Co-op Conversations: Promoting Your Co-op Values
Co-op Conversations: Promoting Your Co-op Values
October 17, 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm ET
Like most small businesses, worker co-ops today are facing a variety of challenges. Unlike conventional businesses, however, we believe that we are stronger together, when we can share success stories and identify solutions to our common problems. That’s the focus of our Co-op Conversations series, developed for CWCF members, which will highlight the knowledge and experience of our members on contemporary issues while encouraging discussion.
We’re pleased to announce that our next session, facilitated by board member Kelly Storie of La Siembra Co-operative, will feature Robin Puga of CanTrust Hosting Co-op and Veronica Ing of Urbane Cyclist Worker Co-op, who will share their insights about how they’ve promoted their co-op values. In addition to the personal experience that Robin and Veronica will draw upon, we look forward to hearing from you, our members. What have you discovered about this topic? What do you wish you knew? Come ready to share, learn, and connect.
Kelly Storie has been a part of the cooperative and solidarity community for over 25 years and is the Executive Director of La
Siembra Co-operative (Camino), a fair trade mission-driven workers cooperative dedicated to small-farmer livelihoods and economic democracy. In her career, Kelly has supported the growth and governance of several national and international co-operative and fair trade organizations including serving on the board of the Ontario Co-operative Association, Your Credit Union, La Siembra, Fairtrade Canada and one the largest worker co-ops in the United States, Equal Exchange. Kelly believes that the worker co-op model has been key to keeping La Siembra and the Camino brand connected to their fair trade mission and independent for over 20 years. The worker owners care deeply about the business, its reputation, its service and the quality of the products. The democratic governance and control of the co-op will pass from member to member, rather than fall into the hands of private equity. Giving workers more power, control and accountability over their work is meaningful and dignified. This is a real strength of the model.
Veronica Ing is the Marketing Coordinator at Urbane Cyclist Worker-Owned Co-op, and you will see them working both in front of and behind the camera on social media, and day-to-day on the sales floor! They have been with Urbane Cyclist Worker-Owned Co-Op in Downtown Toronto since 2022, and a Worker-Owner since April 2024, but that is but the briefest moment in time for a co-op that’s 27 years old!Urbane Cyclist has been around since 1997, bringing quality products and service to cyclists of all kinds in downtown Toronto. As part of an industry that increasingly prioritizes throwaway culture and poor quality in favour of quick turnaround and increased profit, it is with pride that Urbane brings a holistic methodology to the alternative transportation movement and challenges car supremacy! You can find them online at www.ucycle.com and on Instagram at @urbanecyclist
Robin Puga is a Vancouver-based software engineer and consultant with over 20 years of experience in Open Source web
application development. In 2008, Robin co-founded CanTrust Hosting Co-operative, a worker-owned enterprise dedicated to providing secure, reliable, and ethical web hosting services for non-profits and social economy organizations. CanTrust embodies the principles of the co-operative movement, emphasizing fairness, transparency, and sustainability in its operations. By offering Canadian-based hosting solutions, CanTrust empowers organizations to maintain full control of their data while staying true to their values. Robin’s passion for co-operatives began in 2002, and he continues to champion the model through his work at CanTrust, as well as through the educational radio show Each for All: The Co-operative Connection, which he co-founded in 2006. His commitment to promoting co-op values earned him the BCCA Distinguished Co-operator Award in 2009, recognizing his long-standing contributions to the B.C. co-operative sector.