As the US Federation of Worker Cooperatives (USFWC) celebrates its twentieth anniversary in 2024, July marks seventeen years since the founding of its oldest member council – the Union Co-ops Council. Established to bridge worker cooperatives and organized labor, the Council has become a crucial player in both movements, fueled by the resurgence of unions and worker co-ops throughout the beginning of the 21st century. Just as the USFWC concludes its first twenty years with renewed energy, ambition, and capacity, the Union Co-op Council also reflects on its successes and sets a clear path forward to advance worker ownership and power.
Formation
The Union Co-ops Council was conceived at the Eastern Conference for Workplace Democracy (ECWD) in Asheville, North Carolina, in 2007, when a group of organizers came together to address the divide between unions and worker cooperatives. Early co-directors Mary Hoyer and Lis Ryder, experienced in both unions and worker cooperatives, noticed a lack of networking between these movements. This was a problem, as Hoyer and Ryder saw untapped potential in unions supporting cooperative development. As Lis Ryder explained,
“What would it look like to win the war? I see it as giving the means of production to the workers. The objective of the labor movement is to create worker power within the workplace – ownership is the ultimate source of power. So why aren’t unions supporting worker ownership? Often, the labor movement only manages to soften capitalism, but transitioning ownership is the real next step in the grand strategy of the labor movement. So, unions need to break out of contract cycles and play offense by actively fostering worker ownership, redefining the game by giving control to workers.”
Unions and worker cooperatives share the goal of expanding worker power and building wealth and democracy among the working class. However, there is more than ideological alignment between unions and co-ops – there are practical benefits to connecting the models. Unions can benefit from worker ownership as a job creation strategy and a way to secure engaged membership. With worker co-ops, there is rarely the harsh employer hostility found in traditional enterprises or a necessity for costly union campaigns. Furthermore, worker cooperatives have more financial flexibility and less turnover than traditional businesses, meaning this membership is steady and secure. Worker cooperatives also benefit from union support, as unions have resources that worker co-ops can utilize, including research capabilities, education and training, industry knowledge, and physical spaces. The more established networks of unions can also connect worker cooperatives within the larger labor movement. Lastly, collective bargaining can complement workplace democracy and add additional protections, particularly for workers who are not worker-owners.
Despite this practical and ideological compatibility, the founding members of the Council felt that worker co-ops and unions, although both growing in scope, are operating independently. Thus, the Union Co-op Council was founded to bridge this divide, with the mission statement of “building bridges between worker cooperatives and organized labor, promoting sovereignty of labor and subordination of capital, by harnessing the power of collective action to democratize enterprise.” Hoyer and Ryder began building connections through outreach and regular calls, gathering resources on union/co-op collaborations, and reporting to the ECWD. This development accelerated in the following years as the Union Co-ops Council became the first member council of the US Federation of Worker Cooperatives in 2008, vastly expanding its network and institutional backing.
Expansion
Since its inception, the Union Co-op Council relies on two fundamental aspects that serve as both guiding principles and practical immediate actions – educating about union cooperatives and building partnerships. Early on, Ryder created a union co-ops wiki page compiling cases of union/co-op collaborations. Research capabilities soon increased to larger projects examining potential union benefits for worker co-ops and broader strategies for job creation and union membership. These early findings were presented in two workshops hosted by the Federation in 2009 – the first of many instances that the Council would present the benefits of union cooperatives around the country. The Council has also addressed the legal issues surrounding union co-ops, such as securing the “right of first refusal,” making it easier for employees to purchase a business as a worker cooperative when the owner looks to sell. Monthly, and eventually bi-monthly, virtual network meetings over the years helped participants stay in touch with one another and share resources and ideas.
The Council also supported landmark publications at universities that support its mission, such as A Union Toolkit for Cooperative Solutions (2021) by Rebecca Lurie and Bernadette King Fitzsimons – a practical exploration of the “toolkit” at the disposal of unions to support worker cooperatives, with case studies demonstrating the success and effectiveness of each. In addition, Hoyer and Rebecca Lurie of the City University of New York contributed an article on worker co-ops and labor unions to the book entitled Humanity at Work and Life: Global Diffusion of the Mondragon Cooperative Ecosystem Experience (2023) edited by Christine Clamp and Michael Peck. Popular education through media outlets was also instrumental in expanding knowledge of union cooperatives. For example, Lis Ryder and Mary Hoyer frequently wrote articles for Grassroots Economic Organizing such as Ryder’s Unions & Cooperatives: Allies in the Struggle to Build Democratic Workplaces (2008), Hoyer’s “Labor Unions and Worker Co-ops” (2015), also see “The Role of Unions in Worker Co-op Development” (2011); and Dan Bell wrote an article titled Worker-Owners and Unions Why Can’t We Just Get Along? (2006) in Dollars & Sense.
The Council’s research always retained the practical ambition to build bridges between labor organizations and worker cooperatives. Since the Council’s inception, both Hoyer and Ryder brought their visions and networks – Hoyer networked on the East Coast predominantly with worker cooperatives while Ryder brought networks and insights from the West Coast labor movement. This national cross-sector networking bolstered the Union Co-op Council’s presence in both labor and co-op spaces. By 2014, their calls had over 20 participants each, representing 15 American and Canadian labor organizations alongside over a dozen cooperative development groups. Much of these expansions were driven by developments in communication, such as more articles, updated fliers, a new website, and an increased number of conference presentations (at least 6 around the U.S. in 2014 and 10 in 2015). The Council took its message around the world, with Mary Hoyer presenting “The Power of Collaboration: Labor Unions and Worker Co-ops in the U.S.” at an International Labour Organization conference in Antalya, Turkey in 2015.
This far-reaching education and networking resulted in tangible achievements furthering the union co-op ecosystem. Firstly, the Council institutionalized itself as a permanent fixture of the union co-op scene, with dedicated staff from the USFWC and the creation of an executive committee headed by John McNamara in 2017. This structure allowed the Council to expand research, networking, and education throughout the past decade. Many cooperative projects also received consultation from the Council over the years, including the Los Angeles Union Co-op Initiative and the Cincinnati Union Co-op Initiative (now Co-op Cincy). With the support of local unions, the Council also supported the Pacific Co-op Electric and Vermont Gage Carwash. The Council’s work also influenced many co-op developers to adopt more union-friendly orientations. For example, the Council influenced the redrafting of the Madison Principles by CooperationWorks, a network of co-op developers, to include a principle about co-op developers acknowledging “the right of workers to collectively organize regardless of the ownership type or sector” – language authored by the UCC Executive Committee Coordinator John McNamara.
Continuing To Forge Alliances
Seventeen years later, the Union Co-ops Council remains an essential cornerstone of the growing union cooperative movement. The Council maintains its presence at conferences around the country, hosting workshops at recent events such as the Building Worker Power Conference in Amherst, MA, in 2023 and the semi-annual Labor Notes Conference in Chicago, IL, in 2024. These workshops serve the dual roles of teaching cooperators the benefits of unionization and educating union organizers on why cooperative development is worth investing in.
Additionally, Ellen Vera of Co-op Cincy hosts monthly Union Co-op Office Hours via Zoom, an open space for cooperators and union organizers alike to ask questions, share their experiences, or just learn more about each other’s models. Lis Ryder is working on a video series for locals to understand the legal, technical, and philosophical questions around supporting worker co-ops. Rebecca Lurie of the CUNY School of Labor & Urban Studies is leading another project to publish case studies of successful union cooperatives – a developing project that has already garnered many potential authors seeking to share their stories. USFWC staffer Michael Brennan assembled a Communications Task Force earlier this year to improve the Council’s outreach and web presence.
Reflections
The seventeen-year mark serves as an inflection point to reflect on the achievements of the Union Co-op Council to inform the next twenty years and beyond. Lis Ryder is proud of the reach that the UCC developed, connecting unions and cooperators around the US and Canada. Not only have the connections brought practitioners in union and co-op spaces together, but they’ve also swayed their orientation to be more collaborative towards each other. Mary Hoyer is particularly proud of how the Union Co-op Council, as the first member council of the USFWC, swayed the organization (and, by extension, the entire national worker co-op network) towards a union-friendly orientation. Longevity is another point of pride, with few believing that the Council would continue expanding after nearly two decades.
However, the past seventeen years have merely gotten the conversation started, and there is much more work to be done to turn these communications into a unified union co-op ecosystem. Many key players in the UCC’s formative years envision the Council becoming a standardized network of union co-ops rather than merely a forum to share insights and experiences. John McNamara believes this work towards a formalized network begins internally, necessitating formal nominations for Council leadership, a more developed internal structure, and more democratic participation. Mary believes this requires more resources, such as increased funding and more USFWC staff dedicated to the Council’s ambitious plans moving forward.
This vision, alongside the ongoing initiatives, is energizing the USFWC’s oldest member council to approach its 20th anniversary, like the USFWC itself, with even more energy and ambition than when it was founded. While the first two decades were dedicated to education and outreach, the decades to come will continue this work while formalizing networks to become a national body incubating, developing, and networking union co-ops. With much to look back on with pride and a clear vision for its future, the Council continues to ensure the growth of unions and worker co-ops as a united movement for worker ownership and power.