In collaboration with the Network of Bay Area Worker Cooperatives, we are providing regular teach-ins that go through our legal guide for starting and operating worker cooperatives, Think Outside the Boss! 

We'll be presenting sections of Think Outside the Boss over multiple sessions over the next few months. Our first teach-in will cover:

• What is a worker-owned cooperative business?

• What are advantages of forming a cooperative business?

• What are legal entities and what should you consider before forming one? 

If you are an entrepreneur, an existing business owner thinking about succession planning, or an existing worker coop with worker-members or candidates looking to skill up (Principle 5!), this training is for you! >>> RSVP BELOW!

Think Outside the Boss provides community members an introduction into the nuts and bolts of starting and running a cooperatively owned business. We go over legal issues in an accessible way to help you understand the relationships between cooperatives, employment, and community wealth-building.

Future teach-ins will cover:

• How do you spread ownership and control across a group of people?

• What are models of participatory management and democratic governance?

• How does employment laws effect worker coops?

• How do you raise money for a cooperative?

• What are the tax and accounting issues in a cooperative?

• How do you convert to a worker cooperative? 

At our Think Outside the Boss Teach-in Series in collaboration with NoBAWC, attorneys, law students, and experienced cooperative professionals will give short presentations on legal issues, governance structures, financing, cooperative conversion, and more! We'll even have worker owners talk from their experience about why they chose to navigate the murky waters of the law the way they did. At our teach-ins, we'll have bound copies of the Think Outside the Boss manual for sale! You can also download it for free prior to the event here. 

This event is being sponsored by the Network of Bay Area Worker Cooperatives. All ticket sales are split with NoBAWC to support their work to provide education, resources, and training to their members.

The Network of Bay Area Worker Cooperatives is a grassroots organization of democratic workplaces dedicated to building workplace democracy in the Bay Area and beyond. All local worker-cooperatives are encouraged to become members, go to the website to get involved (nobawc.org).

No one will be turned away for lack of funds!

If you are unable to pay for a ticket below or would like to pay in person at the teach-in, please email Ricardo at [email protected].