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This week we’re talking about the organization creating jobs and opportunities in Appalachia’s shifting economy; the millennial one-percenters redistributing their wealth; and 50 years of people powered resistance.
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Stories From the Field
Appalshop: Appalshop in Kentucky is helping locals navigate the shifting economy and proving that Appalachian communities can have a thriving economy without coal. Watch this clip on PBS Newshour to learn more.
Redistributing Wealth: Young, rich, and fighting the system that made them wealthy, NEC member Resource Generation is profiled in this piece about their work redistributing inherited wealth and breaking the silence around class. Check them out here.
Community Currency: Food swaps, skill shares, sweat equity—as more and more people run against the limitations of our cash and credit-based economy, more and more places are adopting some form of alternative currency. Check out this primer on community currency for some national and international models that don’t rely on money.
Solidarity Economies Abroad
Korea’s Coop Taxis: The taxi industry in Seoul requires drivers to pay nearly $105 in daily fees just to operate their taxis. Tired of handing over profits to companies, 184 drivers came together and invested 4 billion won ($3.3 million) to start their own taxi cooperative. Read more about Kakao Taxi here.
Rebuilding PR: Our friends at The Nonprofit Quarterly are launching a series on Puerto Rico's effort to support renewable energy addressing the damage caused by Hurricane Maria as well as the larger issue of climate change. Read how they’re doing it here.
Democratic Economy: NEC member Democracy Collaborative has launched a new department to help Labour councillors in the office of Jeremy Corbyn – Leader of the Labour Party in the UK – to build more inclusive and democratic local economies. Check them out.
This digital history of the last 50 years by the Transnational Institute highlights some of the most iconic moments of people-power and resistance. Check it out, get inspired, and learn from the struggles that were fought and won throughout history.
Movement News
- Worker Coops Offer Real Alternatives to Trump’s Retrograde Economic Vision
- Millennials Are Keeping Unions Alive
- Candidates Try To Make History As 1st Black Aldermen in North Side Wards
- Nonprofit Sues Chicago for Details on City's Amazon HQ2 Bid
- ISPs Must Follow Net Neutrality in New Jersey, Governor Declares
- Government Spying on Immigrants in America is Now Fair Game. What next?
- When It Comes to Your Health, Your Local Economy Matters
- Amazon’s Health Care Plans Are Driven By Its Bottom Line, Not Its People
- N.Y. Teamsters Form ‘Sanctuary Union’ to Fight ICE Agents
- Fair Play: Will Artist Ownership Resonate With Listeners
Job Board
Director of Development, Resource Generation (New York)
Admin Coordinator, Green Worker Cooperatives (Bronx, NY)
Learning Coordinator, NYC Community Land Initiative (New York City)
Part-Time Social Media Coordinator, BYP 100 (Remote)
Worker-Owner, Anti-Oppression Resource and Training Alliance, AORTA (Multiple Locations)
Cooperative Developer, Center for Family Life (Brooklyn)
UniverCity Alliance Director, COWS (Madison, WI)
Multiple Positions, Earthdance (Plainfield, MA)
Communications Director, National Economic and Social Rights Initiative (New York)
Multiple Positions, Western Organization of Resource Councils (Multiple Locations)
It Takes Roots Coordinator, Grassroots Global Justice (Multiple Locations)
Upcoming Events
Innovations in Participatory Democracy Conference
The Innovations in Participatory Democracy Conference will bring together more than 250 community leaders, government officials and staff, practitioners, researchers, funders, young leaders, and technologists to explore innovations that empower community members to make real decisions and directly participate in government. Presented by the Center for the Future of Arizona, the Jefferson Center, the Katal Center, the Participatory Budgeting Project, the Participatory Governance Initiative at Arizona State University, Phoenix Union High School District, and the Policy Jury Group. (Phoenix, AZ, March 8)
ReGen18 will not be another talk-fest, but a task-force and learning ground with growing real-world impact year-on-year. It will launch a purpose-driven community to share practical tools, powerful ideas, new business models and innovative finance mechanisms to accelerate the change we need at the speed of the problems we now face. A roster of well-known experts will guide actionable conversations about regenerative finance, food and agriculture, urban design and policy, health and culture. (San Francisco, May 1-4)
CommonBoundOn June 22-24, 2018, over 700 people across the new economy movement will come together in St. Louis, MO for CommonBound 2018 to connect with one another, share our resources, and demonstrate our power in creating systems that truly meet the needs of our communities. In past years, CommonBound has answered the questions of what is a new economy, why do we need one, and who is it building it. Next July, CommonBound will connect these threads and focus on another question: How do we build a new economy? Registration opens in March. Scholarships available. (St. Louis, MO, June 22 – 24)
View all NEC member events on our website »
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