Fri, 28 February 2020 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM MST Co-ops inevitably overlap with other movements and in this webinar we will explore how worker co-ops fit into the Social and Solidarity Economy and with social enterprises. We invite participants to come with ideas of how to better partner in these spaces for mutual benefit, and will have shared with CWCF some ideas on how CWCF can partner for the benefit of the worker co-op movement. Given that collaboration with the social and solidarity economy is a significant aspect of our strategic plan, we would like to provide the opportunity for more members to attend this session. This presentation is quite similar to what was offered at our fall Conference. Here are a few comments from the Conference session: “With her vantage point as chair of the International Co-op Alliance Research Committee, Sonja explains this important topic with clarity and…
Category: General News
2020 CWCF Membership Renewal Is Open
These are exciting times for CWCF. We’ve begun implementing our strategic plan, and we’re already starting to see results in a number of areas, from working to grow our Tenacity Works Investment Fund, to partnering with Green Jobs Oshawa on a feasibility study for a worker-owned electric vehicle production facility at the old GM plant. We’re also working on implementing the Parcours worker co-op startup training program, and we recently concluded a successful conference in Tatamagouche, Nova Scotia. Meanwhile, we’re already looking ahead to the 2020 conference in Vancouver. In short, we’ve been busy. While these may be exciting times for CWCF, we’re aware of the challenges currently facing both worker co-ops and society as a whole: rising unemployment, precarious employment, growing income inequality, the impacts of the climate crisis, and more. But these are challenges to which the worker co-op movement is well-positioned to respond. Through building equality and…
Worker Co-op Meet & Greet (and Free Dinner*) CWCF is coming to Edmonton!
Soirée de réseautage pour coops de travail La FCCT vient à Edmonton!** Worker Co-ops in the Edmonton area are invited to a Meet-&-Greet to get (re)acquainted with CWCF Executive Director Hazel Corcoran & CWCF Board member Yvonne Chiu (MCHB Co-op), meet each other, & share stories & resources. Date: Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2020 at 5:30–7 pm (optional dinner), & 7-9 pm (Meet & Greet) Location: Surinder’s Suite, Multicultural Health Brokers’ Co-op (MCHB) Office, Edmonton Intercultural Center (9538 – 107 Avenue – McCauley School site) Directions: Please kindly come to either the door at the back of the school building from the parking lots, or the Girls’ Entrance at the front of the school. Each of these doors has a buzzer for gaining entrance. The office is on the main floor at the end of the hallway to your left. Please contact Yvonne at (780) 710-1577 if you have difficulties finding Surinder’s…
Board Member Profile: Frank Bezanson-Harris
CWCF is pleased to welcome Frank Bezanson Harris to its board of directors, acclaiming him as a director-at-large at its AGM. Frank has been with Just Us! Coffee Roasters Co-op for over 16 years, and a member of its board of directors for much of that time. He has also served on the board of the Wolfville Farmers Market, a nonprofit co-op, for much of that time, currently serving as its vice president. Frank’s experience with Just Us! has convinced him that membership in CWCF is an important part of its success. He’s found in connecting with nearby co-ops that they often have answers to problems Just Us! has faced, and he hopes to continue fostering this collaboration. “Being in the Atlantic provinces and being in a small town, you can be very isolated,” he says. “Being involved in CWCF offers the opportunity to network and share resources with people…
Directors and Officers Liability, and Insurance Solutions
Please join us when Jillian Rudolph, Associate Insurance Advisor, and Manon Monette, Strategic Client Manager, both with The Co-operators, will be hosting a webinar on Directors’ and Officers’ Liability, and to describe the advantages and features of various types of insurance available to CWCF members through The Co-operators, including for D&O Liability insurance coverage. Read more…
Worker Co-ops and the Social and Solidarity Economy
by Kenzie Love Strengthening ties to the social and solidarity economy (SSE) is a key part of CWCF’s strategic plan. But what exactly is the SSE, how do worker co-ops fit into it, and how can they best collaborate with it? And what about social enterprises? Here’s a start at answering these questions. What is the solidarity economy? As Emily Kawano observes, “defining the solidarity economy can be challenging. Definitions vary across place, time, politics, and happenstance, though there is increasingly a broad common understanding.” Although, as Kawano notes, there is some variation on how the principles of the solidarity economy are articulated, the U.S. Solidarity Economy Network uses these five principles: solidarity, cooperation, mutualismequity in all dimensions (e.g., race, ethnicity, nationality, class, and gender, etc.)participatory democracysustainabilitypluralism In accordance with these principles, the solidarity economy seeks to create an economic system based on collaboration — or solidarity — rather than…
Expressing Solidarity With the Chilean People
As a response to the human rights situation in Chile and encouraged by TRASOL – the Chilean Federation of Worker Co-operatives – CWCF has written a letter which will go to the Chilean Embassy in Ottawa, the Canadian government and to TRASOL. CWCF also encourages members to write their own letters expressing solidarity with the Chilean people. (Note that this letter is available in Spanish upon request to the Executive Director. ) Letter from CWCF
Update on the Investment Readiness Program
By BC Co-op Association, shared with permission The Investment Readiness Program (IRP) is a 2-year $50 million pilot program designed to help advance Social Innovation and Social Finance in Canada by building on existing supports to help catalyze community-led solutions to persistent social and environmental challenges. The pilot will provide a learning opportunity to inform future direction on how best to support and mobilize the social finance sector. The program will provide time-limited investments to support co-operatives and a broad range of social purpose organizations in improving their capacity and ability to participate in the social finance market, access new investment and contract opportunities, and support them throughout the innovation cycle. Readiness support partners (Community Foundations of Canada, Chantier de l’économie sociale, Canadian Women’s Foundation, National Aboriginal Capital Corporations Association, National Association of Friendship Centres) will be administering a large part of the IRP on behalf of the Federal Government. These organizations…
Atlantic Region – Making the Most of Meeting at the CWCF Annual Conference
By Eric Tusz-King The participants from the Atlantic region at the Annual Conference in Tatamagouche made good use of their caucus time. They have developed a 3-part plan for promoting and supporting of worker co-ops in the region. On December 4th ten of those participants and a few more from provincial associations of co-ops met to move their ideas into action plans for early in 2020. The overall goal of the plan is to develop and maintain of ecosystem for the support of worker co-ops. This will include: networking among Atlantic CWCF members and allies at events and electronically; connecting with potentially interested individuals and groups who have common values to make them more aware of the worker co-op model for doing their work; and educating business organizations and governments on the value of the worker co-op model in general business development, but particularly in converting private businesses to worker…
Climate Leadership through Electric Vehicle Production in Oshawa
By Hazel Corcoran CWCF and Green Jobs Oshawa funded a preliminary feasibility study on transitioning to electric vehicle (EV) production under democratic ownership at the GM plant in Oshawa. After having received over $10.8 billion in federal and Ontario government bail-outs in 2009, some of which was never repaid, GM Canada announced last year that it would close the plant in Oshawa in December 2019 terminating 2,500 jobs in the plant, with estimates as high as 20,000 total jobs lost including multiplier jobs. The feasibility study, written by Russ Christianson and released at a public forum in Oshawa on September 19th concludes that converting the plant to EV production is possible. Significant government investment and procurement including for Canada Post vehicles would be required. Green Jobs Oshawa is in favour of democratic public ownership, which CWCF has advocated should include a meaningful element of worker and community control. Converting this…