus, just two months after the declaration from Fagor, filing for protection from creditors, 417 worker-members have already been achieved relocated.

 

Also a plan that targets 400 new relocations in the next six months is being defined, given the extraordinary response from the cooperatives of the group, especially those in the industrial area, offering new jobs to provide solutions to the surplus of employment which has arisen from the crisis of Fagor Electrodom�sticos. Read more here ...

   

Background about the Mondragon - Fagor situation can be found here. 

 

 

La Corporation Mondragon a reclass� 417 salari�s-associ�s 

La Corporation Mondragon a d�j� reclass� 417 salari�s-associ�s de Fagor Electrodom�sticos.

� ce jour, un total de 417 salari�s-associ�s de Fagor Electrodom�sticos travaillent d�j� dans les autres coop�ratives de Corporation Mondragon. Ainsi se concr�tise l'engagement ferme de Mondragon relatif aux emplois puisque deux mois � peine apr�s la d�claration de faillite de Fagor Electrodom�sticos 417 personnes ont d�j� �t� reclass�es.  Pour en savoir plus, cliquez ici


New National Association to Launch on April 1, 2014

Co-operatives and Mutuals Canada (CMC), Canada's new national association representing co-operative and mutual enterprises, will officially launch its operations on April 1, 2014.

 

The new bilingual organization, which will assume the Canadian activities of the Canadian Co-operative Association (CCA) and the Conseil canadien de la coop�ration et de la mutualit� (CCCM), is the result of years of discussion about how to bring together Canada's English and French-speaking co-operators.  

  

Like its predecessor organizations, CMC will be involved in such program areas as government relations, member engagement activities, research and education, co-operative development and communications. The CMC board and staff are working on the development of CMC's strategic plan together with its mission, vision and values. Regional consultation sessions will be held in March and April to give members input into this process.  

  

CCA will continue to exist to carry out international co-operative development programming. The Co-operative Development Foundation of Canada (CDF) will continue to work with CCA to deliver international development programs. CCCM ended its program activities at the end of 2013 and is continuing to operate until April for financial management purposes only.

  

The period between now and April 1 will be a period of transition, as programming is harmonized and the CMC infrastructure is developed. A transition blog is being developed to provide ongoing information on CMC until its website is launched; a link to the blog will be included in the next issue of Co-operative News Briefs.

 

(Article re-printed from Co-operative News Briefs.)  

 

ICA seeking input on notes for co-op principles

The International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) is asking co-operators around the world for input into their "guidance notes" for Co-operative Principles 3, 5 and 7: Member Economic Participation; Education, Training and Information, and Concern For Community.

 

The guidance notes are being drafted to help co-operatives around the world interpret and apply the principles. They contain historical information on the principles, a detailed interpretation of what each principle means and in some cases, provide suggestions for further action related to the principles.

  

The ICA's call for comments on the guidance notes can be found at  http://s.coop/1tt3g, with links to the existing ICA drafts at the bottom of the page.

  

Comments should be sent to Hanan El-Youssef, the ICA's strategy manager, at elyoussef@ica.coop by May 15, 2014,


 

Young farmers use co-ops as a new way to work the land

An article by Peter Driftmier

Published:January 8, 2014: Issue: #951: Sowing Co-operatively  

 

 

'I've helped out on many family farms, and I love them. I think they're great. It's not my dream. My dream's a little bit different."

David Laing is a young Edmonton man offering me tea to keep warm at his new apartment for the winter. I can picture him during the summer with soil under his fingernails and his heart on his sleeve. Laing is president of Edmonton's Seeds, Feeds, and Needs Co-operative, which just finished its first agricultural season.

 

"I'm trying to build a co-op farm, a community farm," Laing says. "Something where we're bringing people together. We're sharing profits. We're making decisions collectively and building community around agriculture."

 

Using a mix of garden space throughout the city and a farmer's field 45 minutes away in New Sarepta, they were able to start farming before having land of their own. Read more here.

 

Small co-operative community champions: Unicorn grocery

Sourced from: http://www.thenews.coop/article/small-co-operative-community-champions-unicorn-grocery

 

Unicorn is a wholefood grocery and worker co-operative in Manchester with a strong focus on organic, regional and fairly traded produce.

 

The co-operative buys preferentially from other co-operatives where it can and has a lot of co-operative suppliers, from the big wholesalers like Suma and Essential to small enterprises like the Handmade Bakery, Moss Brook Growers and Glebelands City Growers.

 

Unicorn also offers advice and support to start-up co-ops. In 2011 it published the 'Grow a Grocery' guide, which sets out its business model and is freely available for anyone to use. Those who want more detailed information can visit Unicorn and work with the co-operative in person.

Unicorn's members also share their knowledge and experiences with existing co-operatives. They participate in the national co-operative movement, with members sitting on the boards of the Co-operatives UK Worker Co-op Council, regional body Co-operatives North West and specialist finance provider Co-operative and Community Finance.

 

In addition, last year the co-operative gave away about 13% of its pre-tax profits to local and international projects. It allocates funds as a percentage of its wage bill rather than its profits. Debbie Clarke of Unicorn says: "It seems a clearer and more transparent way of measuring what we give. It also better reflects our growth as a business and means if and when the staff get better off, so do the projects we support."

 

www.unicorn-grocery.co.uk

 

   

Small co-operative community champions: Essential Trading

 Sourced from: http://www.thenews.coop/article/small-co-operative-community-champions-essential-trading 

Essential Trading is a worker-owned food co-operative, based in the south west of England. Set up to provide organic, Fairtrade food at reasonable prices, it is committed to supporting independent local businesses, as well as promoting co-operative and community principles.

 

One of the ways it does this is by encouraging and supporting the set-up and running of buying groups around the country. It actively seeks trading relationships with other co-operatives, sourcing own-brand products from co-ops around the world and trading with co-operatives within the UK.

 

It also uses smaller service co-operatives, and has recently taken out a loan with Co-operative and Community Finance. Essential supports other communities and co-operatives such as Zaytoun by offering them warehousing. "We'll pick up ethical products which support communities and give them a route to market that they need," says Eli Sarre, marketing manager at Essential Trading.

 

Within its local area, Essential accepts a local currency, known as the Bristol pound. Ms Sarre says: "We're quite a heavyweight company in Bristol and also sell to smaller retail shops or caf�s, so by accepting Bristol pounds, it means everyone we sell to in Bristol can pay us in Bristol pounds as well.

 

"That keeps the money in the local community, rather than going off to tax havens and that sort of thing. It stays within the community." The Bristol pound accounts for around 5% of the company's local turnover.

 

www.essential-trading.co.uk

 

 


Take a Deep Breath and Relax, the Coop Movement Isn't a Failure
 

By "Rochdale"

 

Those that have been reading the news from Europe might be forgiven if they think that the cooperative movement has gone into a complete collapse. It hasn't. However, it is extremely frustrating to read post-mortems and snide comments from the for-profit press. I get the The Economist generally distrusts the idea of community and sharing (and really seems to hate worker-owned businesses). Unfortunately, even The Guardian has gotten into the game.

 

The media spin is creating waves over here. I read good coop people talking about the need to "pay attention to market realities" and the need to balance principles with profit.

 

Whoah! Slow down. Let's find a little perspective. Read more here.  

 

 

 

Capital and the Debt Trap

 

Learning from Cooperatives in the Global Crisis

By Claudia Sanchez Bajo and Bruno Roelants

 

A second edition of Capital and the Debt Trap - Learning from Cooperatives in the Global Crisis came out on 18 December 2013, in paperback.

 

Reminder of the book topic:

The recent financial crisis has had a devastating impact around the globe. Thousands of businesses have closed down and millions of jobs have been cut. Many people have lost their homes. Capital and the Debt Trap explains how key economies have fallen into a 'debt trap' linking the financial sphere to the real economy, and goes beyond, looking into alternatives to the constant stream of financial bubbles and shocks. Overlooked by many, cooperatives across the world have been relatively resilient throughout the crisis. Through four case studies (the transformation of a French industrial SME in crisis into a cooperative, a fishery cooperative in Mexico, the Desjardins Cooperative Group in Quebec and the Mondragon Group in the Basque country of Spain), the book explores their strategies and type of control, providing an in-depth analysis within a broader debate on wealth generation and a sustainable future.


In this respect, it is worth mentioning the highly mediatized crisis of the Fagor Electrodomesticos cooperative belonging to the Mondragon group, about which three key considerations should be made: a) the Spanish and European crisis have dramatically hit white goods' sales, and many businesses in this sector are enduring serious difficulties; b) Fagor makes up around 8% of the aggregate turnover of the Mondragon group, with the remaining 92% doing either reasonably well or very well, according to the different sectors in which they is active, owing this situation to a great extent to the high investment in innovation and R&D implemented by the group; c) the Mondragon group is doing enormous efforts to relocate all worker-members of the cooperative Fagor to other cooperatives part of the group: in total, more than 1000 are to be relocated. Recently, a first batch of 400 workers has been relocated in other cooperatives. As we can see, even in this dramatic case, the cooperative model of enterprise is providing a clear advantage in terms of long-term employment for cooperative members and therefore also in terms of regional economic sustainability.

 

Note that Claudia Sanchez Bajo, one of the authors, is now the Co-op Chair at the University of Winnipeg.


 The book can be purchased directly from the Palgrave website or at Amazon.

 

 

New Book on African-American Cooperative Movement

GEO Collective member Jessica Gordon Nembhard's new book on the history of the African-American cooperative movement is now available for  pre-order from Penn State University Press.  

 

"Jessica Gordon Nembhard's excellent book provides a refreshing antidote to the straitjacket on our imagination of better ways to organize our economic lives. Our economic lives can be both just and productive. Gordon Nembhard cogently demonstrates that black cooperative models offer a non-utopian route toward meeting both goals."

-William Darity, Jr., Duke University

 

 

 

International Summit of Co-operatives  

January 8, 2014 newsletter can be found here 

 en francais ici  

 

 

    

The Canadian Worker Co-operative Federation (CWCF) is a national, bilingual grassroots membership organization of and for worker co-operatives, related types of co-operatives (multi-stakeholder co-ops and worker-shareholder co-ops), and organizations that support the growth and development of worker cooperatives.  CWCF's e-newsletter is available free of charge to anyone with an e-mail address and an interest in worker co-operative developments in Canada.
    
Please send any comments and suggestions to: 

 

Kaye Grant 
Editor of CWCF Newsletter 
communications@canadianworker.coop
(204) 257-1198