Democracy at Work Conference 2008

I attended the 2008 Democracy at Work Conference organized by the United States Federation of Worker Cooperatives. This was the Federation’s third national conference. The conference was held in New Orleans as a result of the Federation’s commitment to support cooperative rebuilding efforts as a result of Hurricane Katrina.

The conference brought together cooperative worker owners as well as organizations that are committed to supporting and assisting the development of more cooperatives throughout the United States. The Mission Asset Fund (MAF) provides technical assistance, education and support to worker-owned business and housing cooperatives in the Mission. At the conference I attended workshops in which worker owners presented their challenges and successes, as well as shared and learned from other cooperative development specialists assisting immigrants to form cooperatives. In Concord, California Christina Hernandez with Monument Futures has just started a technical assistance cooperative development program for Latina/o immigrants in her community. In Brooklyn, New York Vanessa Bransburg is working with the We Can Do It! Women’s Cooperative and the emerging We Can Fix It! Cooperative. WAGES, an organization dedicated to developing and supporting eco-cleaning cooperatives in the Bay Area, had both trainers and worker owners attending the conference and presenting a workshop on their on-going efforts to create sustainable employment.

Conference keynote speaker Omar Freilla with Green Worker Cooperatives, an organization dedicated to incubating green and worker-owned businesses in the South Bronx spoke about his experiences in developing the successful worker-owner cooperative ReBuilders Source. ReBuilders Source is a retail warehouse for salvaged and surplus building materials. Omar and his fellow worker owners labored for four years to raise funds ($900,000) and develop their cooperative. ReBuilders Source has not just created jobs, but has provided the workers with a sense of control over the direction of their own lives and of their community. I am hopeful that the worker-owned cooperatives can flourish in the Mission. To learned more about worker-owned cooperatives please attend MAF’s popular education workshop in Spanish on August 6, 2006 from 6:00 to 7:00 at MAF’s offices on 1500 South Van Ness and 26th. For more information please contact me at 415-839-6637.