Un-Cooperative.
Why Worker Co-Ops Don’t Work in America.
Worker cooperatives are often viewed as part of the solution to beating back capitalism. Yet there are more than 33 million small businesses in the U.S. and less than a thousand worker co-operatives. This week’s episode looks at the different co-op models and the barriers to the growth and success of worker cooperatives in the U.S. as opposed to Europe. We take a look at iconic cooperatives such as the Mondragon Corporation in Spain to the Park Slope Food Co-Op in Brooklyn, NY and explain how everyone can easily support worker co-ops this election day.
Show Notes
Clips
Episode Timestamp + Link | Clip Link
- 00:00:30 | Dolly Parton: 9 To 5
- 00:01:57 | Democracy At Work: Richard Wolff on why he focuses on the transition to worker cooperatives
- 00:03:54 | Patterns (1956)
- 00:05:08 | STARKID Firebringer: We Got Work To Do
- 00:10:50 | Office Space: I Don’t Like My Job
- 00:11:29 | Workplace Democracy: Noam Chomsky on the Mondragon cooperatives and Workers’ Councils
- 00:31:30 | Blue’s Clues: Clue Finding
- 00:39:16 | V For Vendetta: Remember Remember the 5th of November
Resources
- Expert Market: The Most Productive Countries in 2024
- USDA: More than just a co-op: How Cooperatives Strengthen Economic Power
- National Council of Farmer Cooperatives
- EOS Data Analytics: Agricultural Cooperatives: Find The Top Co-Ops In The US
- Ocean Spray: About Us
- Land O’Lakes Inc.
- NCBA CLUSA: Healthcare Co-ops
- NCUA Quarterly Credit Union Data Summary 2024 Q1
- U.S. Small Business Administration: Office of Advocacy: Frequently Asked Questions About Small Business, 2023
- Co-op News: Worker co-op sector continues to grow in the USA
- Co-opLaw.org: Subchapter T and How Money Flows Through a Cooperative
- H.R.7721 - 118th Congress (2023-2024): National Worker Cooperative Development and Support Act
- The New York Times: Founder of the Park Slope Food Coop in Brooklyn to Retire After 50 Years
- Reuters: Personal Finance: Bank Transfer Day saw 600,000 switch
- Bob’s Red Mill: Proudly Employee Owned
- Democracy at Work Institute
- Democracy at Work (d@w): About Co-ops
- MONDRAGON Corporation
- U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives: Sen. Bernie Sander’s Address at The Worker Co-op Conference
- U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives: Member Directory
- The New Yorker: How Mondragon Became the World’s Largest Co-Op
- UN: Measuring the Size and Scope of the Cooperative Economy: Results of the 2014 Global Census on Co-operatives
UNFTR Quick Links