Valley Alliance of Worker Co-operatives

Supporting the Success of Worker Co-operation in the Valley & Beyond

Report from the Executive Director

for VAWC Member Meeting, January 25, 2017

Adam Trott

Executive Director

adam@valleyworker.coop

Introduction

The past two months sawVAWC bring its impact onlending to a national scale,consolidate purchasing to acredit union run credit card,accepting applications from anew round of interns throughour Certi"cate in Co-operativeEnterprise at UMass, Amherst,continued work for membersand considerable progress in theconversion of Mindel andMorse Builders to a worker co-operative.

We have talked plenty in thisreport about the role ofeconomic democracy has insupporting other aspects ofdemocracy, so for now let's focuson our activities.

Interco-operation and Co-op Development

We are excited to announce wejoined Shared Capital Co-operative (Northcountry Co-operative Development Fund,formerly) as a member to bringVAWC's passion for "nancing toa secondary co-operative on thenational stage.

Shared Capital has a richtradition of lending to housing,consumer and worker co-

operatives throughout the US.Their co-op structure showstheir dedication to the co-operative model and, as it isstated in the International Co-operative Alliance's Blueprint fora Co-operative Decade together weact as a version of "groupstructure arrangements, andthe creation of co-operativegroups or clusters to addresscapital accumulation." As twoco-ops we do so "withoutc o m p r o m i s i n g m e m b e rcontrol" (Blueprint..., pages 33-34).

“[Review] risks andopportunities created by...groupstructure arrangements, and thecreation of co-operative groups

or clusters to address capitalaccumulation.”

-International Co-operative Alliance

Blueprint for a Co-operative Decade

We are fortunate to have both aregional and nationallender with which topartner and invest.Working with SharedCapital Co-op buildsupon our decade longpartnership with theCo-operative Fund ofNew England andexpands opportunitiesf o r o u r I n t e r c o -operativeDevelopment Fund.

Together we can work morestrongly toward common goalsof building the co-operative

economy with a voice ofemancipated, co-operativizedlabor.

Interco-operation and Operations

We're also proud members ofFreedom Credit Union andhave used their banking servicess i n c e w e h a d o u r o w ncheckbook. Now we have theircredit card, too.

By using their card we're raisingthe pro"le of co-operatives,bu i ld ing br idges throughPrinc ip le 6 Co-operat ionAmong Co-operatives, andkeeping our operations based inco-ops.

Co-opreneurship

Mindel and Morse BuildersCo-operative

Future members of Mindel andMorse Builders Co-op continueto progress and are workingwith articles of incorporationand bylaw drafts. One pointwe're working on is how tooperate on a collective basiswhile leaving room for a larger,perhaps a co-operative functionwith representat ives fromdifferent crews or departments.Another point i s how tocapitalize the business and havemeaningful member shareswhile balancing the accessibility

to membership.

All in all these challenges aresituated in a context of forwardmomentum where it is likelythat by July of 2017 M+M willbe a co-operative. It will havebeen just one year after theVermont Employee OwnershipConference, our "rst encounter.Now we see a prospective groupof members attending VAWCmember meetings, designingtheir capital plan, decidingm e m b e r s h a re bu y - o u t s ,c o m p o s i n g t h e i r c o - o p ' sgovernance and structure,valuating their company andcompiling "nancial informationto "nalize the conversion.

"Through Mindel and MorseBui lders becoming a co-operative I can continue mycareer and add a membershipstake to my company” says JoshEngle. “Instead of the companyclosing when the founders retire,this company that has been mylife and my family for over tenyears will continue as a part ofthe co-operative economy."

Check with us in month or twoas we prepare for the conversionlater this year.

Mill River Carpenters

Dur ing our E l even YearVisioning Session in Septembera few people vocalized wantingmore co-operatives in the tradesin our future. We have a newgroup that is also consideringconverting to a worker co-operative in our region.

Help me welcome Matt Kozuchand Guy Constantine of MillR i v e r C a r p e n t e r s o fN or tha mp ton , M A. M ayVAWC membership be in yourfuture as much as worker co-operation.

Upcoming Events

Next VAWC Board Meeting

February 22, 2017, 6:30pm.Location to be determined.Contact Adam or any boardmember with questions.

Eastern Conference forWorkplace Democracy

June 9-11, 2017 at FordhamUniversity Lincoln Center inNew York City in partnershipwith NYC Network of WorkerCooperatives.

Our ad in this month's Brattleboro Food Co-op's Food For Thought newsletter.

First time reading this Report?

VAWC is itself an expression of co-operative principles — a co-op of worker co-ops that have come together as a means of strengthening the efforts of our individual co-ops to develop their businesses, serve their members, and contribute to the wider co-operative economy. Our core goal is to provide ourselves with the resources and support we need to advance our co-operatives, empower our members, and bene"t more people in our communities. VAWC Representatives attend meetings, direct resources while de"ning the goals of our organization. Interested in being a Representative or on the Board? Contact adam@valleyworker.coop. Here's some of our core activities:

• Ad/PR campaign through area food co-op newsletters, local and movement media; • Maintain your VAWC Owners' Manual aimed at educating, training, and empowering current andespecially new members; • Measures of economic and environmental impact and a shared identity among VAWC members; and • Developing our co-operative economy especially with inter-VAWC purchasing and cross sectorcollaboration. • Education of many sorts including directing the UMass, Amherst Co-operative EnterpriseCollaborative (on Facebook) and the Certi"cate in Co-operative Enterprise we co-created.• Operating the VAWC Interco-operative Development Fund made from 5% of VAWC Member surplus, owned and controlled by VAWC Members.

Worker co-operatives and our movement are made stronger through sharedidentity, statutes and structural provisions that preserve our individualautonomy while clearly identifying our organizations as co-operatives unitedin the common cause of developing a co-operative economy.

De"nition

A co-operative is an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily tomeet their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirationsthrough a jointly-owned and democratically-controlled enterprise.

Values

Co-operatives are based on the values of self-help, self-responsibility,democracy, equality, equity and solidarity. In the tradition of their founders,co-operative members believe in the ethical values of honesty, openness,social responsibility and caring for others.

Principles

The co-operative principles are guidelines by which co-operatives put theirvalues into practice.

Voluntary and Open Membership

Democratic Member Control

Member Economic Participation

Autonomy and Independence

Education, Information and Training

Co-operation among Co-operatives

Concern for Community

The worker co-operative identity is further detailed by the WorldDeclaration on Co-operative Worker Ownership established by CICOPA(The International Organisation of Industrial, Artisan and ServiceProducers’ Co-operatives) in 2004.

The Valley Alliance of Worker Co-operatives (VAWC) is rooted in the idealsof co-operation, mutuality and solidarity. VAWC is itself an expression ofco-operative principles — a “co-op of co-ops” that have come together as ameans of strengthening the efforts of our individual co-ops to develop theirbusinesses, serve their members, and contribute to the wider co-operativeeconomy. Our core goal is to provide ourselves with the resources andsupport we need to advance our co-operatives, empower our members, andbene"t more people in our communities.

VAWCMember Co-ops

Brattleboro Holistic Health Co-op

Broadfork Permaculture Co-op

Collective Copies

Co-op 108

Green Mountain Spinnery Co-op

Mindel and Morse Builders Co-op

Pedal People Co-operative

Pioneer Valley Photovoltaics

VAWCBoard of Directors

Randy Zucco

Collective Copies – Chair

Philippe Rigollaud

Pioneer Valley Photovoltaics (PV2) – Secretary

Anasuya Weil

Co-op 108 – Treasurer

Deirdre Kelley

Brattleboro Holistic Health Co-op - Director

Suzette Snow-Cobb

Franklin Community Co-op– Stakeholder Director

www.valleyworker.coop