Agustin Vega

Licensed in Oregon

Attorney providing legal consultation for small businesses, nonprofits, cooperatives, and other entities within the solidarity economy.

Agustin is the owner and sole practitioner of Vias para el Desarrollo (Pathways for Development), where he aims to create and work with organizations such as worker-owned cooperatives, housing cooperatives, worker self-directed nonprofits, and other equitable organizations within the solidarity economy. He started his legal career doing Tenants’ Rights work (including eviction defense and affirmative litigation) and eventually found his way to Workers' Rights with the Legal Services of Oregon’s Farmworkers’ Rights program. In this work he primarily handled cases regarding discrimination, retaliation, health and safety, and unemployment benefits. At the end of a case, he often saw his clients return to the same work system that had initially caused them harm. Agustin became increasingly interested in worker-owned cooperatives as a way to create new work systems to reduce these issues. His work in housing justice also grew an interest in housing cooperatives and community land trusts as a way to create permanent affordable housing.

Agustin opened up Vias para el Desarrollo as a way to support the cooperative movement. He believes that workers should have democratic control over their work and an equitable division of profits, that housing should be a human right instead of a means of investment, and that cooperatives are a move towards a more equitable society. While cooperatives may not have all the answers, he hopes that along this path we may find solutions we couldn’t have yet imagined.

Outside of work, Agustin enjoys playing music, getting outdoors, and spending time with his partner, family, and friends.


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  • Mwende Hinojosa
    published this page in Legal Fellows 2024-09-30 16:21:21 -0700

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