It is official!
2025 is the Year of the Cooperative in Philadelphia, the first US city to sign onto the UN’s resolution for 2025 to be the International Year of the Cooperative. The resolution called on the City of Philadelphia to explore all options to support the development and resilience of local cooperative businesses.
16 of the 17 Philadelphia City Councilmembers signed onto the resolution, which was spearheaded by Councilmember Nic O’Rourke alongside primary co-sponsor Councilmember Cindy Bass.
Thank you to the Philadelphia Area Cooperative Alliance and all the co-op supporters who supported the development of this bill, including speakers out to speak: Terrell Cannon from Home Care Associates, Carmen Guerrero from Masa Cooperativa, Janet Filante from Childspace Centers, and our friends at The Philadelphia Hall Monitor.
Councilmember Nicolas O’Rourke uplifted the UN resolution advocating that cooperatives “promote the fullest possible participation in the economic and social development of local communities” and “contribute to the eradication of poverty and hunger.”
“We believe, and the data backs us up, that cooperatives are vehicles for equitable wealth-building and community democratic control of their local economies. Cooperatives are businesses which have multiple owners and are run democratically. Since cooperatives are owned by three or more people, owners are not “going it alone”– they are not in isolation – they are working together… our hope is to support the growth of cooperatives in every neighborhood and for Philadelphia to be a beacon of a co-op city.”
– Corey Reidy, Philadelphia Area Cooperative AllianceWatch the council resolution reading here:
“Because the interests of the owners and workers are the same Childspace has always been a strong advocate for worker rights and advancing the early education field…Thank you for recognizing the Year of the Coop. We appreciate any continuing support you can provide.”
– Janet Filante, worker owner at Childspace Centers“I am proud that Philadelphia will be the first city this year to join the United Nations in declaring 2025 the Year of Cooperatives. We are joining a global effort to recognize co-ops as an important tool for building wealth through shared ownership and concern for community. Co-ops strengthen local economies, create and save high quality jobs, and build power, especially for Black and Brown people, immigrants, returning workers, and others historically excluded from vital resources. Cooperatives are a tool to band together and create new opportunities in the face of hardship and economic downturn. People turn to co-ops in urgent times, and in this moment we urgently need to lean into democratically controlled businesses that serve Philadelphia and its people. We applaud City Council for passing this resolution and we look forward to collectively growing the co-op economy in Philly!
– Mo Manklang, Senior Director of Government Relations, U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives
The USFWC was proud to support this effort. Shining a light on the importance of cooperatives is crucial now. One way of raising the profile of cooperatives in your city or state is to encourage your representatives to introduce a resolution declaring 2025 as the year of the cooperative, in tandem with the International Year of the Cooperative resolution from the United Nations. Email policy@usworker.coop if you are interested is spearheading this effort in your region.
Please check www.usworker.coop/advocacy for the latest updates on this and other updates regarding federal issues, and consider attending our monthly Policy and Advocacy Council calls.
