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This week we’re talking about the U.S.’ ongoing prison strike, workers’ radical self-management in Greece, and a business incubator for Native American entrepreneurs.
Stories From the Field
Activist & Inmate Kevin Rashid Johnson Shares the Importance of the Prison Strike: Political prisoner Kevin Rashid Johnson shares a message about the recent repression he experienced after exposing injustices in Virginia and Florida Prisons and the importance of the ongoing prison strike. Listen online.
ID Cards That Protect Undocumented Immigrants: 20+ U.S. cities and counties have launched municipal identification programs to make day-to-day living more accessible for immigrants. More municipalities are in the process of creating legislation that allows residents of any immigration status to get a local government ID, Yes! Magazine reports.
Community Land Trusts Offer POC Real Estate Power: The American real estate system is programmed to strip control from communities instead of being organized to meet people’s needs. Learn from Hasta Muerte’s story: a community space that was acquired by the Oakland Community Land Trust and raised over $50K to maintain control their property, Huffington Post reports.
The Next Generation of Southern Organizers: By providing a playbook for young organizers, Southerners on New Ground encourages college students not simply to stay involved, but to see themselves as leaders in the fight for a more just South. Learn more from The Nation.
Solidarity Economies Abroad
Not A Single Peso In Sight: “Pesos generate violence, they fund wars, drug and human trafficking, GMO crops, international corporations, inequality. Community money doesn’t.” Across Mexico, people are using barter and alternative currencies to build an economy beyond profit. Learn more about monedas comunitarias.
Greek Workers Practice “Radical Self-Management:” When the ceramic tile factory where they worked faced closure, these Greek workers voted to reopen and run the factory on their own. Drawing inspiration from factory occupations in Argentina, the workers abolished hierarchy, replaced their bosses with a general assembly, and have equal pay. Follow their story.
Norway’s Radical Approach to Plastic Pollution: In Norway’s recycling model, plastic containers can be exchanged over-the-counter in return for cash or store credit. Because plastic producers are subject to an environmental tax, they work hard to incentivize recycling efforts. See how their model might work in the U.S.
Resident-Managed Sanitation Boards in Paraguay: 2,500 community-based “Juntas de Saneamiento" (sanitation boards) provide drinking water and sanitation services to member-customers in Paraguay. Members can change bylaws, review the board’s activities, and approve investments. Read about this municipal policy.
Reg Flowers Presents Black Conference
At NEC’s biennial conference CommonBound, artist and activist Reg Flowers presents excerpts from Black Conference, a 360-degree theater experience set in 1939, during the opening ceremonies of a civil rights conference. Packed with drama and political intrigue, Black Conference brings guests face to face with civil rights greats Ella Baker, W.E.B. Du Bois, Zora Neale Hurston, Thurgood Marshall and many more as they risk everything to build power and secure place for Negroes in America.
Navajo Incubator Supports Native Entrepreneurs
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The Native American Business Incubator Network (NABIN) offers programs and services tailored to supporting Native entrepreneurs who are growing their businesses on the reservation. “As a Native community and Native people, we can’t continue to rely on outside forces for economic growth.”
Movement News
- Exploring Strategies for Combating Displacement, Expanding Ownership, and Building Community Wealth
- Four Ways To Shift Culture Towards Justice
- CEOs Keep Getting Raises While Your Salary Stays the Same
- These Tenants Are Leading the Largest Rent Strike in US History
- Cable Technicians Create A Cooperative Internet Provider in NYC
- A Sustainable Economy Rises in Los Angeles
- Love, Values, and Wellbeing Economies Podcast
- Worker-Owned Labor Co-op Founded by Returning Citizens in D.C.
- How Our Plastics Problem Got So Bad
- The Promise of Worker-Run Farming
- Tackling Police Racism and Abuse on a Systemic Level
- ‘White Voice,’ Blackface, and the Ethics of Representation
- Community Land Trusts Expand in the Sunshine State
- Preventing Violence Against Women: The Essential Reading List
- How NYC Is Supporting Vulnerable Migrants
- Why We Need A Social Wealth Fund
- Companies Practice ‘Open Hiring,’ Breaking Down Employment Barriers
NEC on The Gram
Follow NEC on Instagram – @NewEconomyCoalition – where NEC member Resource Generation is talking about redistributing wealth and fight inequality in advance of their conference coming up in October, Making Money Make Change. #FreeTheLand
Operations Manager, Global Action Project
Communications Director, Democracy At Work Institute
Operations Manager, Bronx Cooperative Development Initiative
Interim Executive Director, Fruit Belt Community Land Trust
Administrative Coordinator, Green Worker Cooperatives
Web Developer / Front End Developer, Design Action Collective
Business Loan Officer, Cooperative Federal
Program & Communications Associate, NYC Network of Worker Cooperatives
Portfolio Manager, Boston Impact Initiative Fund
Bilingual General Coordinator Position, Caracol Language Cooperative
Central/Eastern MA Housing Program Specialist, Cooperative Development Institute
Major Gifts Organizer, Corporate Accountability
Operations Assistant, Souladarity
US National Organizer, Climate Solutions Net
Web Content Manager, Climate Solutions Net
Upcoming Events
Webinar: Shadow Money (How The Right Funds Regressive Movements)
Right-wing philanthropy has played a huge role in changing the political landscape; let’s take a step back to look at how we got to this current political moment. By pouring money into familiar strategies like organizing and leadership development, funders on the Right have developed infrastructure to win hearts and minds as well as policy. How can we exploit their weaknesses and learn from their success? (Online – September 6th)
The It Takes Roots Solidarity to Solutions Week, September 8-14, 2018, will spotlight frontline community solutions to the interlinked economic, democratic and climate crises currently threatening humanity. Frontline community leaders from the Bay Area, across the U.S. and around the world will share and discuss place-based solutions that serve to simultaneously decarbonize, detoxify, demilitarize and democratize our economy through critical strategies such as Indigenous land rights, food sovereignty, zero waste, public transportation, ecosystem restoration, universal healthcare, worker rights, housing rights, racial and gender justice, and economic relocalization. (San Francisco, CA – September 8 – 14)
Pathways to Ownership: FREE Webinar Series
Don’t miss out on the remaining two webinars from this free 5-part series: Employee Ownership Case Study and Employee Stock Ownership Plan. By attending you will gain the practical information you need to understand employee ownership options so you can start-up or convert an existing business into a worker-owned model. (Online – Sept 12 & 26)
Worker Cooperative National Conference
This three day conference from NEC members the US Federation of Worker Coops and the Democracy at Work Institute in Los Angeles, California will make space for connection, education, skill-building, and sharing, for worker-owners and our partners working to create better jobs and a fairer economy. This moment in U.S. history is pivotal — we are taking this opportunity to catalyze workers across the country, joining with larger cooperative and economic justice movements to create the change we want to see. (Los Angeles, CA – September 14 – 16)
Solidarity Economy in the Performing Arts
"Solidarity Economy in the Performing Arts: What’s Reparations Got to Do With It?" is an evening of exploring historical and current examples of solidarity economy as strategies capable of disrupting the status quo of ongoing racial inequity through reparative redistribution of resources and investment in self-determination strategies by people of color. We will envision how we might implement solidarity economy within the realm of the performing arts in New York City. (New York City, NY – Sept 17)
She the People kicks off a national conversation highlighting the nation’s most exciting progressive women of color leaders. The Summit will host over 500 women of color from 25 states, including elected officials and candidates in Congressional, statewide, mayoral, and district attorney races, movement leaders, and top political strategists. (San Francisco, CA – Sept 20th)
Women’s Leadership Online Summit
It’s time to rewrite the rules of power. Learn how top women CEOs, community leaders, and researchers are leading change – and how you can too! Get practical tips to amplify your voice, build your capacity for risk-taking, and overcome barriers to your personal success. Connect with the tools you need to dismantle the systemic issues that hold women back. (Online – Sept 20th)
Econous 2018: An Economy That Works For Us All
For too long, the economy has been about ‘me.’ There are alternatives to the economic disparity, growing inequality and environmental crises Canadians are facing. Community leaders from coast to coast to coast are using innovative business models, new investment tools and engaging technology to create good jobs, prioritize community and planet, and build strong and resilient communities. A vibrant and resilient economy that includes everyone and puts people and planet first is possible. Quite simply: The Economy can be by and for ‘us’: all of us. Econous. (September 24 – 26, New Brunswick, Canada)
Co-op U: A Cincinnati Union Co-op Initiative
Co-op U is an intensive, 3-month long training and support program that helps teams of aspiring entrepreneurs develop worker-owned businesses through a combination of training, coaching, and technical services. Gain over 35 hours of hands-on training, 1:1 mentoring, business plan viability testing, assistance with business incorporation and more. Apply today! (Cincinnati, OH – Sept 25 – Dec 11)
Green Worker Cooperatives – The Big Bronx Sancochazo
Organized by Green Worker Cooperatives, this event will invite the community to come together, learn, and get involved in the cooperative movement in NYC, including activities for the whole family. The Sancohazo brings together community partners from across the borough, capturing the essence of community unity; by working together and each contributing what they can, a greater good can be achieved. (Bronx, NY – Sept 29)
Organized by the New York State Poor People’s Campaign Organizing Committee, the People's Assembly will be a critical piece of building movement in New York. Attendees will spend time learning together, building relationships, and most importantly discussing and planning our collective next steps. (Stony Point, NY – Oct 14 – 16)
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