Events
From VAWC
[edit] Join us at these upcoming events:
[edit] October is Co-op Month!
During October co-ops of all kinds - worker, consumer, producer - come together to say why we're different. You can learn more about on WRSI The River (93.9FM) and WHMP (1400AM) as VAWC and other co-ops in the valley will be sponsoring educational spots for the month of October. Tune in and visit back here for upcoming events.
In the meantime you can read the A Day in the Life of Co-operative America packet and the What is A Co-op? brochure.
Special thanks to the Co-op Month Planning Committee
[edit] Tom Webb speaking engagement at UMass, Amherst
November 2 at Umass - Details to follow
Mr. Webb, an Adjunct Professor at Saint Mary's University and the Program Manager of the Master of Management – Co-operatives and Credit Unions program, will speak on his involvement in this great program. The only program of its kind in North America, Master of Management focuses on co-operatives and demonstrates the potential of the relationship between education and co-operation.
He is a former Director of Extension at St. Francis Xavier University and prior to his university work he has 25 years experience as a co-operative manager, member of several co-operative boards of directors, co-operative business consultant and advisor to two cabinet ministers and the Prime Minister on regional development. His research interests cover a range of co-operative management issues and he has spoken widely on various aspects of co-operative business. He is currently involved in a major SSHRCC funded project exploring accounting in co-operatives.
[edit] Past Events
[edit] Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA) Regional Conference
August 13 - 15, 2010, at UMASS Amherst
Alex Jarrett of Pedal People and Erbin Crowell, former VAWC Staff Pilot Project Co-ordinator and now Executive Director of Neighboring Food Co-operatives Association, presented a workshop at this year's conference contributing co-operative, sustainable process and ownership to sustainable farming and agriculture. Go to http://www.nofasummerconference.org for more information.
[edit] The Work We Do is the Solution: USFWC's National Worker Co-operative Conference
August 6-8, 2010 in Berkeley, CA
VAWC was delighted to be represented at this year's United States Federation of Worker Co-operatives conference. A strong collection of workshops, general sessions and connections created a great opportunity to learn more about our movement as well as present our work. Adam Trott, of Collective Copies, presented Co-op Led and Funded Co-op
[edit] Erbin Crowell and Adam Trott are awarded the Eastern Region's Co-operator of the Year Award
The United States Federation of Worker Co-operatives awarded Erbin and Adam with this prestigious award recognizing our effort to co-create VAWC's Staff Pilot Project. We are honored to receive this award and would like to thank the board and staff of the USFWC for their recognition and support.
[edit] Eighth Annual Vermont Employee Ownership Conference
June 6, 2010 in Burlington, VT
VAWC was excited about the opportunity to be a part of VEOC's conference this year, and would like to thank Jon and Don in the VEOC office. Email us at info@valleyworker.org to request hand-outs or pdfs of the workshops we were in, listed below:
- Governance in Worker Co-ops: A Comparison of Approaches - Erbin Crowell, VAWC Staff Project Co-ordinator and Cooperative Fund of New England; Aaron Dawson, Equal Exchange; Adam Trott, Collective Copies and VAWC
- Forming and Operating a Worker Cooperative - Erbin Crowell; and Newell Lessell of The ICA Group
- Building the Movement: New Initiatives to Grow Employee Ownership -Don Jamison, VEOC, moderator; Phil Fiermonte, Office of U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders; Chris Mackin, Ownership Associates; Adam Trott, VAWC and Cooperative Capital Fund
- Consensus Decision-Making - Merryn Rutledge, ReVisions; Adam Trott
For more information about VEOC, click here, and to view our presentations, click here.
[edit] Valley Alliance of Worker Co-operatives receives Austin Miller Award for Business
We are honored to receive the 2010 Austin Miller award for business from River Valley Market and our commitment to Support For Community. The 11 worker co-operatives in VAWC's region work closely to the seven co-operative principles everyday as we co-run our businesses and would like to thank River Valley Market for recognizing our commitment. To read more click Austin Miller Award 2010.
[edit] Center for Popular Economics' 30th Anniversary and Conference
March 26, 2010
VAWC took part in the Activist Buffet at CPE's 30th Conference. Adam Trott represented and offered the co-operative model as part of creating sustainable jobs in our economy, especially in light of rising unemployment. Kevin Crocker of UMass Economics Department spoke of his department's recent partnership with VAWC as one example of how universities can partner and work with their community. It was a pleasure to be present at this event and to speak along side Co-op Power, Nuestras Raices, and PHENOM (Public Higher Education Network of Mass.)
[edit] W.Mass Jobs with Justice Conference, 2010
March 6, at Holyoke Community College
Western Mass JWJ's workshops were different vital starting points for discussing strategies and tactics to change Who Decides throughout society: Unemployment; Education; Good Green Jobs; and Health Care.
- Adam Trott (Collective Copies), Erbin Crowell (VAWC Staff Pilot Project Coordinator) and Mary Hoyer (Co-operative Fund of New England) co chaired a panel titled Good Green Jobs: Who Decides?
- Keynote Speaker: Rob Witherell, United Steelworkers, on “Mondragon in the US?” and the USW's partnership with Mondragon Cooperative Corporation. Click here to view the press release and to find out more.
[edit] Rethinking Marxism Conference 2009
November 5 to 8, 2009, Umass Amherst
VAWC presented at two workshops as part of the Alternative Economies/Community Economies track of RM09.
- Worker Co-operatives in the Pioneer Valley and Beyond - Janelle Cornwell and Michael Johnson of the VAWC Book Project and Adam Trott of Collective Copies presented on the worker co-operative movement, growth of co-operative space, and the VAWC Book Project. We also concentrated energy on forming relationships with Marxists of all stripes who share values of worker ownership and control, member economic participation, and education.
- Roundtable on the Solidarity Economy - Adam Trott participated on a panel about the framework and possibilities of the United States Solidarity Economy Network.
Other VAWC members and supporters were be part of this track as well, including Alex Jarrett of Pedal People, Stephen Healy of Co-op 108, Mike Leung of the Worker Co-op Federal Credit Union, and Karen Werner, Julie Graham and Ted White of Community Economies Collective. Click here for more information.
[edit] Co-op Valley! The Worker Co-operative Movement in the Connecticut River Valley
Info session and fundraiser at Food For Thought Books in Amherst
November 3rd, 2009
VAWC's co-writers, Janelle Cornwell, Julie Graham, Michael Johnson, Adam Trott, and Karen Werner, were joined by dozens of the curious, the experienced, the involved, and more at Co-op Valley's special event. In our effort to describe the past and present of the worker co-operative movement in the valley we are writing a book featuring bios and interviews of worker co-operators. We are trying to cover interview transcribing costs and are going to our movement and community asking for advance sales of the book.
A very successful event, the co-writers would like to thank Food For Thought Books for their energy, their organizing, and their support. We would also like to thank Sweaty Buttons for their wonderful music throughout the evening. Lastly we would like to thank everyone for coming and the outpour of support!
For future events about our book check this page.
[edit] VAWC and Amherst Cinema's special screening of Michael Moore's "Capitalism: A Love Story"
October 12 at Amherst Cinema
VAWC collaborated with Amherst Cinema to present a panel discussion on an aspect featured in Moore's film, worker co-operatives. Like the co-ops featured, Alvarado Street Bakery and Isthmus Engineering, VAWC member co-operatives are built upon co-operative principles. Principles like open and voluntary membership, democratic member control, member economic participation, etc, bring work back into the democratic sphere where. We had five worker co-operators speak after the film to answer questions, talk about what they do and why it matters:
- Kalista Aird - Gaia Host Collective
- Alex Jarrett - Pedal People Co-operative
- Philippe Rigollaud - Pioneer Valley PhotoVoltaics (PV2)
- Adam Trott - Collective Copies
- Esther White - Ronin Tech Collective
Thanks to all who came, who supported us and asked questions. Special thanks to Amherst Cinema for screening this important film and collaborating with us and educating about the economic alternatives in our community.
[edit] 4th Anniversary Party
Worker co-operators and those who love them got to spend time together to celebrate our 4th, and busiest, year of partnership in creating a co-operative economy. Yeah, we talked a little business here and there (Hey, sustaining mission driven businesses during a recession isn't easy), but the only thing on this night's agenda was to have a great time together. How fun to get together and see everyone!
[edit] Eastern Conference for Workplace Democracy 5th Biennial Conference
Democracy Works: Worker Cooperatives, Labor Solidarity and Sustainability
July 31 to August 2, 2009 at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
VAWC co-op members and friends attended and took part in co-ordinating this year's ECWD. Car and train loads of us came and a few of us even took a bike trip to D.C. together afterwards! Charles Strader and Adam Trott stepped down from board memberships and welcomed our new members including Philippe Rigollaud of Pioneer Valley PhotoVoltaics. Congratulations, Philippe!
Other VAWC contributions include:
- Co-op Development: Our Stories - Alex Jarrett and Ruthy Woodring, co-presenters, with others
- Sustaining Ourselves and Our Work Groups - Michael Johnson and Adam Trott, co-ordinators
- Welcome and Introduction to Worker Co-operatives - MC'ed by Charles Strader
- Community-Based Education for Worker Co-operatives - Brian Van Slyke, co-presenter, with others
- Lending and Equity Resources for Worker Co-operatives - Erbin Crowell, co-presenter, with others
- Worker Co-ops Going Green- Charles Strader and Philippe Rigollaud, co-presenters, with others
- Building a Co-operative Economy; Lessons from Emilia Romagna and Mondragon and the VAWC Staff Pilot Project - Erbin Crowell and Adam Trott, co-presenters
- Worker Co-ops and Job Creation in Underserved Communities - Jen Gutshall and Brian Van Slyke, co-presenters, with others
- Local Co-operative Alliances: What They Are and Why You Should Form One - Erbin Crowell, Alex Jarrett, Charles Strader and Adam Trott, co-presenters, with others
Adam, Michael and Janelle Cornwell also co-ordinated the Health Track for this conference, leading walks, meditation and Yoga for attendees.
[edit] Annual US Federation of Worker Cooperatives Member Meeting
June 20, 2009 in Madison Wisconsin
Charles Strader of Gaia Host attended this member meeting and was VAWC's delegate. VAWC made contact with Madison Association of Worker Co-operatives to support their local network organizing and and supported the discussion items on interco-operation. Official USFWC member minutes are found here.
[edit] A Reunion of the Food For Thought Books Collective
Celebrating 33 Years of Mutual Aid, Co-operation and Workplace Democracy
June 6 2009, at Food For Thought Books in Amherst
From former collective member Dave Gerratt -
In 1976, my friend Dick bought a few books and sold them at the Amherst (Mass.) pre-order food coop. With the proceeds, he bought a few more. Within a year he and a handful of others (including yours truly) had started selling progressive books and magazines at events at various locations throughout the Northeast. In the summer of 1978, Food for Thought books was the official bookseller for the Toward Tomorrow alternative energy fair on the UMass Amherst campus. We ordered roughly $30,000 worth of books on credit and netted $12,000 in a weekend. This offered us the opportunity to start paying some staff and to rent our first office space. Until then, our all-volunteer collective members had been working out of a living room and a van.
Thirty-three years later, Food for Thought books is a thriving, collectively run, storefront bookstore in downtown Amherst. On June 6, the store closed for the day so we could have a reunion. It is the first time that the original collective members, current members, and all those in between, had the opportunity to share our experiences and dreams. It was a wonderful day. We discovered that the mission and vision had changed little over time and that those of us who have moved on continue to be driven by the same values that brought us to the bookstore in the first place.
Wanna help kick off the next 33 years? Visit Food For Thought Book's website.
[edit] Forum on the Solidarity Economy: Building Another World
March 19-22, 2009 at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst
This four day conference included an inspiring range of solidarity economy tours, workshops, plenaries and cultural events. Solidarity economy practitioners and resource organizations, social movement activists, workers, academics, students, researchers, cultural workers, journalists and other fellow travelers, came and were part of the growing global movement to build the solidarity economy. Vawc members came together to co-present a workshop:
- Worker Cooperatives: Who we are, how we work and how we contribute to the solidarity economy -
Co-Presenters: Charles Uchu Strader, Erika Arthur, Erbin Crowell, Alex Jarrett and Adam Trott
[edit] Sprawl and Local Economies Teach-In
At Food for Thought Books, December 11, 2008
The 'Grand Opening' of Home Depot begs the questions: Is this the kind of economic development we need and want? If not, what are the alternatives? Emily Kawano (Center for Popular Economics), Jon Weissman (WM Jobs with Justice), Prakash Laufer (The Brick House and United for a Fair Economy), Simon Keyes (Keyes Construction), and Nick Seamon (Black Sheep Deli) as well as representatives from VAWC, Stop SprawlMart and many other great groups shared ideas and models for alternative solutions to economic development.
[edit] 3rd Anniversary Party!
September, 2008 in Greenfield, MA Charles held our third anniversary party this year at his fine new place in Greenfield. A beautiful view and delicious home-made food and drink were enjoyed together, along with a little swimming. Thanks for hosting, Charles!
[edit] Democracy at Work: 3rd National Conference of Worker Cooperatives and Democratic Workplaces
June 19-22, 2008 in New Orleans, LA
The conference was held on the campus of Loyola University in New Orleans, and was co-sponsored by the Twomey Center for Peace Through Justice at Loyola. It focused on information exchange and skill-sharing, thinking about our place in a larger movement for economic justice, creating connections with each other and other groups, and continuing to build our national Federation. VAWC was happy to have several members attending!
Special thanks to Collective Copies who sent three of their own members and 3 other vawcers to the conference!
- Growing a New Economy: Local and Regional Support Networks for Democratic Workplaces- Adam Trott, co-presenter. Click here for notes of this workshop.
[edit] 2nd Anniversary Party!
September 1, 2007
We celebrated VAWC's 2nd anniversary at the Greenfield Energy Park in Greenfield, Massachusetts. A pot luck, worker's families and friends, local musicians, and the occasional passer-by. A wonderful time had by all!
[edit] Eastern Conference for Workplace Democracy's 4th Biennial Conference: July 20 - 22, 2007
Building Cooperation: East to South in Asheville, North Carolina
Special thanks to Kim Pinkham for organizing the VAWC Van and getting almost twenty vawcers and other people in the cooperative movement down to Ashville! ECWD's 4th conference was a success and marked our consistent growth in attendance and richness in workshops and presenters. Click here for more information. Here's the list of workshops VAWC was involved in:
- Building Alliances with Labor: Unions and Worker Co-ops- co-presenter Adam Trott
- Strengthening Worker Co-ops through Local Networks- Dave, Kim and Adam all co-presented on this new workshop.
- Domestic Fair Trade: Cooperation Among Cooperatives- Erbin Crowell coordinated and Adam Trott co-presented this workshop showing how cooperatives are working together to market, produce and sell worker cooperative products. For more information on this exciting project go to the Domestic Fair Trade Association's Website.
[edit] United States Social Forum: Another World is Possible - Another U.S. is Necessary!
June 27 - July 1, 2007 · Atlanta, GA.
VAWC members and VAWC ally Community Economies Collective combined forces to present community economics at this historic first United States Social Forum. Our 5 person team presented as part of the Unites States Solidarity Economy Network schedule. Here'a list of worker co-op related workshops:
- Another Workplace is Possible: Co-ops and Workplace Democracy- Melissa Hoover
- Building Community Economies any time any place- Community Economies Collective
- Growing Transformative Businesses- co-presenter Adam Trott spoke about the story of Collective Copies its role in transforming business, workers and communities. Jessica Gordon Nembhard, co-editor of Wealth Accumulation and Communities of Color in the US and GEO member also co-presented, using community, worker and agency run business models in her section Community-based Economic Development.
- Solidarity Economy: Building Alternatives for People and Planet, a book produced about the work presented at the USSF is available. For more information contact Changemaker Publications.
[edit] Western Massachusetts Social Forum
April 14-15, 2007 in Amherst, Massachusetts
VAWC members had the pleasure of presenting at the first Western Mass Social Forum in Amherst, MA. The workshops involving VAWC were:
- Building Community Economies in the Pioneer Valley- Janelle Cornwell, Karen Werner, and Ted White (Community Economies Collective)
- Another World is Here: Lessons from the Real World- Julie Graham and Emily Kawano (WMass Economic Alternatives Network). For a report of this workshop click here.
- Radicals at Work & Worker Co-ops- Stephanie Luce, Adam Trott, others
To see a report of this Social Forum click here.
[edit] Fall 2006 GEO article
In 2006 Grassroots Economic Organizing printed a double issue collaborating with the United States Federation of Worker Cooperatives. They featured regional and local updates on worker cooperatives. You can read more from this great collective at their website.
[edit] United States Federation of Worker Cooperatives Conference
October 2006 in New York City
Colors hosted the opening reception where conference participants and presenters were welcomed by Paul Hazen, CEO of the National Cooperative Business Association(NCBA). Connections, a women's worker co-op from Rhode Island, provided Spanish interpretation for all the workshops and plenaries. Even the party at the Brecht Forum on Saturday night offered diversity: live hip hop, folk rock, reggae and Puerto Rican bomba music.
With the help of VAWC coordinating, western Massachusetts was one of the best represented areas of the country. Collective Copies, Pelham Auto, Gaia Host Collective, PV Squared, Community Economies Research Group, CFNE, CDI and Brattleboro Tech Collective were all represented. Many of us even shared a drive down in George's Mom's minivan. Thanks, Brace family!
Our very own Steve Strimer of Collective Copies contributed to this conference. He co-presented Growth and the Worker Cooperative Movement. Click here to see a report of the conference.
[edit] Center for Popular Economics Summer Institute
July 23-29, 2006 at Amherst College
VAWC members and Melissa Hoover of the US Federation of Worker Cooperatives presented at CPE's powerful and informative institute. Here's a list of the workshops we were a part of:
- Julie Graham, co-presenter at the plenary (CPE staff economist, local economic activist and author of A Postcapitalist Politics): “Create Your Own Economy Now! A Global Vision for Local Communities”
- Where’s the Money: Resources for Economic Alternatives Mary Hoyer (Cooperative Fund of New England) along with William Spademan (Common Good Bank) and others
- New-Old ways of living and owning Charles Uchu Strader (Gaia Host Collective, Sirius Community) and others
- Cooperatives 101 Discussion with Len Krimerman (Grassroots Economic Organizing), Mary Hoyer, Melissa Hoover (U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives), and others
- Worker Cooperatives: Some Theory and A Lot of Practice Steve Strimer, Adam Trott
- Cooperatives: Globalization and Competition Len Krimerman (Grassroots Economic Organizing), Melissa Hoover
- From Workers to Owners Melissa Hoover
[edit] The Company We Keep book signing with John Abrams
On June 22, 2006 VAWC and Food For Thought Books co-hosted a book signing with John Abrams, a worker/owner of South Mountain Company in Martha's Vineyard. John read from his illuminating and inspiring book about the South Mountain Company's history and their conversion to a worker co-operative. Click here for more information on buying a copy.
[edit] VAWC invited to meeting at El Mercado
In April of 2006 VAWC, with the help of Eduardo Suarez, talked and answered questions about the worker cooperatives. We were able to speak with a youth educators, ex-convict job creators and a former not-for-profit director about offering a cooperative solution to job creation and community building.
