Blog

An ongoing series examining issues in the worker co-op sector.

Government Support Is Critical to a Strong Worker Co-op Sector

By Kenzie Love Co-operatives around the world employ 280 million people, comprising 10 percent of the world’s employed population, making for a significant if still comparatively small portion of the global economy. But co-operatives are also unevenly distributed globally, with worker co-operatives, at least, comprising a relatively small share of the Canadian economy (with the Government Support Is Critical to a Strong Worker Co-op Sector


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Sociocracy – a Compelling Governance Model for Worker Co-ops

By Kenzie Love Democratic member control is a key co-op principle, and as the International Co-op Alliance’s guidance notes for the seven principles state,  “democracy is a simple concept: the governance or control of an organization by its members through majority decision-making.”  Compared to the autocratic decision-making that characterizes many traditional businesses, majority decision-making might Sociocracy – a Compelling Governance Model for Worker Co-ops


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Co-ops Can Lead the Race to Zero

By Kenzie Love At the recent CMC (Co-operatives and Mutuals Canada) Congress in Calgary, delegates approved a resolution committing Canada’s co-operative sector to adopt the UN’s Race to Zero, a global pact which mandates signatories to achieve net zero in emissions by 2050 at the latest, and to commit to at least a 50% reduction Co-ops Can Lead the Race to Zero


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International Co-operative Alliance Consultation a Chance to Define the Co-operative Identity

By Kenzie Love In 1995, the International Co-operative Alliance set out to answer this question by adopting the Statement on the Cooperative Identity. Subsequently recognized by many governments and multilateral organizations, the Statement defines the cooperative business model, makes explicit the cooperative and ethical values on which it is founded, and sets out seven universal International Co-operative Alliance Consultation a Chance to Define the Co-operative Identity


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Worker Co-ops and the Sixth Principle

By Kenzie Love The term “solidarity” is often bandied about in co-operative circles, but what does it actually mean? Part of the answer lies in the sixth co-op principle: co-operation among co-operatives. When their interests align, traditional businesses might sometimes collaborate: a temporary joining of forces in pursuit of some shared goal. But co-operatives, as Worker Co-ops and the Sixth Principle


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