A Discussion with Jessica Gordon Nembhard

The US has the world's largest prison population at over 2,217,000 inmates. What would happen, though, if we began looking at worker cooperatives not only as an economic development tool but also as a tool for those incarcerated by the prison industrial complex? What transformational effects could this lead to? Are there examples of cooperatives made primarily of incarcerated or formerly incarcerated individuals and what can we learn from them? How can worker coops be an effective tool for those who were formerly incarcerated and how would it support re-entry? 

For those seeking new, real solutions for our incarcerated or formerly incarcerated brothers and sisters, SELC hosted a discussion with Jessica Gordon Nembhard, professor at John Jay College, CUNY and author of Collective Courage: A History of African American Cooperative Economic Thought and Practice.

Listen below!

Building an economy that is truly just and resilient means putting worker ownership at the forefront of economic development policies. Local governments can play a critical role in cultivating a friendly policy environment for worker cooperative development. The question for cooperative advocates is, where do we start? This page provides some helpful resources for jump starting local campaigns to promote and remove barriers to worker-owned businesses.

Below, you will find:

• The Law Center's sample city policy language;

• An informational packet for local government leaders on why they should support worker cooperative development;

• Highlights from our active worker cooperative policy campaigns in Berkeley and Oakland, California;

• Resources from our partners and allies on their city policy initiatives supporting worker cooperatives; and

• A sign up form to receive important updates and calls to action about our worker coop city policy initiatives!

The free advocacy materials available throughout this page are intended to help you start your own campaign! All of the content created and published by the Law Center is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0).

If you know of other local and regional policy efforts supporting worker cooperative development and would like those resources to be included here, please contact Ricardo at ricardo@theselc.org.

In 2015, the Sustainable Economies Law Center started building a sample "City Ordinance for the Promotion of Worker Cooperatives" with the support and collaboration of cooperative allies across the country. We used Oakland, California as a case city, and tailored the ordinance to fit Oakland's municipal code. By going through this exercise, we had created an ordinance that would lead to our local campaign, and created a model for others to use in other cities. To discuss the ordinance in more detail, please contact Sara Stephens.  

>> Click here for the sample city ordinance.

>> Click here for the sample city ordinance summary.

In collaboration with our partners, we have compiled an informational packet aimed at educating local legislators about worker cooperatives and their local economic development benefits. We offer this here for cooperative advocates who aim to introduce policies to promote cooperative economies. 

Packet includes: What is worker cooperative, economic and social benefits, how local governments can support business conversions to worker ownership, and more! 

      >> Click here for the informational packet. 

Oakland, CA

The Sustainable Economies Law Center worked with Oakland City council members and a coalition of supporters to introduce a Resolution Supporting the Development of Worker Cooperatives on September 8th, 2015. This resolution was an important step toward adopting a more substantial policy in that it publicly recognized the positive impact of the local worker cooperative ecosystem, and built momentum for the ordinance, which will be introduced in 2017.  

>> Click here for the press release for the resolution's passage.

>> Click here for the text of the Oakland City Council Resolution.

>> Click here to watch the resolution hearing (fast forward to minute 52)!

Berkeley, CA

Following on the heels of the Oakland Resolution Supporting Worker Cooperative Development, the Sustainable Economies Law Center and our allies worked with Berkeley City Council member Jesse Arreguín to develop a Berkeley resolution to promote worker cooperatives.

On February 9th, after months of lobbying Berkeley City Council members, the resolution to was passed by a unanimous vote! Not merely a symbolic gesture, Berkeley's resolution directs City staff to develop a substantive ordinance that supports and incentivizes the growth of local worker cooperatives. The ordinance would add a worker cooperative preference to the existing Buy Local contracting preference, create business tax and land use incentives for worker cooperatives, and develop cooperative-specific educational materials to supplement the City’s business support services.

The Sustainable Economies Law Center is continuing to work with City of Berkeley staff to develop their ordinance, and we will publish relevant resources here as they are developed. 

>> Click here for the Berkeley City Ordinance. Check out our two page summary of the Berkeley ordinance here. 

>> Click here for the Berkeley City Council resolution and informational packet we provided to Berkeley City Council.

>> Click here for the press release for the 8-6-2018 City Council Small Business Subcommittee meeting. 

>> Click here for the press release for the 2-9-2016 passage of the City Council resolution.

>> Click here for a Berkeleyside Op-Ed "Berkeley worker co-op resolution could usher in equitable economic development"

We also hear from our partners and allies across the country about efforts to build municipal level policies for the creation of economic democracy and community empowerment.While we may not actively work with these policy initiatives, we applaud their efforts and want to lift up their work. Find more information about those efforts below. 

Santa Ana, California

On August 1st, 2017, Santa Ana became the first city in Orange County to adopt a resolution supporting worker cooperatives with the "Resolution Supporting Development and Growth of Worker Cooperatives". Santa Ana's median income in 2017 was $54,640 in comparison to Orange County's median income of $81,194. "A burgeoning worker cooperative movement in Santa Ana gained momentum in the form of a resolution" passed unanimously by city council, reported the OC Weekly. Find the adopted resolution here!   

Austin, Texas

"On Thursday March 23rd, 2017 Austin City Council passed a resolution directing the City Manager to come up with a broad range of policies to support Austin's cooperative economy. The city manager will be working on these policies with input from the Economic Prosperity Commission, which passed a similar recommendation that also includes recommendations related to housing and consumer cooperatives. We hope that we can not only find ways to implement the above-listed policies, but convince the City that the Economic Prosperity Commission's recommendations should be included as well."  Find more information about the Austin Cooperative Business Association here.

Other Resources

Another resource for communities working on policy initiatives is the Democracy at Work Institute, a national organization ensuring that the promise of cooperative business ownership reaches those communities most directly affected by social and economic inequality. Follow the links to find their resources on "Community Economic Development" and "Tools for Communities."

Do you want to stay up to date with our city policy work promoting resilient economies and worker cooperatives? Do you want to join the movement of worker coop policy activists pushing for an economy that is truly just? Sign up below to hear important updates and calls to action!

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.

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. 

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…

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!

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?

By Nathan Schneider, Shareable

"There are many ways to own. Simply giving up on ownership, however, will mean that those who actually do own the tools that we rely on to share will control them. People who want an economy of genuine sharing are coming to recognize that they must embrace ownership — and, as they do, they're changing what owning means altogether."

Read the full article on Shareable

Pedal Express is looking for a new worker-owner to start training in December, 2014.  This position is part time, 24 hours to 32 hours per week plus a bimonthly 2 hour meeting.  Must be available to work Wednesdays and Fridays - the rest of the schedule is otherwise flexible. Work hours are 9am-5pm.