Canadian Worker Co-operative Federation

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

March 2013 Newsletterwww.canadianworker.coop
Vol 5, Issue  3                                                                             
                                                                                                         

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Executive Director's Report / Rapport de la Directrice g�n�rale  - Hazel Corcoran 

[Le fran�ais suit.] There are several articles in this issue about CWCF member co-ops: Neechi, CAYA, Dominion Media Co-op, as well as the A-Zone Co-op, a building which includes several members of CWCF. Reading about these co-ops, with their successes and their struggles, is a reminder that we can help strengthen the movement by buying each other's goods and services whenever possible, and sharing information about worker co-ops with our networks. We invite you to submit an article or story idea to us so that we can feature your co-op in a future newsletter. The rest of this month's report touches on planning for CWCF's fall Conference to be held in Edmonton, November 7th - 9th, and also the survey of members which CWCF will launch in the near future. Please send me any suggestions you have for workshops or other activities at this year's Conference! With regard to the survey, the main purposes of it are to find out how the worker co-ops across the country are doing, and to help CWCF improve our service offerings to members. Read the full report here.  

CWCF Ligo

  

Il y a plusieurs articles dans ce num�ro sur des coop�ratives membres de la FCCT: Neechi, Venez tels quels, la Coop M�dia Dominion, ainsi que la Coop�rative "A-Zone", un b�timent qui comprend plusieurs membres de la FCCT. La lecture au sujet de ces 
coop�ratives, de leurs r�ussites et de leurs d�fis, nous rappelle que nous pouvons aider � renforcer le mouvement en achetant des uns et des autres des biens et services dans la mesure du possible, et de partager des informations sur les coop�ratives de travail avec nos r�seaux. Nous vous invitons � nous soumettre un article ou une id�e pour un article, afin que nous puissions pr�senter votre coop�rative dans un prochain bulletin. Le reste du rapport ce mois-ci met l'accent sur la planification du Congr�s d'automne FCCT qui se tiendra � Edmonton du 7 au 9 novembre, et aussi l'enqu�te aupr�s des membres que la FCCT lancera dans un avenir proche. S'il vous pla�t, envoyez-moi vos suggestions pour des ateliers ou d'autres activit�s lors du Congr�s de cette ann�e! En ce qui concerne l'enqu�te, les principaux objectifs en sont d'obtenir de l'information sur l'�tat actuel des coop�ratives de travail, et pour aider � am�liorer l'offre de services de la FCCT aux membres. Vous pouvez lire le rapport complet, en anglais, ici.
 
Neechi Commons Grand Opening
In our last newsletter we reported that Winnipeg's Neechi Commons was beginning a phased opening. There was a highly anticipated Grand Opening of the beautiful new facility at 865 Main Street on Tuesday, 19 March. Neechi Commons has, since 9 February, had only grocery, produce, bakery, and catering departments running, but more inventory and sections of the community business complex have been added. Almost all sections of Neechi Commons are now open. Several second floor offices, surrounding a Board Room and close to the Commons restaurant, are ready to be rented out. CBC Winnipeg has a video available, which you can watch here. For more information see the website. Congratulations to all involved!
CAYA's Use It or Lose It Sale / Appel � l'aide de � CAYA �
[Le fran�ais suit]  Come As You Are (CAYA), the world's only co-operatively owned sex shop, is reaching out for support through its "Use It or Lose It" sale and campaign. CAYA is worker owned, and their approach to sexuality is one of respect, openness, humour, communication and responsibility.  However it has faced some new and significant financial challenges in recent months.  CWCF encourages people to check out their call for support, which suggests that you might place an on-line order, or share their message with your networks.  CAYA says:  "We've been wanting to write you this e-mail for months, but we just didn't have CAYA the heart to break the news. We know you all have been going through a lot lately - especially with Mercury just coming out of retrograde - and we know that times are tough all around. Essentially, we didn't want to burden you with our problems. Our mission in life - and business - has been to be a support to others, and we've never been particularly good at asking for help for ourselves...."  Check out the full story on their web site, here.

La Coop�rative Venez tels quels (Come As You Are / CAYA) est la premi�re boutique coop�rative offrant un acc�s sexe-positif aux jouets �rotiques, livres, films et informations. Leur approche face � la sexualit� en est une de respect, d'ouverture, d'humour, de communication et de responsabilit�.  Depuis quelques mois, CAYA fait face � des d�fis importants, et lance une vente et un appel � l'aide.  La FCCT vous encourage � consulter leur site en fran�ais, et leur appel � l'aide (en anglais)

 

The Success of Winnipeg's A-Zone
Winnipeg's Albert Street Autonomous Zone collective (A-Zone) was founded in the 1990s and has a rich history of serving as a location for community for nearly two decades. The building tenants collectively bought the building as a co-operative in 2012. The site of numerous worker co-ops, non-profits, and activist organisations, the A-Zone Co-op is an "epicentre" of downtown Winnipeg's activist community, though it continues to face struggles in the face of its rather impressive success. To find out more, please follow this link.
10 Years of Dominion / L'Anniversaire de la Coop M�dia Dominion
(Le fran�ais suit) Canada's first co-operative media outlet, The Dominion Newspaper, is celebrating ten years of news. Popular for its publications (now with 87 issues), it has maintained a strong following also due to its extensive online content. Dominion continues to provide "news from the grassroots". The stories come from a place of challenging the mainstream corporate media, which is much appreciated by Dominion's diverse readership. Dominion invites you to join the Media Co-op and become a sustainer or subscriber.

La Coop m�dia Dominion f�te son dixi�me anniversaire. Cette organisation a lanc� 87 num�ros dans la d�cennie pass�e, mais le focus est aussi sur la croissance de son site internet. Il y a beaucoup de teneur disponible en-ligne, en partie en fran�ais, au sujet de nombreux th�mes importants comme l'environnement, la pauvret�, l'�ducation, et bien s�r les coop�ratives. Les articles sont bien aim�s par ses lecteurs pour contester les m�dias "mainstream" et corporatives. La Coop se consacre � assurer une couverture m�diatique participative et locale.       
La FQCF tiendra un Congr�s pour projeter la coop�ration vers l'avenir
Le Congr�s de la F�d�ration qu�b�coise des coop�ratives foresti�res (FQCF) se tiendra � L�vis sous le th�me de � Nos coop�ratives : Notre pouvoir! Sur l'�lan du Sommet international des coop�ratives �. Il y aura beaucoup de conf�renciers, y compris la directrice g�n�rale de la FCCT, Hazel Corcoran. On peut lire plus � propos du Congr�s et son programme � ce lien, ou bien sur le site web de la FQCF.

 

Clinique d'experts sur la rel�ve d'entreprise
Le Reseau
Le 26 mars prochain, le R�SEAU en collaboration avec les CDR de la zone de coop�ration, organise � Laval une � clinique d'experts � sur le th�me de la Rel�ve d'entreprise par la vente aux employ�s. Cette activit� d'une demi journ�e s'adresse aux entrepreneurs songeant � c�der leur entreprise et aux experts intervenants aupr�s de propri�taires c�dants (comptables, fiscalistes, planificateurs financiers, avocats, notaires). Des cas de rachat d'entreprise par les salari�s seront analys�s � la fois sous l'angle � comptable � et � juridique � par des experts ayant travaill� directement sur ces dossiers. Pour plus d'informations, cliquez ce lien.

 

WAGES Co-ops: A Resilient Model to Gain Economic Security
The website Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity has recently published a fascinating article about an important response to the collapse of working conditions and pay in the United States. Meche Sansores, from Women's Action to Gain Economic Security (WAGES), believes that society needs to provide working individuals with the means to achieve self-sufficiency. This can be achieved, she argues, through organising more "community-based co-operative businesses", which deliver greater earnings, benefits, and security for workers - such as the worker co-ops organised by WAGES. Please follow this link to read the article.
Worker Co-ops and Gender Equality
In honour of International Women's Day, which was Friday 8 March, we are including an article from 2011. This article from Grassroots Economic Organising deals with the subject of worker co-ops and gender equality. The article is an intricate examination of the degree to which women flourish in the world of worker co-operatives. Based on interviews conducted about a decade ago, the content is just as relevant today as it was when the information was gathered. To read this article, please follow this link.
 
Why Unions are Getting into the Co-op Business
US Steelworkers
The US-based social justice Magazine Yes has just published an article about unions and co-ops, as part of its latest issue which is dedicated to co-ops. This piece talks about how some parts of the Rust Belt in the United States are currently being reinvigorated by adopting reforms in the style of Mondragon, something that the United Steelworkers are helping to lead. Read the article here.
Economic Situation of Worker Co-ops / La Situation �conomique des CT's
CICOPA
[Le fran�ais suit] CICOPA produced a qualitative analysis on the economic situation of cooperatives and worker-owned enterprises in industry, services and crafts throughout the world. The report is based on the results of the successive surveys carried out since 2009 in order to gauge measures put in place by CICOPA members in response to the economic crisis which flared up in 2008. The analysis also incorporates the findings of the study "The resilience of the cooperative model" released by CECOP (CICOPA-Europe), in June 2011 in the framework of the International Year of Cooperatives. A more in-depth CICOPA Annual Report for 2012, aimed at providing more information on worker, social and artisans' cooperatives at the world level, will be published in the first quarter of 2013. You can read the report here.
 
CICOPA a produit un rapport sur la situation �conomique des coop�ratives de production industrielles, d'artisanat et de services dans le monde. L'�tude est bas�e sur les r�sultats des enqu�tes successives men�es depuis 2009 afin d'�valuer les mesures mises en place par les membres de CICOPA en r�ponse � la crise �conomique qui a �clat� en 2008. Compte tenu de la grande diversit� entre les diff�rents contextes r�gionaux et sous-r�gionaux, CICOPA a d�cid� de lancer une nouvelle consultation en 2011 sp�cifiquement cibl�es sur les membres d'Europe dans le but d'�valuer la situation �conomique g�n�rale de leur entreprise affili�e. L'analyse int�gre �galement les r�sultats de l'�tude � La r�sistence du mod�le coop�ratif � , publi� par CECOP en juin 2012 dans le cadre de l'Ann�e internationale des coop�ratives. Un rapport annuel de CICOPA pour 2012, visant � fournir de plus amples renseignements sur les coop�ratives de travail associ�, les coop�ratives sociales et les coop�ratives d'artisans au niveau mondial, sera publi� au cours du premier trimestre de 2013. Vous pouvez lire le rapport en fran�ais ici. 
 
CCA and CHF Canada Named Among Top Lobby Organisations
CCA
(From CCA's Co-operative News Briefs) The Canadian Co-operative Association (CCA) and the Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada (CHF Canada) have been named among Ottawa's top 100 lobbyists by the Hill Times, a weekly newspaper which covers parliamentary affairs. In an article published on March 4, the Hill Times reported on the successful co-op sector campaign to move federal responsibility for co-operatives from Agriculture Canada to Industry Canada. According to Hill Times journalist Bea Vongdouangchanh, the co-op movement "used the United Nations' International Year of Co-operatives as an opportunity to get on the federal government's radar, to great success". The article also mentions CHF Canada's success at having Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation's mortgage refinancing rules changed for housing co-ops. The list of top 100 lobbyists names the CEOs of the organizations responsible for the lobbying campaigns, so Denyse Guy of CCA and Nicholas Gazzard of CHF Canada are specifically mentioned. You can read the article here.

Update on Unity Discussions between CCA and CCCM
CCCM The Canadian Co-operative Association (CCA) has released a brief update on the unity discussions, an excerpt of which is reprinted here. The Transition Committee met in Ottawa on February 15 and was assisted in its deliberations by the legal team, Laird Hunter and Bernard Brun. Much of the meeting was devoted to the steps required to incorporate the new organization if it receives membership approval at the CCA and le Conseil canadien de la coop�ratioin de de la mutualit� (CCCM) Annual General Meetings, as well as the transfer of members, assets, and liabilities. The Committee agreed that the legal team should begin preparing the paperwork that would be required for the incorporation of the new organization. If the members vote in favour of the Unity proposal in June, this would allow the incorporation to be processed in early July. Incorporation is the first in a series of steps that will have to be taken to create the new organization, and the Committee's expectation is that the new apex could be fully operational in January 2014.
My World Survey/Sondage de My World
[Le fran�ais suit] CICOPA, the international worker co-op organization, is asking cooperative members to participate in the "My World" global survey launched by the United Nations, which takes only one or two minutes to complete. This will help express priorities in order to prepare the next development agenda in the run up to 2015. It is an online survey asking individuals to choose among sixteen possible issues that they think would make the most difference to their lives. As it is also possible to suggest an additional priority, they recommend that people answer this survey and add the priority "promoting cooperatives and other types of participative and sustainable enterprises". The results will be submitted to the Secretary-General's High-level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda and will feed into their final report and recommendations for a new development framework . Please promote this campaign as much as possible, UNpreferably between now and May, even if "My World" will continue to gather people's votes until 2015. You can access the survey here in different languages. For more information, contact Elisa Terrasi elisa.terrasi@cicopa.coop
 
CICOPA, l'organisation internationale des coop�ratives de travail, recommande que les coop�ratives participent � l'enqu�te mondiale � My World � lanc�e par les Nations Unies afin d'identifier, d'ici � 2015, les priorit�s en vue du prochain agenda pour le d�veloppement. Il s'agit d'un sondage en ligne qui prend une � deux minutes, demandant aux participants de choisir, parmi les seize priorit�s possibles, celles qu'ils consid�rent comme faisant partie de celles qui feront le plus la diff�rence dans leur vie. Comme il est �galement possible de sugg�rer une priorit� suppl�mentaire, ils recommandent aux membres de r�pondre individuellement � cette enqu�te et d'ajouter la priorit� � promouvoir les coop�ratives et les autres types d'entreprises durables et participatives �. Les r�sultats seront soumis au Panel de haut niveau des �minentes personnalit�s sur l'Agenda pour le d�veloppement post-2015 du Secr�taire g�n�ral et seront int�gr�s dans le rapport final et les recommandations pour un nouveau cadre de d�veloppement. SVP promouvoir cette enqu�te autant que possible, de pr�f�rence d'ici au mois de mai, m�me si � My World � continuera � recueillir les votes des gens jusqu'en 2015.  Vous pouvez acc�der � l'enqu�te dans les diff�rentes langues ici. Pour plus d'information � ce sujet, contactez Elisa Terrasi (elisa.terrasi@cicopa.coop)  
 
UN Survey - Youth Co-ops / Enqu�te de l'ONU sur les coop�ratives de jeunes
UN
[Le fran�ais suit] The United Nations has also launched a Survey on Cooperatives and Youth employment and entrepreneurship, which will identify youth cooperatives and cooperatives working for and with youth and what prospects and challenges they face in delivering employment and entrepreneurship to the youth. The responses to the survey will feed into a Global Mapping of Youth Cooperatives and Cooperatives working for and with Youth and an analytical report which will be made available online to the general public in April. The survey can be accessed through this link.
 
Les coop�ratives au Qu�bec: Vid�o
Le Conseil qu�b�cois de la coop�ration et de la mutualit� (CQCM) a lanc� une nouvelle vid�o corporative sur l'�tat des coop�ratives au Qu�bec en 2013, des organisations qui cr�ent un � �quilibre entre l'entreprise priv�e et l'�tat �. Cette vid�o contient des informations int�ressantes � propos de la force du mouvement au Qu�bec. Par exemple, il y a 9 millions de membres de coop�ratives qu�b�coises, sur une population de 8 millions. Mme Monique Leroux, PDG de Desjardins, parle au sujet des d�fis et de l'�sprit des coop�rateurs dans la province, et propose que le Qu�bec devrait devenir le forum coop�ratif mondial, autrement dit: l'�quivalent du Davos de la coop�ration. � Vous pouvez voir la vid�o 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 co-operatives.  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: 

 

James Mitchell 

Editor of CWCF Newsletter 
james@canadianworker.coop
418-524-5161