This week we’re talking about how the solidarity economy requires abolition practices, leaving corporate landlords in the past and building tenant power, a new pilot project between co-ops and organized labor, and, of course, solidarity with all oppressed people everywhere.

PS: Surprised to see another Roundup in your inbox so soon? After a couple of years building up our comms team’s capacity, we’re so excited to return to sending you two Roundups per month! You can expect to see some slight changes in the layout or flow of the Roundup as we work to balance uplifting the work of our 150+ members and amplifying global struggles and calls to action for the solidarity economy movement.

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Practicing Abolition with Sol Underground: Solidarity Economy Shorts are conversations with frontline organizations and individuals that are putting solidarity economy principles into practice and using different strategies to build an economic system where communities are meeting their own needs outside of capitalism. In our third short, we sit in conversation with NEC member Sol Underground, an abolitionist ecosystem in Atlanta dreaming of a Black and Indigenous liberated world. They tell us about their mutual aid work and community building with houseless neighbors, and the daily practices of community care that are key to abolition. Tune in here or look for “Cooperative Journal Media” in your favorite podcast platform to learn more about their work.

Black History Month with BSEF: Did you know that the first officially recognized Black labor union in the United States– the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters and Maids– would not exist without the wives and maids who organized political education and recruitment? Did you know that Black women also led the labor union, Local 22, in North Carolina to protect the rights of Black workers in the tobacco industry? The Black Solidarity Economy Fund (BSEF) is sharing these histories on Instagram to uncover the ways Black people have been organizing solidarity economies. Support the Black Solidarity Economy Fund today to help them organize their first in-person convening.

Housing for the People: Baldwin House Community Collective in Washington, D.C. bought their building from their landlord and is starting an affordable housing co-op. With legal consultation and fundraising support from NEC members Beloved Community Incubator and Resource Generation, tenant stewards at Baldwin House have been able to protect fellow tenants and stop their displacement. Help them raise $2 million to pay off the bank loans before Juneteenth.

Adopt a Co-op! In New York City, co-ops and organized labor are coming together to strengthen the solidarity economy by connecting the country’s largest housing cooperative, Co-op City, with the largest worker cooperative, Cooperative Home Care Associates (CHCA). NEC member organization the Cooperative Economics Alliance of NYC (CEANYC) is working with the local 1199-SEIU union to help the thousands of 1199 members who live in Co-op City access quality and values-aligned homecare through CHCA. Learn more about the innovative pilot project and how you can support it.

Building a Local Peace Economy: NEC member CODEPINK just launched The Local Peace Economy Workbook, an interactive guide to help reclaim your life from the war economy and nourish life affirming spaces so you can continue to stand against the violence and depravity of the war machine. Check out the full workbook of reflection prompts and activities.

ESims for Palestine: Two Sundays ago, Israel began bombing Rafah while the world’s attention was on the Super Bowl. Help keep Palestinians connected with the rest of the world by sending an ESim so they can connect with their family and continue critical on-the-ground reporting.

The threat of an internet blackout is also a reality for people in Sudan and at this time only partial connection has been restored. Blackouts are used by adversaries to censure citizens and disrupt aid channels. If you have any resources or actions we can amplify to support the people of Sudan, please email comms@neweconomy.net.

• “We Are Not Americans, We Will Die as Hawaiians:” Ka Wai Ola a Kāne Launched in Nānākuli, Oahu
• An L.A. Grocer Seeks to Provide the Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Its Community Wants
• Black-Owned Freight Farm in Rural Minnesota Tackles Food Insecurity
• Co-op class aims to inspire workers to start their own cooperatives
• Colombian farmers take back land stolen from them by Big Oil
• Cooperative Agriculture Network Develops Solutions for Local Cannabis Economy
• Chicago Organizers Defeat Police Tech in Ongoing Fight for Community Safety
• Energy revolution: A community-based approach to socio-ecological transformatio
• From Bayanihan to Talkoot: Communal work practices from around the world
• Georgia police and FBI conduct Swat-style raids on ‘Cop City’ activists’ homes
• How 14 public universities are profiting in the billions from extractive industries on stolen Indigenous land
• India’s Water Transport Workers’ Union Says Won’t Help Ships Carrying Arms Bound for Israel
• Justice 40 Initiative: An opportunity to right environmental injustice
• On this Social Network, Sea Ice, Traditional Foods, and Wildlife Are Always Trending
• Rural Power Coalition: 2023 Year in Review
• The Black ‘Banker Ladies’ Bringing Alternative Finance to Toronto
• The Black Immigrant Women Who Bought a Minneapolis Mall
• The Land Back Movement Is Also About Foodways
• Unions Must Go Beyond Calling for a Cease-Fire in Gaza
• You can’t starve the beast: why we fight for higher taxes on the rich even though the U.S. government sucks

 

Co-Executive Directors, Center for Economic Democracy
Cooperative Developer, Cooperation Santa Ana
Cooperative Economics Small Business Manager, Unite Oregon
Development Director, U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives
Director of Research, Center for Economic Democracy
Manager, Coalitions & Worker Power, Just Futures
Membership Director, New Economy Coalition
Senior Director of Philanthropy and Investing, Center for Economic Democracy
Supervisory Education and Outreach Specialist, Dept of Labor
Various Positions, Futuro
Various Positions, Jobs With Justice
Various Positions, Mountain Association

Cooperation Jackson Movie Night: “Life & Debt”
“Life and Debt” is a searing documentary from director Stephanie Black that examines the ways that policies of the International Monetary Fund (I.M.F.), the World Bank, and other aid organizations changed the Jamaican economy in the late 20th century. (February 23 – Online)

Why your worker co-op should pay attention to the Corporate Transparency Act
Join us as we discuss the implications of the Corporate Transparency Act for worker co-ops. This essential session will shed light on how the Corporate Transparency Act requires most U.S. businesses to disclose details about their beneficial owners. (Feb 26 – Online)

Intro to CODA – Liberating Organizations
Many of us have a vision of the world we want to see, but how we’re working together to create it isn’t working. Why? Join Harmonize to learn more about their Theory of Practice. (Feb 27 – Online)

Library of Things Co-Lab Orientation & Report Release
Libraries of things (often called LoTs) are a community space for the social practice of borrowing and sharing to take place. They hold true to the traditional mechanics of a library while pushing borrowing material to a new edge. Instruments, gardening tools, camping gear, sporting equipment, and more are up for grabs to be borrowed throughout the community. Join Shareable as we kick off our Library of Things Co-Lab and share our new Library of Things Report. (Feb 27 – Online)

Worker Owner Legislative Advocacy Day
Join the Coalition for Worker Ownership and Power at the State House to represent worker cooperatives before your legislator. (Feb 28 – Boston)

Worker Owned Cooperative Information Session
Join the Office of Economic Development in conjunction with the Westchester Worker Cooperative Network. They’re hosting a Worker’s Cooperatives Seminar at the New York Power Authority (NYPA) located at 123 Main St., in White Plains. (Feb 28 – White Plains, NY)

Will the Revolution be Funded?
It has been 20 years since INCITE’s landmark conference, “The Revolution Will Not be Funded”, destabilized the terrain of how we resource movements. And yet, the past two decades have marked the rise of a “new gilded age” of hyper-accumulation: movement organizations on both sides of the aisle increasingly rely on philanthropic and other grant-based capital, giving continues to be “top-heavy”, and the realm of funding remains an ever-opaque, mystic “black box.” Join the New Economy Coalition to dive into our Solidarity Economy Funding Library and lay the groundwork for our movements to resource themselves. (March 6 – Online)

Introduction to Solidarity Economy Movements Bilingual in English and Spanish
Solidarity economy movements are people-powered forces to protect what matters most. They draw on tools and traditions within many lineages, making them accessible to any community, anywhere. Join Peoples Hub to explore what a solidarity economy movement is, how it works, and ways we can stay oriented to movement-building even as we navigate against the tides of capitalism and oppression. (March 6 – Online)

Remaking the Economy: A Policy Vision from the Movement for Black Lives
What are the economic policies the nation needs to build thriving communities in which Black Americans can thrive? This webinar conversation builds on NPQ’s The Vision for Black Lives: An Economic Policy Agenda series, taking a deep look at what the elements of that agenda look like, from a range of contributors. (March 21 -Virtual)

Co-ops and Unions
Co-ops and unions both value worker rights, democratic process, and fair wages. Explore examples from thriving union-co-ops to learn how workers can leverage union organizing to buy a business and achieve long-term stability. In this session, led by Drew De Los Santos, Executive Director of the Austin Cooperative Business Association, participants will learn how to use the cooperative principles and business model to invigorate the cooperatve labor movement. (May 1 – Online)

9th National Conference On Community and Restorative Justice
Join the National Association of Community and Restorative Justice in this defining moment as we envision, explore, and take action to ensure community and restorative justice principles not only survive but thrive within our own lives, families, and communities, and as we reimagine the systems and structures that underpin our society. (July 29 – Aug 1 2024 – Washington, D.C.)