This website is a weblog that anyone can comment on.
The goal of the site is to assemble a contemporary history of the worker cooperative movement in (and around) the United States, first by accumulating an inventory of people, organizations, writings, media, and then through some synthesis and the creation of useful tools. When I first became a cooperative worker and was interested in the movement I would have loved it if there was a site that drew from all the disparate participants to show its scope and context. So that's what I'm trying to put together. Some articles report current events, others are a curated collection of materials from the recent past. My hope is that when someone (perhaps you) is introduced to the movement and is hungry to learn about it there is a better place to start from than a simple web search.
There are many other great sources to learn about the U.S. Worker Cooperative Movement, including the websites of the U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives, regional federations and support organizations in the Bay Area, Madison, the Pioneer Valley, Austin, and New York City, as well as the Canadian Worker Cooperative Federation. Thoughtful commentry is available from the Workers' Paradise blog and a list of resources available from the Arizmendi Association of Cooperatives. Several academic centers focus on cooperatives (including worker cooperatives), including the University of Wisconsin, Kent State in Ohio, Southern New Hampshire University, and MIT. There are also a network of cooperative development centers across that country.
Thanks for visiting, and please add your comments and rate articles. You can also send an email to: joe at american.coop
