In Loving Memory of Phil Amadon, Co-Founder of Co-op Cincy (1952–2026)
Our beloved co-founder Phil Amadon passed away on May 8, 2026, at the age of 73. The loss is immeasurable — but so is the legacy he leaves behind.
Phil was the real deal. Solidarity wasn't a word he used; it was a principle woven into every fiber of his being. Principled. Consistent. Determined. Generous. Full of integrity, grit, dignity, and honor. He was the kind of person who made you believe — truly believe — that a better world was not only possible, but within reach. And then he got to work building it.
Co-op Cincy, Our Harvest, and Sustainergy exist because of Phil. He brought Co-op Cincy's co-founders together for a consequential study group that would become the spark of something transformational. His deep experience with organized labor, his embodied solidarity, his profound respect for workers everywhere, his unwavering commitment to worker voice and liberation — these weren't just values he held. They were values he lived, and they became the foundation upon which our cooperative community was built.
Phil was a railroad mechanic for 32 years and rose to become president of his union, TCU IAM Lodge 6760 — not through force of ego, but through deep listening, authentic presence, and a rare ability to earn the trust and respect of people across the entire political spectrum. He was a grounded visionary and a uniter who understood, with great clarity, that division is the ruling class's most powerful tool. His life's work was showing people what becomes possible when we choose unity instead.
That conviction showed up everywhere. Phil was a leader in the remarkable coalition that stopped the Zimmer power plant from becoming a nuclear facility — even when construction was 99% complete. He helped found a Solidarity School in Cincinnati that brought together justice seekers from across movements and silos, building the common story he knew we so desperately needed. In 2011, he wrote:
"I have seen one continuous theme through this time — division gives birth to defeat, and unity brings victory, in this struggle against poverty, degradation, and unsafe conditions. With mass media outlets sowing messages of greed and division, we need every possible opportunity to build a common story that unites."
Those words feel as urgent and alive today as they did then.
Phil was born in Oklahoma on October 16, 1952, into a family with a long and proud military history stretching back to the Revolutionary War. His own parents met as a result of World War II — his mother, Mary Kenkel of Brinkley, Arkansas, served as a nurse and met his father, Newell Amadon of Vermont, when he was wounded in the Battle of Tarawa. Phil himself was a Vietnam War resister and remained active in the peace movement throughout his life, while simultaneously and deeply honoring all who served as soldiers. That capacity to hold complexity with grace was quintessentially Phil.
He graduated from Manchester College with a degree in Environmental Sciences, and in the early 1970s, he lived in socialist Yugoslavia — working in factories, dish rooms, and on farms, and studying worker-controlled enterprises firsthand. That experience planted seeds that would grow into a lifetime of cooperative vision. Phil was a lifelong learner who read extensively and possessed an extraordinary ability to place any moment within its historical context, offering insights into how to respond with clarity and purpose.
As a radio personality, Phil founded Boiling Point, a labor show on community station WAIF 88.3 — "News and Views from Working People around the city, around the nation, around the world." That show continues to this day, a living testament to the seeds he planted.
He connected deeply with people everywhere he went. In his longtime Northside neighborhood, he was so beloved that a salad was named after him at the original Melt — The Phil Salad (Greek salad, add chicken, with lime cilantro dressing). He treated everyone with palpable respect and dignity, accepting people just as they were while never hesitating to stand up to bullying and injustice. That rare combination of unconditional warmth and principled courage was one of his greatest gifts.
Phil faced his Parkinson's diagnosis — which he carried with extraordinary grace for over 20 years — with the same grit and determination he brought to every struggle. He researched the disease thoroughly, changed his diet, increased his exercise, and made the most of every good year. He walked the full 26.2 miles of the Flying Pig Marathon in 2015 and completed his last half marathon in 2019. His years of Aikido practice served him well as the disease progressed, making him, as those who loved him would say, an expert faller. He faced it all with humor — sporting shirts and signs that read "Shake, Rattle and Roll" — and with a deep, abiding love for life. His strong body held on for nearly 20 hours at the end, breathing more effectively than when on the ventilator. He was surrounded by loved ones in his final week, as songs, stories, prayers, and memories filled the room.
He was a dedicated father to five — Collin, Christy, Casey, Corey, and Annika — a loyal friend, a community activist, a unionist, a philosopher, an historian, a meditator, an environmentalist, a 12-stepper, a labor council delegate, and a lover of music, nature, camping, hiking, trains, and most of all, people.
We will carry him with us. In every co-op we build, every worker we empower, every moment we choose unity over division — Phil is there. As he so beautifully said:
"Only solidarity, the struggle for mutual benefit among equals, will make cooperative ownership possible."
"Worker owners, by the very definition of the term, are cooperative members who are in solidarity with workers within their co-op and with the broader working class in the world, outside the co-op."
He will be deeply, deeply missed.
