Author: Benji Mauer

I do training, support, and user experience design for rad people like ActBlue, Community Labor United, CERO Recycling Co-op, the Interaction Institute for Social Change, the National Network of Abortion Funds, Fenway Health, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation, Spontaneous Celebrations, Upwell, Bitch Magazine, and others. I co-founded Make Shift Boston. I’m a card-carrying member of the Free Software Foundation and the US Federation of Worker Cooperatives. To stay human, I work with people within an hour of my home in Jamaica Plain by bike or public transit.

General Assembly TOMORROW 7pm: Location, Agenda, and Yearly Updates

Just a friendly reminder we have WORC’N General Assembly tomorrow at 7pm (yes, 7pm not 6pm — so you Equal Exchangers, don’t be shy to add a detour to your commute).

The location, agenda, and some yearly updates for a taste of inspiration are below.

Location

Make Shift Boston
549 Columbus Ave
Boston MA 02118

Agenda

Facilitators listed below

10m Report-back/reflection on the year (James Bachez)
10m Plus/Delta/Insights for 2013 (Ben Mauer)
30m Updates/report-backs (Stacey Cordiero MCs)
- US Federation update (Ben Mauer)
- Boston Center for Community Ownership (Stacey Cordiero)
- WORC’N members
Discussion items
- 5m #BosCoop social media campaign (Joel Wool)
- 10m Update on intersectoral and Q&A (Micha Josephy)
- 10m Propose calendar for year & feedback (James Bachez)
- 15m Propose we postpone membership discussion until intersectoral effort is further along & feedback (Stacey Cordiero)
- 5m Proposal for a cooperative vision and strategy reading group (Matt Gabrenya)
- 5m Potential partnership with Future Boston (Joel Wool)

WORC’N Yearly Updates

A Yard & A Half Landscaping Cooperative

The 11 members of A Yard & A Half Landscaping Cooperative completed our buy-out of A Yard &A Half LLC on Jan 1! Muchisimas gracias to Micha & Maggie from CFNE for all of their help, and to WORCN members for all your advice and support. We’re still looking at options to stabilize working capital, but we’re pressing on! We’ll have our annual meeting in April, and are hoping to diversify our Board as worker-owners become more comfortable with democratic decision-making.

A couple of members are participating in the Center to Support Immigrant Organizing’s grassroots leadership institute in Spanish, and Carolyn gave a workshop on their experience of coops as model for business succession and democratic ownership at this weekend’s NOFA conference. (Notes & slides available)

Dorchester Community Food Co-op

The Dorchester Community Food Co-op had a successful year in 2013, recruiting members, developing new outreach and engagement strategies, soliciting building proposals, selecting an architect, relaunching its winter farmers’ market, partnering on a “Fresh Fridays” cafe series and appearing numerous times in the media. After working with the Sustainability Guild to revitalize a vacant lot on Bowdoin St. in Dorchester––the property that will likely be the initiative’s future home––the Co-op was featured on Boston.com, in the Boston Globe Metro Section, and on WCVB’s Chronicle. The co-op is now in a major member drive and is developing a plan to raise the remaining capital needed to hire a full-time General Manager and build the store.

Cooperative Fund of New England

2013 was a landmark year for the Cooperative Fund of New England. In addition to having our Executive Director, Rebecca Dunn, inducted into the Co-op Hall of Fame (heroes.coop), we disbursed the second largest amount of loan funds in our 38 year history. CFNE made over $3.8 million in loans to 38 co-ops and community groups across New England and eastern upstate New York State. In Greater Boston, CFNE and its affiliate, the Cooperative Capital Fund, made loans to five worker co-ops: A Yard & A Half, Boston TechCollective, CERO Co-op, Dollars & Sense, and Red Sun Press. We look forward to another strong year in 2014. We are also currently working to help the Boston Center for Community Ownership build its capacity to support urban cooperatives in the region.

For information about borrowing or investing in the fund, please visit our website at www.coopfund.coop.

Red Sun Press

2013 was a year of recovery for Red Sun Press. We re-staffed after some difficult transitions, regained our financial footing and reestablished a tight, efficient workflow in the shop.

The lease of a Konica Minolta/Komori C8000 digital press was a highlight of the year, enabling us to complete longer runs of high-quality digital output. Customers like Clean Water Action, Equal Exchange and Local 26/Unite Here responded with lots of orders for postcards, brochures, flyers and posters (including tons of election-related stuff).

We symbolically renewed ourselves mid-year with a rebranding effort, yielding a new logo and fresh marketing materials.

On a governance level, too, we are refreshing our business, moving towards a new organizational structure for the co-op and rising to new challenges in the shifting economic climate. To help carve our new path we welcomed 2 outside advisors onto our board, friends and community leaders with the business and co-op experience needed to balance our busy crew of worker-members.

Looking forward to more interaction with WORC’N and the greater co-op community in 2014!

Holiday social at Just Crust in Harvard Square, Thurs Dec 12 at 6pm

Holiday social at the employee owned Just Crust in Harvard Square from 6-8pm or so.

Come and eat some pizza and have a beer with other worker cooperators and allies.

49 Brattle St, Cambridge, MA 02138.

5 minute walk from Harvard Square T or various bus stops.

Co-op 101 TOMORROW Thursday October 17 at 6pm in Cambridge

If you’re new to worker cooperatives or co-ops in general, come out to this Co-op 101 by Stacey Cordiero from the Boston Center for Community Ownership. A great way for start-up groups or for businesses considering transitioning to a co-op to get their feet wet and understand the benefits of cooperation.

Date & Time: Thursday October 17, 6pm

Location: 1151 Massachusetts Avenue, basement meeting room. Easily accessible by Bus or metro, if you are coming from Boston take the #1 bus or if you take the Red Line get off @ the Harvard Sq. station. 2-3 blocks away from the T station.

Presented by the Boston Center for Community Ownership (http://bcco.coop)

Solidarity Across Borders: Mexico’s Frente Auténtico del Trabajo (FAT)

Monday, October 21 from 6-8pm
UNITE HERE! Local 26 at 33 Harrison Ave, Boston, 3rd floor

Come meet five leaders from the cooperative sector of Mexico’s Frente Auténtico del Trabajo (FAT) for an inspiring discussion of cooperative economic development and the role of international solidarity in fostering cooperative movement.

Cooperatives, including worker-owned businesses, community-owned grocery stores, credit unions and more, are humanizing the economy across Boston and the world. Come meet five leaders from the cooperative sector of Mexico’s Frente Auténtico del Trabajo (FAT) for an inspiring discussion of cooperative economic development and the role of international solidarity in fostering cooperative movement. This is the final stop on a ten day delegation across New England by co-ops associated with the FAT, hosted by co-ops affiliated with the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE).

Co-sponsored by United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE), WORC’N (worcn.org), Jobs with Justice, Cooperative Fund of New England and the National Lawyers Guild, Massachusetts Chapter.

WORC’N Fall Calendar & Events Committee Note

Here’s a quick calendar and related notes for WORC’N Fall activities. We have a lot going on, which is very exciting, including participation in a regional Solidarity and Green Economy Conference in Worcester, a potential event with a Mexican co-op delegation, and our regular Peer Resource Group, Co-op 101 and General Assembly events.

One particularly exciting note- In an effort to spread work around and allow the Steering Committee to step back from event planning and step into steering WORC’N, we are launching an Events Committee! This committee, to date including Lynn, James, and Reed, is charged with coordinating logistics around WORC’N events. Please give a hearty Thank You to Lynn, James and Reed, and if you are interested in joining this committee, please let me or any other steering committee member know. Now, without further ado:

The WORC’N Fall Calendar

All events from 6 pm – 8 pm unless noted

October 10, Peer Resource Group focusing on Restoring Roots Gardeners’ Co-op, a new edible landscape design and implementation co-op @ Make Shift, 549 Columbus Ave, Boston. Contact Ben Mauer with questions.

October 15, Steering Committee Meeting (10 am to 11 am) and Launch of Events Committee (11 am to noon). Location TBA (possibly Museum of Science). Contact me or any other steering committee member if you want to come.

October 17, Worker Co-op 101 @ 1151 Mass Ave, Cambridge. Contact Stacey Cordeiro with questions.

October 21, Potential event with a delegation from the cooperative sector of UE’s sister union in Mexico, the Frente Auténtico del Trabajo (FAT). Save the date and more info will come as we learn it.

November 9-10, SAGE Conference, 5 Pleasant St, 3^rd floor Worcester. For more details, see http://www.worcestersagealliance.org/?page_id=11 and if you want to go as part of a WORC’N delegation, contact me or one of the other steering committee members. We are looking into holding a regional worker co-op meet-up at this conference, so keep an eye out for more related information.

November 14, Peer Resource Group focusing on Hummingbird Co-op, a new house cleaning co-op @ Boston Collective Delivery, 12 Channel St, Boston. Contact James Bachez with questions.

November 19, Steering Committee (10 am to 11:30 am) @ Make Shift, 549 Columbus Ave, Boston.

November 21, Worker Co-op 101 @ 1151 Mass Ave, Cambridge. Contact Stacey Cordeiro with questions.

December 12, General Assembly and Social @ Just Crust, Harvard Sq, Cambridge. Contact James Bachez with questions.

Shift Change Documentary September 20th 6-8pm at the Democracy Center

Shift Change is a documentary film by veteran award-winning filmmakers Melissa Young and Mark Dworkin. It tells the little known stories of employee owned businesses that compete successfully in today’s economy while providing secure, dignified jobs in democratic workplaces.

When: Friday, September 20th

Where: Democracy Center (45 Mt Auburn Street, Cambridge )

Time: 6-8pm

Shift Change offers us living examples as well as an inspiring vision of what a productive, just, and sustainable economy can look like. The film’s core message can help to build bridges across different groups who are united in their commitment to the economic vitality and fairness of their own communities. The overall message, the cases, and the analysis are exactly what we need to help chart pathways out of the global economic crisis.

Quarterly General Assembly & Social this Thursday Sept 12, 5:30pm

WORC’N will be having it’s second Quarterly General Assembly & Social this Thursday, September 12, from 5:30pm to 8pm

General Assembly: 5:30pm

Social: around 6:30pm

Location: Make Shift Boston, 549 Columbus Ave, Boston MA 02118

Program:

First, we’ll hold a General Assembly, where the Steering Committee will report out on our work, and we’ll discuss ideas and proposals that folks send in advance. If you have a proposal or idea, please send it to Ben Mauer (ben@quilted.coop).

Then we’ll have a good old fashioned food and social hour. You are welcome to come to either or both parts of the evening, and are strongly encouraged to invite other members of your co-op to attend.

See you soon!

No Peer Resource Group for August

The Steering Committee has been talking over email and we felt pulling together a Peer Resource Group this month would be difficult given various vacation and travel schedules. So we decided to cancel the Peer Resource Group for August. Stay tuned for an announcement in late August or early September on the location and topic for the next Peer Resource Group.

Co-op 101 Thursday July 18 at 6pm in Cambridge

Date & Time: Thursday July 18, 6pm

Presented by the Boston Center for Community Ownership (http://bcco.coop)

Peer Resource Group Meeting on Thursday June 13 at 6pm (con traducción)

Time: 6pm.

Location: Make Shift Boston at 549 Columbus Ave, Boston, MA 02118. Wheelchair accessible. Near the MBTA #1 bus and Mass Ave Station on the Orange Line.

Topic: TBD