This week we’re talking about celebrating co-op month this October, Latinx legacies of cooperation and mutualism, growing calls for climate reparations, a solidarity economy learning tour in Spain and Italy, a new toolkit on participatory democracy, and more.
October is Co-op Month: At NEC, we celebrate worker-owned cooperatives as a key building block of the solidarity economy! Read more about the transformative power of worker ownership, and tune into NEC board member Stacey Sutton discussing the power of Black-led cooperatives in building solidarity economy ecosystems.
Latinx Co-op Power: Many of the strongest examples we have of solidarity economies come out of social movements in Latin America, and the communities who have carried those traditions of cooperation across borders. Throughout the Caribbean, people have used susus and cooperative lending to resist extractive banking practices. Cubans have formed co-op networks to build food sovereignty and economic self-sufficiency. Brazillians have taken participatory budgeting around the world. Check out this resource list of solidarity economy organizing in Latin America and Latinx communities in the US as a reminder that another world isn’t only possible – it’s already happening.
Environmental Justice & the IRA: Last week, we celebrated the huge win of environmental justice organizers and frontline communities who successfully stopped Manchin’s #DirtyDeal! The bill, which was included as a side deal to the Inflation Reduction Act, would have fast tracked permitting for new fossil fuel infrastructure. This win is one big step in the ongoing fight for justice in implementation of the deeply-flawed Inflation Reduction Act. Learn more about the community organizing that stopped the side-deal in this statement from NEC member Appalachian Voices.
Solidarity Economy Learning Tour: This month, NEC staff joined our member organizations Cooperation Buffalo and the US Federation of Worker Cooperatives on a solidarity economy learning tour to Spain and Italy to learn about different cooperative development models, and to see how solidarity economies evolve at a regional scale. One of our favorite stops was Can Batlló, a reclaimed factory that has been handed over to the residents of the neighborhood, and includes a cooperative housing project called La Borda.
- Abled-Bodied Leftists Cannot Abandon Disabled Solidarity to “Move On” From COVID
- Co-Op Grocery Stores Expand Their Mission to Equity and Food Justice
- Degrowth is not austerity – it is actually just the opposite
- Future Horizons: Visions toward Democratizing Our Economy
- Governor Newsom Signs Ground-Breaking Law Giving Workers a Chance to Become Owners
- Help us fix Jackson’s Water System and Build more autonomy and people power in the city
- How Can We Build Democracy in the South — in Electoral Politics and Beyond?
- How to Help Those Impacted by Hurricane Ian
- It’s past time to celebrate migrant-led labor organizing
- Mutual aid emerges as a critical survival tool in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Fiona
- Somebody Actually Started A New Credit Union. Here’s How They Did It.
- Sustaining the Rising Tide of Black Co-ops: An Ecosystem Approach
- Teachers and Other Unionists Are Joining Iran’s Gender Justice Uprising
- The Genius of Ella Jo Baker
PODCASTS
- MadWorc, Co-op Solidarity Fund, and Co-op Connection Network – Co-ops not Cages
- The Problem with Green Capitalism – Upstream Podcast
- The Owens Family & The Inflation Reduction Act – Federation of Southern Cooperatives
TOOLKITS & REPORTS
- Participatory Democracy 101 – Democracy Beyond Elections Coalition
- Colonialism and Debt – Debt Justice Collective
- Guide to Creating an Agrarian Commons – Farmland Access Legal Toolkit
Follow NEC on Instagram — @neweconomycoalition — where we’re sharing pics and reflections from our recent NEC staff gathering in Atlanta!
ALL JOBS
Affordable Housing Co-op Preservation Associate (Bilingual), Urban Homesteading Assistance Board (UHAB)
BIPOC Lead Organizer, Kentuckians for the Commonwealth
Co-General Manager, Rock Steady Farm
Communications Director, National Center for Law and Economic Justice (NCLEJ)
Communications Manager, Nuns & Nones Land Justice Project
Compost Expansion and Solidarity Economy Lead, Northfield Curbside Compost
Cooperative Project Development Coordinator, The Center for Cooperative Development and Solidarity
Director, Buffalo Food Equity Network
Director of Business Development, Community Purchasing Alliance
Director of Development, Never Again Action
Donor Engagement Assistant, Brooklyn Community Foundation
Executive Director, Adhikaar
Financial Manager, Soul Fire Farm
Grassroots Global Justice Media Strategist
Indigenous Foodways Fellowship, Civil Eats
Labor Leadership Programs Associate, Cornell University, Worker Institute
Movement Partnerships and Grantmaking Practitioner, Solidaire
Multiple positions, Soul Fire Farm
National Development Director, Critical Resistance
National Organizer for Resource Development, Right To The City Alliance (RTTC)
NESAWG is looking for new Board and Committee Members!
Operations Assistant, HEAL Food Alliance
Part-time Organizer, Families for Freedom
Patient Care Trust Fund (PCTF) Coordinator, Committee of Interns and Residents (CIR)
Postcapitalist Economic Systems Architect, One Project
Program Manager, Dishgamu Humboldt Community Land Trust
Program Director, Community Economic Justice Clinic ($93,000.00 to $103,000.00 per year)
Senior Strategist, Grassroots Power Project (GPP)
Staff Attorney, Community Economic Justice Clinic ($68,000.00 to $90,000.00 per year):
Various Positions, Allied Media Project
Various Positions, Black Futures Lab
Various Positions, Climate Justice Alliance
Various Positions, Highlander Center
Various Positions, ICA Group
Various Positions, NDN Collective
Various Positions, Participatory Budgeting Project in Seattle
Various Positions, PolicyLink
Various Positions, PUSH Buffalo
Various Positions, Right to the City Alliance
Various Positions, WORC
Conversations with Gamechangers: Aboriya Jin — Women’s Economy
This webinar is the second in a series of conversations with grassroots solidarity economy organizations. Aboriya Jin is an autonomous democratic economic body part of the women’s movement in Northern and Eastern Syria. See how women are building a radical economy in Syria– “re-organizing society from the ground up.” (October 8)
Repaired Nations Black Solidarity Coop Conference
Who knows how to party? Repaired Nations sure does. Join them virtually or in person for their Black Solidarity Cooperative Conference. (October 8-9)
Youth Decide: Participatory Budgeting Conference
Calling all youth ages 11 to 23 for the 2022 participatory budgeting virtual conference! The conference will take the stage on zoom from October 8 to October 10. Ready to make change by adding participatory budgeting to your toolkit? Follow the link to make it happen.
Training and Events — Bolder Advocacy
Want to start a coalition with other tax-exempt organizations while staying in compliance with the law? Maybe you want to learn the legal separations between 501(c)3 and 501(c)4 funds and fundraising. Join Bolder Advocacy for a plethora of training and events coming up this October. (October – Ongoing)
Fall Workshop Series — A Bookkeeping Cooperative
Strengthen your financial skills with Bookkeeping Cooperative’s fall workshop series. This series is for people at all education levels and will be hosted online. (October – Ongoing)
NASCO Institute 2022
Save the date! This year NASCO will be gathering virtually for a “season of Institute” throughout the month of October, culminating in an in-person Member Retreat on November 4-6 in Ann Arbor, MI. (October – November – Online)
Sociocracy in Communities Conference
Interested in building community… like with your hands? This online conference is for you. Explore how sociocracy supports ecovillages, cohousing projects, and housing cooperatives to meet social needs through regenerative self-governance practices. (November 19)