1. The Power of Collaboration: Labor Unions and Worker Co-ops in the U.S.
by Mary Hoyer, Ed.D., Co-Chair
UnionCo-ops Council of the US Federation of Worker Co-ops
Amherst, Massachusetts, USA

2. Introduction: US co-op and labor context
Current US worker co-op development in the US:
ground-up
starting from scratch
small business creation
Recent thinking:
bring businesses to scale
Labor movement looking for new strategies to fight back.
More than forty years of effective attacks by capital. $
Notes worker co-op movement:
1. creative and strong
2. good jobs, management control, and share of profit
3. shared information, educating potential entrepreneurs, building support organizations such as training programs and funding institutions
4. aggregated into the US Federation of Worker Co-ops, a membership self-help association, which has created a nonprofit affiliate, the Democracy at Work Institute
5. BUT limited number of workers
Notes recent thinking:
1. converting existing traditional businesses to worker co-ops, especially when owners are retiring or moving on to new challenges
2. expanding small businesses by creating additional shops in different geographic locations
3. engage consortia of place-based, large anchor institutions in a given geographic location to provide markets for new worker co-ops
4. engage strong allies such as labor unions in creating multiple businesses in a single geographic location
5. combine several of these strategies
Notes new strategies for labor movement:
1. can strengthen each other in exciting new ways.

3. 1 2 3 4 5 Topics Co-op business principles compared
Brief history of US union/coop interaction 3
Recent US union/coop developments
1. new and exciting developments
2. remarkable response to labor’s repression
3. build on a strong national and international foundation
4. important implications for the future of a more egalitarian and cooperative economy 4
Which unions & what businesses 5
Synthesis into four models

4. 1 Co-op business principles compared
Co-op businesses operate by principles
The principles inform a potential new economy.
Two sets of
co-op principles:
Rochdale & Mondragon
a practice that is completely foreign to traditional capitalist businesses

5. Comparing Rochdale Principles & Mondragon Principles
Rochdale (1800s)
Mondragon (1950s)
1. Voluntary and open membership
Open admission
2. Democratic member control
Democratic organization
3. Member economic participation
Participatory Management, Payment Solidarity
4. Autonomy and independence
5. Education, training, and information
Education
Labor crucial
1. Labor is the main factor for transforming nature, society and human beings themselves. As a result, labor is granted full sovereignty over capital. Labor hires capital; capital does not hire labor.
2. Workers must participate in management not just ownership.
3. Wage solidarity must decrease disparity among workers as well as among workers and managers. Mondragon rate 5 to 7 times the lowest paid worker.
Transform economy and society
4. The co-op supports efforts to achieve social and economic justice.
5. Co-ops must work to develop an infrastructure of financing, research and development, training and technical assistance
6. Must support each other through down turns in markets and the economy.


6. Cooperation among co-ops
Inter-cooperation
7. Concern for community
Social Transformation, Universality
Sovereignty of labor
Instrumental and subordinate nature of capital

6. 2 A Brief History of Union / Co-op Interaction in the US 1790s -1990s
Labor had a consistent relationship with co-ops over two centuries.
Knights of Labor:
Industrial worker, producer, and consumer co-ops
Support structures to support formation of co-ops so successful, had to put a temporary halt to recruitment to avoid chaos!
Capital began fighting back often with state help— blocked credit, supplies, and market access, then violence
Low-income immigrants and people of color used co-ops to gain economic strength.
New Deal
Ronald Reagan and conservative ascendancy
Labor explored Employee Stock Ownership Plans
s to 1990s Labor’s consistent relationship with co-ops over two centuries demonstrates workers’ persistent interest in creating an economy that works for them.
s KOL capital fightback--press blamed workers
s minorities
a. following end to slavery in 1863
b. W. E. B. Du Bois--cooperative economic development as a “gift” from the African-American people to the world.
c. Philip Randolph of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters struggled for both labor
s New Deal
a. Rural electrification utilizing a consumer co-op model took off
b. Tennessee Valley Authority in the South promoted co-ops of all kinds to stimulate the economy
c. Federal government Division of Self-Help Co-ops to provide technical assistance and funding in the form of grants and loans to co-op initiatives
5. Reagan and the conservatives
a. Oil crisis
b. Conservatives and Ronald Regan ascendant
c. Activists were becoming adults and having children
d. Economy globalizing, jobs going overseas
e. Advanced western countries moving away from industry
f. New unorganized workplaces in poorly paying service economy
s ESOPs
a. Incomplete ownership by workers
b. Number of stock shares determined voting power
c. Little change in worker / management relations--another way to extract concessions

7. 3 Recent Developments in Union / Co-op Collaboration in the US
Late 1990s
2007
Ohio Employee Ownership Center at Kent State University began looking at worker co-ops
UnionCo-ops Council of US Federation of Worker Co-ops founded
United Steel Workers / Mondragon Agreement
Notes Ohio Employee Ownership Center:
1. Premier midwest technical assistance provider at Kent State University since 1987
2. Involved in the partnership between Mondragon and United Steel Workers
Notes USFWC
1. Did not include unions
2. Membership organization
3. Support for emerging and existing worker co-ops, mostly small businesses
4. Natl and regional training conferences every year around the US
DAWI Democracy at Work Institute in 2013 the nonprofit training and strategic planning affiliate
Notes UnionCo-ops Council
1. affiliated with the USFWC
2. meets monthly by conference call to share information and resources, plan and present workshops at co-op and labor conferences, and engage the media on related topics
3. national conversation about labor’s involvement in worker co-op development due to the availability of new social media
Notes USW / Mondragon Agreement
1. To bring Mondragon’s expertise to the US and Canada
2. Union Committee when over 50 employees to address day-to-day operations and disputes
3. Mgmt Team must include at least one worker owner
4. Mgmt Team communicates and collectively bargains with the Union Committee
5. Collective bargaining agreement to ensure clear operating procedures, hold management directly accountable, ensure fair treatment and due process for workers
6. both workers and managers more productive
2004
2009

8. Recent Developments in Union / Co-op Collaboration in the US
2011
Cincinnati Union Co-op Initiative Planning & Raising Funds!
2012: Our Harvest Farm & Food Hub
2013: Sustainergy
2013 & 2015: Union Co-op Symposium
2016: Apple Street Market
1Worker:1Vote Nonprofit to institutionalize national union co-op development
Funding, TA, networking
Ten cities
2015 Mondragon University Cooperative Certificate Program
Notes CUCI
1. Volunteer group of community and labor activists
2. Quickly began raising funds, conducting market and feasibility studies, developing business plans, and establishing worker co-ops
3. Funding from labor in the form of grants, loans, staff
4. Funding from nonprofits, credit unions, foundations, development agencies, local corporations, universities, religious orgs, individuals
5. Our Harvest Farm and Food Hub
a. worker co-op
b. three distribution sites
c consumer members
d. 18 or so workers
e. UFCW Local 75
6. Sustainery
a. An energy efficiency evaluation and installation project for commercial, industrial, and institutional buildings, was launched
b. Three or so workers
c. IBEW Local 212 and Pipefitters Local 392
7. Apple Street Market
a. a hybrid consumer and worker co-op
b. in a low-income area of Cincinnati
c. UFCW Local 75
Notes 1:1 Mondragon curriculum
1. education and training
2. City University of New York (CUNY) Community Economic Development Law Clinic
3. portions of the Masters / MBA curriculum in the US
4. electronic and in-classroom courses will be introduced in
5. pilot September 2015 in New York City
6. practical workplace experience through partners
7. replication; over thirty-five colleges and universities waiting
2014

9. Recent Developments in Union / Co-op Collaboration in the US
Las Vegas Worker Ownership Resources and Cooperative Services
National Co-op Bank / Laboral Kutxa Memorandum of Understanding
Los Angeles Worker Ownership Resources and Cooperative Services
2012
2015
Notes Las Vegas
1. volunteer org
2. to incubate worker co-ops
3. southern Nevada
4. began at University of Nevada, Las Vegas, to introduce the union coop model as a viable labor alternative
5. outreach, education, grant research, networking, legislation, lobbying, counseling
Notes NCB / Kutxa (KU cha)
1. Mondragon’s bank, Laboral Kutxa
2. National Cooperative Bank in Washington, DC
3. since 1978 banking services, business loans and mortgages to co-ops and other membership organizations with a focus on consumer and producer co-ops
4. new: financial support for worker co-ops
2013
LVWORCS Table at Rebels Go Green (2013)

10. 4 What Unions Are Involved and What Businesses Are They Establishing?
(openheatmap.com)

11. What Unions Are Involved and What Businesses Are They Establishing?
Clean ‘n’ Green Co-op Laundry Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
WorX Printing Cooperative Worcester, Massachusetts
Cincinnati Union Co-op Initiative
1worker:1vote
Our Harvest Farm and Food Hub Cincinnati, Ohio
Apple Street Market Cincinnati, Ohio
Wellspring Greenhouse Springfield, Massachusetts
Sustainergy Cincinnati, Ohio 
Notes USW
1. Clean n Green:
a. USW / Steel Valley Authority / International Union of Operating Engineers Local 95
b. new, environmentally-friendly industrial laundry that would be of significant size to generate volume and be highly competitive.
c. local “anchor institutions” –hospitals and universities that are “place-based” and would find it difficult if not impossible to change location
d. still in the planning stages
2. WorX:
a. alternative to sweatshop-made printed textile products
b. environmentally friendly inks with virtually no waste
c. up and running
3. focus on large co-ops in order to create significant numbers of jobs
4. hurdle: sufficiently sizable enterprises with large, stable clients to justify capital investments
5. funding now less problematic than operational feasibility, given NCB/Mondragon accord
Notes UFCW:
1. Our Harvest Farm and Food Hub
a. a worker-owned co-op
b. launched in mid-2012
c. with Cincinnati Union Co-op Initiative
2. Apple Street Market
a. in the planning stages; will launch 2016
b. hybrid consumer- and worker-owned food co-op
c. branches in several underserved Cincinnati neighborhoods
3. Wellspring Greenhouse project
a. In the planning stage
b. Will provide organic greens and herbs to local anchor institutions—hospitals and universities
c. Part of a larger project that starts a variety of worker co-ops, some unionized
4. UFCW looking at national food systems and large projects
Notes Intl Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and Pipefitters
1. Sustainergy
a. In Cincinnati
b. With CUCI help
c. worker-owned
d. residential green energy business

12. What Unions Are Involved and What Businesses Are They Establishing?
Cooperative Home Care Associates Bronx, NY
New Era Windows Chicago, Illinois
Collective Copies Amherst, Massachusetts
Design Action Collective Oakland, California
Union Taxi Co-op & Green Taxi Co-op Denver, Colorado
Support staffers in CA and DC!
Notes SEIU
started with 12 workers
2. now one of largest worker co-ops in the US with 2000 workers.
3. In 2003, 500 workers approached SEIU to
4. help with collective bargaining process, grievance procedures, due process, mediation and arbitration, and clarified operations procedures.
5. Access to SEIU’s political acumen and clout in the state awarding of contracts
6. Access to SEIU’s benefits and training programs
Labor-Management Committee to resolve day-to-day on-the-job issues contributed to leadership development and co-op management capacity contributed to a sense of community among workers
8. participants compensated with regular wages for time spent
9. also have a Collective Bargaining Committee
Notes New Era:
1. struggle began in 2008
2. two factory take-overs
with help from UE and The Working World in New York City, a technical assistance provider and funder
4. stabilized
5. window manufacturing, window service and repair, and providing services and supplies to the construction industry
Notes Collective Copies:
1. UE-affiliated design and print shop
2. local publishing company
, workers dissatisfied with working conditions and compensation unionized and went on strike
4. with UE help, they bought the business and formed a worker co-op
5. original staff has tripled in size, and the
6. organization has become a leader in the worker co-op movement
Notes Design Action:
1. offers print and electronic design services
2. is a diverse, multilingual, eleven-person shop
3. in operation since 2002
Notes Taxi Co-ops:
1. first company formed in 2009 after much protesting and lobbying as well as formidable
2. resistance from existing cab companies
3. taxi business is regarded as a protected public service
4. the number of licenses granted are limited so Union Taxi Co-op couldn’t grow
5. in 2014, over 1,000 drivers joined CWA to set up Green Taxi, a second worker-owned company
Notes AFL-CIO:
1. Alt-Labor
2. Staffers in California and Washington, DC, are supporting alliances with worker co-op efforts
3. Worker Centers that are also exploring the worker co-op model

13. Multi-Union Incubator
Emerging Models for
Mutual Involvement of
Unions and Worker Co-ops 5
Multi-Union Incubator
Partnership
Network
Activist

14. Multi-Union Incubator Model
Emerging Models for
Mutual Involvement of
Unions and Worker Co-ops
Multi-Union Incubator Model
Local, regional, and national labor unions come together to create worker co-ops by forming a group, typically a nonprofit 
Notes Multi-Union Incubator Model:
1. strongest model
2. research, feasibility studies, business plans, and fundraising
3. unions may provide organizing staff.
4. Incubate new and conversion co-ops
5. frequently reference Mondragon which has demonstrated resilience in the face of global capitalist crisis
support mechanisms that provide training and funding
Notes CUCI:
1. multiple labor unions, community nonprofits, developers, universities
2. to create good, unionized, worker-owned jobs
3. new nonprofit--CUCI
4. year 1: jobs for ten worker-owner track employees
5. two hundred jobs over five years
6. positive ratio of dollars spent to jobs created
Notes 1:1:
1. national org1worker1vote (1:1) is an
2. expanded example of the model 1:1
3. launched in early 2014
4. based on the USW / Mondragon Agreement
5. labor unions, labor organizations, think tanks, nonprofit development corporations, community 6. activist organizations, funders, institutions of higher education, and religious associations.
7. working in a number of cities around the US
8. facilitating the fall 2015 launch of Mondragon University’s online “Social Economy and Cooperative Enterprise” certificate program in NYC
Examples:
Cincinnati Union Co-op Initiative
Los Angeles Union Co-op Initiative
1worker:1vote

15. Partnership Model Emerging Models for Mutual Involvement of
Unions and Worker Co-ops
Partnership Model
Labor unions become involved in worker co-op formation as one of a number of parties, with leadership coming from a source other than the unions.
Notes Partnership Model:
1. group also contains technical assistance providers, community based organizations, nonprofits
2. labor unions participate in projects related to their sphere of expertise
Notes Wellspring:
1. nonprofit, incubator-type organization founded 2012
2. labor representation built into the board of directors, but
3. unions become involved in specific worker co-op projects based on the relevance to their missions
4. UFCW Local 1459 is involved in the planning team of the Wellspring Greenhouse Project
5. the union may contribute organizing and operating expertise and possibly some funding
Example:
Wellspring Co-op Corporation in Springfield, MA

16. Network Model Emerging Models for Mutual Involvement of
Unions and Worker Co-ops
Network Model
Labor unionists, worker cooperators, and development professionals come together on a regular basis to share information that helps each participant further his or her own local work building worker co-ops.
Notes UC Council:
, national
2. meets monthly by conference call
3. people from more than twenty states and occasional Canadian provinces thirteen labor unions and worker organizations, technical assistance and funding providers, religious organizations, journalists, academicians
4. discuss and offer advice on participants’ projects;
4. organize workshops at conferences around the country, continent, and world; makepresentations on radio and TV
Example:
Union Co-ops Council of the US Federation of Worker Co-ops

17. Activist Model Emerging Models for Mutual Involvement of
Unions and Worker Co-ops
Activist Model
Labor unions become involved in worker co-op formation as one of a number of parties, with leadership coming from a source
other than the unions.
Notes Collective Copies:
1. print shop since 1983
2. workers ran into trouble with their owners/managers
3. members of United Electricalwent on strike and ended up buying out their business with the union’s help
4. thriving copy and publishing shop ever since, with several local stores
Notes New Era:
1. since 2012
2. door and window manufacture
3. long struggle—two factory take-overs
bankruptcy
New Era Windows Cooperative
6. now fully functioning under worker ownership and control
Examples:
Collective Copies in Amherst, Massachusetts
New Era Windows Co-op in Chicago, Illinois

18. THE BIG PICTURE This includes labor unions in the US.
Once considered marginal, worker co-ops are now looked at by many in the international community as well as the US as central to the hopes of economic progress in numerous communities round the world.
This includes labor unions in the US.
Notes Slide 18 The Big Picture:
Despite the beating that organized labor in the US has taken from the conservative and corporate sectors since the 1970s, it plays a unique and crucial role in progressive politics and the economy. For low- and moderate-income workers and the unemployed, few if any other movements are as widespread, solvent, well organized, and well connected as labor unions and their affiliates. In addition, labor’s understanding of how work can and should be organized to be most productive and rewarding simply isn’t on the wave-length of most people and institutions, including co-ops. The groundwork that labor has laid over centuries to improve work processes can help worker co-ops avoid reinventing the wheel regarding business operations and work relationships. Stimulated by the economic recession and the attack on labor unions, labor is singularly positioned to devise and promote new strategies for overcoming capital’s grip on the economy.
As Dario Azzellini discusses in his book published in 2015, An Alternative Labor History, workers around the world--beginning with industrialization in Britain in the late 1700s and continuing to this day--have struggled to take control of their workplaces in all kinds of historical situations, under different political systems, and through a range of political and economic crises, even without benefit of historical knowledge of the efforts of others or of socialist consciousness. This appears to be an “inherent tendency” of rank and file workers, one of the great “underreported stories” of the past two centuries.
Worker ownership and management of enterprise resonate with a number of important American values--self-reliance, opportunity, upward mobility, local responsibility and community solidarity, ownership, competitive business practices and private enterprise, productivity, efficiency, and accountability.
As John Curl points out, most people in the US think of themselves as independent actors and even entrepreneurs. Most employees in the US don’t expect to be employees for the rest of their working lives. They think they deserve better and imagine themselves as owners and managers, not employees.
Once considered marginal, worker co-ops are now looked at by many in the international community as well as the US as central to the hopes of
economic progress in numerous communities round the world.
This includes labor unions in the US.

19. Contact:
Mary Hoyer, Ed.D., Co-Chair
UnionCo-ops Council of the US Federation of Worker Co-ops
Amherst, Massachusetts, USA
“Labor is prior to and independent of capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves the much higher consideration.”
President Abraham Lincoln
in his first State of the Union address
1861