Growing a Worker Cooperative Peer Technical Assistance Program

From the Ground Up

Melissa Hoover, US Federation of Worker Cooperatives

Evolution & Growth

1970s 1990s 2000s

Barefoot weirdoes on the coasts?

Yes, we bring a perspective: strong democratic principles & practice

But this isn’t your father’s utopian cooperative movement Major growth in worker cooperatives has been well-

distributed throughout the country Worker cooperatives and social mission: asset-building and

community economic development Appeal of the model far outstrips size of current movement Increasing connections to larger cooperative world Growing movement of young, smart, curious cooperators Educational opportunities

CW! Institute Masters Programs: St. Mary’s and SNHU

New generation

Infrastructure

Demand

The Pieces

Pulling Them Together

.

New generation

DemandInfrastructur

e

Democracy at Work

Institute: Worker Coop

Peer Technical Assistance Network

Our organic structure

Sapling

Staff

WHY BOOTSTRAPPING. . .?

1 member organization: USFWC 1 nonprofit educational organization-to-be: Democracy at

Work Institute 4 years old 60 member workplaces $30,000 budget 1 part-time staff member 3 successful projects, building on one another 150 calls/year for information and training Enthusiastic support from overworked veterans

. . .BECAUSE WE HAVE TO!

SOME HAPPY SIDE EFFECTS

Increases connections to existing resources Training collaborations with CW! Potential training collaborations with master’s programs Potential service delivery collaborations with existing developers

Builds leadership in seedling group Connects saplings to seedlings Allows participants to keep their coop jobs while giving structure to

provide PTA Doesn’t duplicate existing programs and resources Keeps development accountable to worker coop movement Ensures sensible staging Scales the project to available resources

. . .BECAUSE WE WANT TO!

Principle #1: We Build From WithinThe Network aims to cultivate technical assistance providers fromwithin the pool of experienced worker cooperators. We believe thatthis approach itself strengthens existing worker cooperatives by:

- increasing the expertise and engagement of current worker cooperators

- helping us retain talented and dedicated workers in the movement

- supplementing and reducing reliance on outside providers

- ensuring that this new initiative is sustainable and scalable to the resources available.

Principle #2: We Value Experience We believe that one of the most important and effective

areas of expertise a consultant can bring to worker cooperative development and support is experience actually working in a democratic workplace. All other areas of knowledge, expertise and experience are informed by this fundamental grounding in democratic principles and practice.

Principle #3: We Take a Broad Approach The needs of each organization, community,

cooperative and workplace are shaped by its workers, its industry, its location and a variety of other factors. Peer consultants, though equipped with standards and best practices, will not approach projects with a one-size-fits-all model, rather they will bring a breadth of models and experience to inform their clients’ decisions.

Additionally, we value simplicity above complexity in designing systems, structures and processes.

Principle #4: We Work Locally We believe that technical assistance and worker cooperative

development support are most effective when provided at a local level by people familiar with local markets, laws, practices, and cultural norms. We will therefore give priority to local providers and will make every effort to coordinate the network through local and regional organizations.

Principle #5: Our Approach is Critically Inclusive We believe that cooperative development work is social

change work and that the process of democratic self-governance is fundamentally transformative. We understand that effective cooperation demands not just a respect for all voices but a critical awareness of power and the dynamics that keep some voices unheard. We therefore bring the power analysis developed by anti-racist trainers to the work of cooperative development.

Principle #6: We Train the Trainers We believe that every worker cooperator, every recipient of

peer technical assistance, is a potential source of support and technical assistance for others in their cooperative and beyond. Therefore our training approach treats the trainee as a potential trainer, assumes that the training will be passed along to others down the line, and gives the tools to do so.

Principle #7: We Are Open Source We are committed to sharing information. The documents

and processes that we produce within the Peer Technical Assistance project are not proprietary, instead they become part of free information and free culture.

Principle #8: Create, then Evaluate We understand that ongoing evaluation of ourselves, our

capacity and our working relationships is critical. We model this self-reflexivity as a group, and we emphasize it to others when we provide support.

Principle #9: We Share the Seven Cooperative Principles As experienced worker cooperators, we have a practical

lived (and worked) experience of the Seven Cooperative Principles, and we bring this understanding and commitment to our advising work. These principles, along with cooperative values and ethics, inform our technical assistance; we will share them with those unfamiliar with them, explain and discuss them, and refer to them as our guide. We are also guided by the Ten Mondragon Principles and the Madison professional standards for cooperative developers.

Principle #10: We Have Fun We are committed to lightening up a little!

We embrace humor, joy, and the delightful notion that if it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing with a smile and a light heart.

Some Highlights So Far

100% Response Rate to Sapling Invitations Madison Meeting: June 2009

Structure Services and Gaps Training and Certification

Ongoing small group work Thank you, technology Focused dialogue

CooperationWorks! Training September All-Group Meeting On schedule for 2010 rollout

Next Steps

Develop curriculum Increase linkages with developers Develop professional TA resources

How are we doing?

Our larger goals

Develop leadership and investment

Support current worker cooperative development initiatives with experience

Document our practices for dissemination

Increase connection to cooperative movement