Cooperatives

California Voters Decide Uber And Lyft Drivers Are ‘Contractors’

November 5, 2020 Juliet B. Schor, The Conversation. Create! California, Cooperatives, Gig Workers, Worker Rights

Uber, TaskRabbit and other ride-hailing and delivery service companies in California can keep classifying their workers as independent contractors rather than employees after California voters approved a measure known as Proposition 22, according to the state’s still-unofficial tally. The fundamental question of whether Uber drivers and similar workers should be considered employees or contractors has been debated and litigated for years now. The issue is often framed, however inaccurately, as a tradeoff between the flexibility that comes with being independent against the higher incomes and benefits that employees tend to get.

Capitalism’s Worst Nightmare

November 4, 2020 Richard Wolff, Democracy at Work. Resistance Report Capitalism, Cooperatives, Economic crisis, Feudalism

On this week's show, Prof. Wolff explores what major social changes will flow from today's combination of major economic crash and the viral pandemic (capitalism's worst nightmare). To answer, we consider how European feudalism changed after its 14th century combination of economic decline and the bubonic plague. The two big changes then were (1) switching from a decentralized to a strong state, monarchical feudalism and (2) transition from feudalism to capitalism. The two big parallel changes now are...

‘It’s A Beautiful Thing To Be Able To Feed Your Community’

November 4, 2020 Frances Madeson, Nation of Change. Create! Cooperatives, Food and Agriculture, Food Sovereignty, Mississippi

A little over a year ago Abrianni Perry, a 28-year-old transplant from Houston, came to Cooperation Jackson to learn about cooperatives from people who’ve been doing it for decades. She’s been happily plunging her hands into the rich West Jackson, Mississippi ever since. “It’s a beautiful thing to be able to feed your community, especially in a food desert,” she says as she works the seven acres of the Fannie Lou Hamer Community Land Trust’s Freedom Farm in anticipation of the fall growing season. “The dirt is soft, and when it’s wet I feel like a little kid making mud pies.

The MEC Saga Shows That Canada Needs More Co-operation

October 10, 2020 Kevin Harding, The Tyee. Educate! Canada, Cooperatives, Local Economy, Privatization

The campaign to “Save MEC” — Mountain Equipment Co-op — has rallied more than 140,000 Canadians together to save a business that is being sold to an American private equity firm. But this grassroots and groundswell campaign wasn’t about saving a retailer; it was about saving a co-op. In fighting for a member-owned, democratic business, the campaign tapped into a passion in Canadians for co-operation. That passion, which drove thousands of people to engage on social media, sign petitions, demand support from banks and donate more than $100,000 to a legal fund to challenge the sale of the co-op, proves that what Canada needs is not another American-owned store but more co-operation — more of doing business in a different way.

Ending Poverty In Yuangudui, China

October 5, 2020 Qin Ling, Qiao Collective. Create! China, Cooperatives, Poverty, Socialism

“Another year passes, but an unprecedented change begins.” Yuangudui’s stunning metamorphosis began on the 23rd of the 12th lunar month in 2013, the traditional Chinese holiday of New Year’s eve. On that day, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, Xi Jinping, arrived at Yuangudui. There, General Secretary Xi, concerned as he is with the elimination of poverty, personally interviewed the villagers about their livelihoods, and earnestly enjoined the party cadres and villagers alike: “Let us all work harder together, and make the days to come even brighter than before.”

Breaking With The Defunct Idea Of Development

October 3, 2020 Daniel McCurdy, Alliance for Global Justice. Create! Cooperatives, Local Economy, Nicaragua, Tourism

One of the particularities of tourism in Nicaragua is its democratization. Since the Sandinista government won elections in 2006 and came to power in 2007, the promotion and expansion of the tourism sector is increasingly important for Nicaraguans, contributing significantly to a rise in incomes for many lower-income families.[i] Contrary to the focus on tourism (or even ‘ecotourism) for export in many countries, the Nicaraguan government’s tourism policies incentivize Nicaraguan working-class family tourism.

Saving Local Newspapers Squeezed By Hedge Funds

September 28, 2020 Steven Waldman, Journalism and Liberty. Create! Cooperatives, Local Newspapers, Media, New Economy

The conversation about the crisis in local news has tended to focus on two solutions: helping create local news startups and supporting local newspapers still in existence. Each approach has limitations and promise. Birthing nonprofit news organizations is critically important and valuable, but so far there are far too few (around 300), and their scale is small. Congress, on the other hand, has so far focused on helping existing newspapers as they often are the only source of information in a community. But as a long-term strategy that is misguided.

Black Families Purchased Land To Build Their Own City

August 29, 2020 Because of Them We Can. Create! Cooperatives, Georgia, Land Ownership, New Economy, Racism

In Toomsboro, Georgia, a group of 19 Black families banded together to create what has the potential to be the next Black Wall Steet. Black people are resilient, we've had to be to thrive under systems that weren't built for us. This resiliency has created innovative solutions to impossible problems such as racial injustices, food insecurity, and a lack of secure and safe communities. Ashley Scott, a realtor living in Stonecrest, Georgia, was reaching her breaking point after watching the murder of Ahmaud Arbery in her home state.

Empower Home-Based Workers By Investing In Co-operatives

August 8, 2020 David Browne, Equal Times. Create! Asia, Cooperatives, COVID-19, Worker Rights

South Asia is home to over 50 million home-based workers, most of whom are women. From agarbhatti incense stick rollers in India to piecework garment workers in Sri Lanka, they contribute immensely to national economies in addition to their families and local communities as working from home allows them to take on care responsibilities. Despite working long, irregular hours for low pay and often with no proper contract, home-based workers are often the only income providers in their households.

Reclaiming Work: Can Cooperatives Overthrow The Gig Economy?

June 24, 2020 By Shyam Krishna, Red Pepper. Create! Cooperatives, Documentary, Gig Workers, New Economy

The pandemic has brought into focus the stark conditions and precarity faced by workers in the gig-economy. When the dust settles, can these workers who were at the frontlines of this crisis build a fairer future? The workers featured in Reclaiming Work believe so. This short documentary by Cassie Quarless and Usayd Younis of black & brown film features cycle courier cooperatives who offer a socialist alternative to the digital giants of Deliveroo and Uber. In fact, La Pájara, one of the cycle cooperatives showcased in the documentary, was formed following protest movements against Deliveroo in Madrid. Cooperatives like these are supported by the wider federation of CoopCycle – a ‘platform cooperative’ countering mainstream economic models of platform capitalism.

Why Banking Needs A Co-operative Revolution

June 24, 2020 Iwan Doherty, Mutual Interest. Create! Banking and Finance, Cooperatives, Democratize, New Economy

You’d struggle to find anyone who believes our current banking sector was the ideal one for producing and maintaining a strong and just economy. The 2008 crisis showed how unstable, and vital to the wider economy, the sector is. The fact is, credit is both necessary and central to the global economy. Economists like Lazzarato have come up with theories about how debt drives economic production and an ever-increasing economy and in an era where finance has come to dominate our economy, it is evident to everyone that banks are very powerful institutions and if they could be reformed could be the power behind substantial improvement in our economy. Democratisation of our banking sector, via co-operatives and credit unions, is something that merits serious thought.

Tenants Buy Properties From Negligent Landlord Who Tried To Evict Them

May 26, 2020 By Max Nesterak, Minnesota Reformer. Create! Cooperatives, Housing, New Economy, Rent Strike

Thirty-eight families in south Minneapolis will gain ownership of their five apartment buildings after spending years battling with their landlord, Stephen Frenz, who had been trying to evict them. “This is an amazing victory. I am so happy,” Chloe Jackson said in a statement Monday. She is a resident of one of the properties and board president of the tenant's rights group Inquilinxs Unidxs Por Justicia (United Renters for Justice). Eviction seemed certain once the pandemic hit since the families — most of whom are immigrants and don’t have health care or access to government benefits — had collectively gone on rent strike.

Cooperation Humboldt And The Solidarity Economy

April 25, 2020 Margaret Kimberley, Intrepid Report. Create! California, Cooperatives, Food Sovereignty, New Economy

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed all of the inconvenient truths about life in the United States. It is no longer possible to hide the disconnect between myths of a great and advanced society with scenes of long lines for food pantries, millions of workers suddenly unemployed and a political system that gives a one-time maximum payment of $1,200 in a time of severe economic crisis. The already marginalized are at greatest risk of death as black and brown people constitute the majority of coronavirus victims in large cities like New York, Detroit and Milwaukee. Before this health crisis struck there were people all over the country who understood the need for a solidarity economy. The concept is one which holds that every person is an economist in that they are all aware of their needs and those of their communities.

Tales Of A DisCO

March 27, 2020 By Timothy McKeon and Sara Escribano, Grassroots Economy Organizing Create! Cooperatives, Feminism

DisCOs are a commons-oriented, feminist, cooperative way for people to work together. A set of ideals and criteria for ensuring that patterns of oppression and violence that permeate our society are not replicated within intentional, cooperative spaces. DisCOs systematize fairness and the recognition of care work. They help to keep projects geared towards the common good, towards the Commons. DisCOs are essentially a system, but systems are best understood when implemented and that’s where Guerrilla Translation comes in. Our small translation collective is the first DisCO—the pilot project.

Building A Community: Manufactured Home Residents Go Co-Op

March 5, 2020 Maureen Milliken, Mainebiz.biz Create! Cooperatives, New Economy

When residents at Charter Oaks Village, a manufactured home community on the Biddeford-Arundel line, got a letter a year ago saying the property was going to be sold, it was a punch in the gut. It was the second time in less than a year the residents of the 40-site property on Route 111 had received such a letter.

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