Oakland Passes Resolution in Support of Worker Cooperatives
OAKLAND, CA (September 8, 2015) — The day after Labor Day, Oakland City Council made a bold proclamation in support of democratic and equitable workplaces, passing the “Resolution Supporting the Development of Worker Cooperatives In Oakland.” The Sustainable Economies Law Center championed this resolution in partnership with District 4 Councilmember Annie Campbell Washington, Council President and District 3 Councilmember Lynette Gibson McElhaney, and many organizational partners and allies.
Read moreOakland City Council Looks to Provide Support for Worker Cooperatives

"The Oakland City Council is considering a resolution to support an unconventional business model that some say can help fight income inequality in the East Bay. The resolution, which the council will review at its September 8 meeting, is aimed at encouraging the development of worker cooperatives, which are businesses that are owned and governed by employees, meaning workers share profits and tend to make above-average wages.
"The Sustainable Economies Law Center (SELC), an Oakland-based nonprofit that worked with Councilmember Annie Campbell Washington on the resolution, said the measure is largely symbolic but hopes it will be a precursor to the passage of more concrete reforms that would incentivize the growth of these businesses in the city."
Oakland set to be a leader in workplace cooperatives
By: Sara Stephens
(Originally published August 31, 2015)
"On Sept. 8, community members will pack Oakland City Hall to celebrate the City Council's groundbreaking resolution to support worker cooperatives as a powerful tool for economic development and democratic, empowering workplaces. The resolution will recognize the benefits that worker cooperatives bring to local economies, especially to Oakland, which is a national hub for such enterprises.
"Oakland will be one of the first cities in the country to integrate tailored support for worker cooperatives into its business assistance center.
"This resolution is a first step toward a broader worker cooperative development strategy. Following this event, the Sustainable Economies Law Center and partner organizations will work with Councilwoman Annie Campbell Washington and others in the city to pass an ordinance that creates meaningful incentives and investment in worker cooperatives."
Governor Brown Signs California Worker Cooperative Act, AB 816
(Oakland, CA) – Governor Brown announced today that he signed a bill into law to facilitate the creation of worker-owned cooperative businesses in California. The new law, Assembly Bill 816, will remove unnecessary barriers to the creation of new worker cooperatives in California and improve operations for some existing worker cooperatives.
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Changing Cities: Coops, Climate Resilience, and more!
Did you know that Oakland, California is emerging as a pilot city for more just and resilient communities? We believe cities are a strategic place to drive change, so we've been getting our hands dirty in our own backyard to test some ideas. SELC has been helping Oakland lead the way in supporting worker cooperatives and seed sharing, addressing climate change, promoting economic development without displacement, and removing obstacles for mobile food vending. Here's what we're working on in Oakland.
Read moreFood Bikes
The Sustainable Economies Law Center (SELC) has been delighted to host Berkeley Food Institute summer fellow John Romankiewicz, who is looking at the barriers to entering the mobile food business, with a particular focus on food bikes! What’s a food bike you ask? It’s a low-footprint, low-capital alternative to a food truck. If you’ve ever traveled around Asia or Latin America, you know that most “street food” is peddled by cart or bicycle as opposed to food trucks. Some examples of local food businesses getting around the East Bay by bicycle include Bicycle Coffee, El Taco Bike, and Curbside Creamery (left to right, below).
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The Worker Coop Act Needs Your Support!
We've come down to the wire!
The 2015 Worker Coop Act passed out of the California Assembly with bi-partisan support and passed out of the California Senate 39 votes to zero! Now it goes to Governor Brown's desk for his signature. BUT, there is still a chance that Governor Jerry Brown won't sign the Worker Coop Act.
Read moreSummer Solidarity: Policy progress, people power (and alliteration!)
After our month-long #PeoplePoweredEconomies campaign, the results are in: you rock! We continue to be motivated by a sense of both urgency and opportunity to create people powered economies everywhere, and YOU give us the inspiration and support we need to make that happen. This is what a People Powered SELC looks like:
- Over 150 donors during the month of May
- 50 new Community Members
- Over $20,000 pledged
- Hundreds of dollars raised for our allies Richmond Grows Seed Library (Richmond, CA), Cooperation Jackson (Jackson, MS), and Phat Beets Produce (Oakland, CA)
- Oh yeah, and this…
Oakland City Council Greenlights “Equity Checklist;” Adopts OCAC’s PCA Recommendations
SELC's City Policies Director, Yassi Eskandari, has helped lead the Oakland Climate Action Coalition (OCAC) to success in an eight-month planning process for Oakland's new Priority Conservation Areas. Read more about PCAs and the Coalition's wins.
At Airbnb, growth brings scrutiny, regulation

"Airbnb profits from transactions," said Yassi Eskandari-Qajar, city policies program director at the Sustainable Economies Law Center in Oakland. "There's no incentive for them to put limits on how many people can do this, how much they can charge or how many homes they list."
But, she notes, Airbnb is mindful of political pressure. And when pushed, it has agreed to changes.
Worker Coop Academy Testimonials
The deadline is approaching to apply for this year’s Worker Coop Academy (WCA)!
The Academy is an intensive 14 week course that provides entrepreneurs, business owners, and economic development organizations the tools they need to build, strengthen, or convert to a worker owned business. The Academy also provides participants one-on-one business and legal consultations. You can find more information at theselc.org/wca_apply and watch our recorded info session here.
We are accepting applications through June 14th, which is less than a week away! Applications are submitted through an online form and it is free to apply.
Would the Worker Coop Academy be a good fit for your business? Look here to learn more and hear what last year’s participants gained from the experience!
Read moreWorkplace Democracy in Nonprofit Organizations
At our favorite local worker-owned cafe, Alchemy Collective Cafe in Berkeley, we recently asked the question:
What do you get when you cross a worker cooperative with a 501(c)(3) nonprofit?
A worker self-directed nonprofit! We've started defining this as an organization in which all workers have the power to influence the realms and programs in which they work, the conditions of their workplace, their own career paths, and the direction of the organization as a whole.
Read moreCA Worker Coop Act Advances!
SACRAMENTO, CA—On May 22, the California State Assembly passed AB816, a major step toward making California the twelfth state to establish a legal form specifically for worker cooperatives. This campaign is building on the momentum of worker cooperative policy initiatives happening throughout the country—including a $1.2 million dollar funding initiative in New York City last summer—as the cooperative business form gains recognition as a powerful tool for economic revitalization.
Cooperatives Create PeoplePoweredEconomies
Cooperatives are people powered organizations and SELC has been hard at work building the legal roots for cooperative economies across the country. We've trained legal professionals in New York, Oregon, and DC on cooperative law, worked for the passage of a legal entity for worker coops in California, and started the first business accelerator course for worker cooperatives on the West Coast! The legal roots of people powered economies are still being grown and its only through your support that we'll be able to deepen our impact. Will you support our continuing efforts to lay the legal foundations for People Powered Economies?
Planting Seeds for #PeoplePoweredEconomies
In the 8 months since we launched the Save Seed Sharing campaign, we've made incredible progress in protecting people's rights to share seeds! Will you support us in continuing to cultivate this work and People Powered Economies?!
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