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create-iconAlong with direct action and other forms of resistance, a transformational movement must also have a constructive program that builds new institutions based on the values that the movement aspires to achieve. These may eventually replace the old systems. From small, worker-owned cooperatives to national advocacy groups, hundreds of thousands of people around the country are working to create democratic and sustainable systems that meet the basic needs of all people.

Energy Communities Are Gaining Ground In Spain

December 24, 2024 Massimiliano Saltori, Next City. , , ,
Across the European Union, traditional energy systems are still dominated by centralized fossil fuel power plants, slowing the transition to more ambitious climate targets. Spain is no stranger to this. Today, the country’s electricity generation accounts for nearly 15% of its global greenhouse gas emissions, ranking third after transportation (30%) and industry (18%). The good news is that the last five years have also been crucial for developing new solutions to curb emissions and improve energy efficiency. To reduce greenhouse gases, the E.U. has passed several directives promoting a more decentralized energy system, allowing local initiatives to flourish.

Mathare Ecological Network Fights For Restoration Of Dignity And Hope

December 23, 2024 Nicholas Mwangi, People's Dispatch. , , , ,
In April 2024, relentless heavy rains wreaked havoc across Kenya, plunging the country into a humanitarian crisis. The devastation claimed at least 270 lives, displaced over 200,000 people, and obliterated livelihoods, infrastructure, and property. Among the hardest-hit areas was Mathare, one of Nairobi’s largest informal settlements, where over 40 lives were lost as the Mathare River burst its banks, flooding vast portions of the community. For the residents of Mathare, mostly low-income earners, the flooding was catastrophic. Families were stranded, homes were submerged, and lives were uprooted in the blink of an eye.

What Started As Emergency Housing Offers Model For Ending Homelessness

December 23, 2024 Frances Nguyen, Next City. , , ,
It was fortuitous that the Sheraton Wilmington South in New Castle County went up for auction right before the state had to meet the spending deadline for federal CARES Act funds. Amid a raging global public health crisis, Delaware’s most populous county needed safe non-congregate housing for its most vulnerable population, and, following California’s Project Roomkey model, it looked to hotels. On Dec. 1, 2020, New Castle County settled on the property for $19.5 million, and a mere two weeks later, the Hope Center opened, welcoming its first 73 residents on the eve of the state’s first COVID winter surge.

What Can Education Can Look Like Without High Stakes Testing?

December 22, 2024 Doug Selwyn, Greenfield Recorder , , ,
Ballot Question 2 passed with more than 59% of the vote, ending the MCAS as a graduation requirement in Massachusetts. Students will still take the MCAS, beginning in grade 3 up through high school, and they will still be required to pass their high school classes that are aligned with the state standards, so public education will not devolve into chaos as the opponents warned in their scare ads. There will still be a focus on serving all children in all of our classrooms, children will still be assessed through multiple measures, and there is hope that freedom from the one-size-fits-all straight jacket that is a high-stakes testing regime will allow teachers to more fully respond to the diverse learners in their classrooms.

The ‘Black And Green’ Campaign

December 22, 2024 Cinnamon Janzer, Next City. , , ,
Since  the Paris Agreement went into effect in late 2016, 60 of the world’s largest private banks have funneled $6.9 trillion to the fossil fuel industry. Despite a wave of banks pledging to no longer finance the private prison industry between 2019 and 2021, many others are still funding the two largest U.S. private prison companies that have relied on bank loans to operate and expand. Tackling such global financial systems can seem impossible, but not when you talk to Stephone Coward, head of the Bank Black & Green campaign, an effort to funnel capital into Black-owned banks that commit to not funding the fossil fuel or mass incarceration industries.

Tacoma City Council Passes Climate Commission Ordinance

December 21, 2024 Talison Crosby, Fight Back! News. , , ,
Tacoma, WA – Dozens of community members gathered at the Tacoma City Council chambers on Tuesday, December 17, in preparation for the city of Tacoma’s vote to pass the city’s first Climate and Sustainability Commission into law. “It’s great that the city council is planning to pass an ordinance enshrining the Climate Commission into law, but as it stands there are some serious problems with it,” said Haze Bender, a rank-and-file member of Teamsters Local 174. “As written, the commission is only advisory, has no real power, and all members are appointed, rather than elected.”

Building Regional Cooperative Ecosystems

December 21, 2024 Cooperate Connecticut, Grassroots Economic Organizing. , , ,
Cooperative businesses, on principle and out of necessity, cannot exist in isolation! In order to survive and to create real, lasting economic impact in our communities, co-ops and our supporters must work together and be strategic. In this session, Building Regional Cooperative Ecosystems, from Beyond Business as Usual 2024: Co-Ops and the Next Economy, you will learn more about the concept of a "cooperative ecosystem" and hear lessons from organizers building regional cooperative ecosystems as part of the global solidarity economy movement.

Groundbreaking For A Minneapolis Youth-Serving Community Staple

December 18, 2024 Niko Georgiades, Unicorn Riot. , , ,
For nearly three decades, the educational nonprofit WE WIN Institute has been nomadic, serving youth in Minneapolis out of rented spaces. But that era is coming to a close — on November 19, 2024, WE WIN held a groundbreaking event for their new building in Minneapolis’ Bryn Mawr neighborhood. Unicorn Riot was there to document the historic occasion and interview board members, organization partners and a former student-turned-staff. Founded in 1996 by award-winning educator Titilayo Bediako, WE WIN Institute has served thousands of youth in Minneapolis with a mission of creating academic and social success for all children.

Massive Participation In Communal Justices Of The Peace Election

December 17, 2024 TeleSur, Orinoco Tribune. , , ,
Through 5,300 communal circuits, the Venezuelan people participated in the election of communal justices of the peace, helping to deepen popular power, consolidate peace and stability, and find solutions to conflicts at the community level. The Venezuelan people are participating en masse this Sunday, December 15, in an unprecedented event that deepens their participatory and direct democracy: the election, for the first time in the country’s history of 15,000 justices of the peace. This step deepens popular power and the creation of a new state, and which happily coincides with the commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

These Artisans Built A Co-op Alternative To Etsy

December 13, 2024 Cinnamon Janzer, Next City. , , ,
In 2022, Etsy’s earnings topped $109 million in consolidated net income. “Despite significant macroeconomic headwinds, we maintained the vast majority of our pandemic gains and delivered double digit revenue growth and excellent profitability for the year,” Etsy CEO Josh Silverman said in a press release. Days later, Silverman announced that the marketplace platform would raise the transaction fee Etsy takes from each sale from 5% to 6.5%. In response, some 14,000 Etsy sellers closed their shops and went on strike for eight days.

From Member-Managed LLCs To Cooperative Reform For Inclusive Economies

December 11, 2024 Trebor Scholz, Anne-Pauline De Cler, Michelle Lee, Morshed Mannan and Stefano Tortorici, Grassroots Economic Organizing. , , ,
Amidst the global surge of refugees and migrants seeking economic opportunities, the call for inclusive, democratic, and cooperative models is more pressing than ever. With 2025 designated as the UN’s International Year of Cooperatives, there is a critical need to reform cooperative laws to ensure that no marginalized worker is excluded. This essay explores how inclusive and democratic cooperatives, alongside innovative models like member-managed limited liability companies (LLCs), can address these global labor challenges. Imagine a world where everyone, regardless of their legal status, can fully participate in cooperative ventures.

How To Escape The Federal Debt Trap

December 9, 2024 Ellen Brown, Scheer Post. , , ,
The U.S. national debt just passed $36 trillion, only four months after it passed $35 trillion and up $2 trillion for the year. Third quarter data is not yet available, but interest payments as a percent of tax receipts rose to 37.8% in the third quarter of 2024, the highest since 1996. That means interest is eating up over one-third of our tax revenues. Total interest for the fiscal year hit $1.16 trillion, topping one trillion for the first time ever. That breaks down to $3 billion per day. For comparative purposes, an estimated $11 billion, or less than four days’ federal interest, would pay the median rent for all the homeless people in America for a year.

The Commons Economy Reloaded

December 7, 2024 Malikia Johnson, Grassroots Economic Organizing. , , ,
The world seems to have one devastating event after another, and the urgency to strengthen relationships, support one another, and fulfill each other’s needs outside of institutions feels more and more relevant. Many of the solutions offered by elected officials are mired with bureaucracy and lack innovation. In addition, those solutions remove agency from citizens and place it into the hands of institutions that don’t value community needs. It feels poignant to remind us of important work that a few GEO members did during Trump’s last presidency. 

Phoenix Is Launching A New Shade Plan

December 7, 2024 Maylin Tu, Next City. , , , ,
This year, temperatures in Phoenix soared over 100 degrees for 113 consecutive days, a deadly streak for the hottest big city in America. In November, the city approved a new plan, Shade Phoenix, to add 27,000 trees and 550 shade structures over the next five years — a plan that could save lives and provide some relief, especially to the city’s most vulnerable residents. The city unveiled its last shade plan in 2010, but progress has been slow. David Hondula, director of heat response and mitigation, doesn’t dispute that the follow-through on the last shade plan was “incomplete or uncertain.”

Sources Of Permanent Capital For Cooperatives

December 4, 2024 Bruce J. Reynolds, Grassroots Economic Organizing. , , ,
Permanent capital provides financial stability for cooperatives. It consists of all the capital reserves that are unallocated to members. Unallocated equity can be defined as: ”The share of net margin (savings) from member and/or non-member business retained by the cooperative for operating purposes. This is considered permanent capital in that there is no obligation to redeem this equity to current or past members unless the cooperative is dissolved” (University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives). Such permanent reserves provide a financial buffer during times of economic recession without having to impair member equity.
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