On November 15 and 16, 2019, Co-op Cincy in collaboration with the 1Worker1Vote national network, hosted over 200 social entrepreneurs, labor organizers, co-op workers and community development practitioners at the 4th International Union Co-op Symposium. Attendees came from 16 states and 4 countries (UK, Spain, Canada, Mexico) to learn about practical tools on starting and running union worker cooperatives and networks. The diversity of both people and ideas was inspiring. You can see photos of all these wonderful folks on our Facebook page by our awesome photographers – Paul Davis and Marakah Mancini! (Photo above taken by Paul Davis.)
We are still in the afterglow of this well-attended and information-packed symposium! It is exciting to have this level of in-depth knowledge and interest in a shared space. There is so much to learn and absorb in order to grow our collective union co-op movement. Our excellent speakers offered both practical approaches and ideas that may have run counter to our own understanding, but that is where growth can happen. Looking beyond our immediate horizon sets the brain in motion.
An inspiring story came from Humberto Montes de Oca, Secretary of the Interior for the Mexican Electricians Union. He described his personal experience at a utility plant where 44,000 members of the union lost their jobs overnight when the government privatized their plant. The union’s 10+ year struggle and ingenuity has led to the recuperation of numerous plants and the reemployment of around 2,000 workers in a worker-owned utility company.
We thank all those who were speakers and who led the interactive breakout sessions. The sessions covered topics such as: Mondragon 101; Union Co-op Network Building; Education and Culture Building; Building a union co-op brand for social change; management and governance; policy; creative financing strategies; equity; grant’s; transitions; and more.
While there are many intangible takeaways for participants, some of the tangible results are:
Deeper collaboration with co-op networks in Miami, Brooklyn, and Nashville
Groundwork laid for passing proactive co-op policy in Cincinnati and other cities
A new national hemp co-op development working group
A Creative Financing Strategies Sub-committee to accelerate co-op development nationally and beyond
Co-op Cincy shared a Google Drive of all the materials used in the presentations along with extra material that wasn’t covered. Looking to the future, we are using the participant evaluations to plan for the fifth symposium in 2021! Hopefully, we’ll see you there!
