Our Member Councils and Peer Networks are shaping the future of the worker co-op movement in the U.S. through offers and needs markets, collective education & learning and political advocacy for a worker-centered economy. Here are the recent highlights from some of our Councils & Networks:
- Policy & Advocacy Council – This Council has been busy organizing around the National Worker Co-op Development and Support Act which was just introduced, and funding for worker ownership centers through the WORK Act, sharpening our collective advocacy skills, tools, and messaging to mobilize worker owners and allies.
- Movimiento de Inmigrantes en las Cooperativas (Immigrant co-op council) – The Immigrant Coops Council has been creating space for worker owners to reflect on their experience starting coops. They are imagining ways the coop development process could center the traditions of cooperation familiar to worker owners from their specific cultures and contexts.
- Racial & Economic Justice Council – This Council is preparing to bring a strong presence at the Worker Coop Conference in September, with the goal of celebrating the activism and organizing of worker owners and highlighting the connections between cooperativism and other movements for social justice.
- Worker Co-op Academies Peer Network – This Network has been meeting quarterly to share resources, lessons, and inspirations from worker co-op academies across the US. In February, we reviewed what kind of TA support graduates of academies likely need, and how to evaluate the success of a coop academy. At our next meeting in June, we’ll review language justice, marketing, technology, and criteria for participation.
Check our events calendar to sign up for our next Member Council and Peer Network meetings!
