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Worker cooperatives prove your job doesn't have to be hell

Jaisal Noor

May 26, 2021 |

The Real News Network |

Video |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States

In service industries that traditionally pay and treat workers poorly, worker-owned cooperatives serve as a humane alternative. Worker-owners at eight co-ops in four states describe the difference their jobs make in their working conditions and their lives. They also tell how larger collectives and cooperatives pool resources to help smaller co-ops with the funding and expertise they need, especially when confronted by a disruptive event like the pandemic.

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These co-op restaurants didn't need to open indoor dining to survive the pandemic

Jaisal Noor

May 20, 2021 |

The Real News Network |

Video |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Baltimore, Maryland

Two Baltimore restaurants, Red Emma's and Joe Squared, show how running or starting as worker-owned cooperatives gave them pandemic-survival skills in a business climate that killed many other small businesses. By tapping into larger networks providing financing on favorable terms and other expertise, these co-ops used their workers' ingenuity to offer services that didn't depend on sit-down dining. Like many co-ops, they were able to survive the pandemic and preserve jobs where so many traditionally run businesses were not.

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How co-ops across the US weathered COVID-19 by prioritizing their workers

Jaisal Noor

May 13, 2021 |

The Real News Network |

Documentary |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States

Worker-run co-ops in the food industry and in the care sector, industries hard hit by COVID-19, have proved resilient in weathering the pandemic. Some, like Cooperative Home Care Associates, partnered with other co-ops to provide discounted PPE supplies for workers. Others provide job opportunities for people who have trouble getting a foothold, like ChiFresh Kitchen’s formerly incarcerated women worker-owners and Red Emma’s in Baltimore. Worker-owner models can also pivot operations more quickly, which helped Brooklyn Packers respond to the pandemic by providing fresh produce to those in need.

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Taharka Bros: Ice cream with a side of worker ownership

Jaisal Noor

May 06, 2021 |

The Real News Network |

Video |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Baltimore, Maryland

Baltimore ice cream maker Taharka Brothers is six Black men, worker-owners, who lost most of their business accounts at the start of the pandemic. They saved their business, and their jobs, by starting home delivery and tapping into collectives that help worker-owned cooperatives with financing and business advice. Gratitude for a decent job, good working conditions, and pride of ownership help sustain such a business through tumultuous times.

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Avid Bookshop's New Book Club Promotes Literature About Race and Labor

Abir Saberi

March 17, 2021 |

Grady Newsource |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Athens, Georgia

Georgia’s Racial Justice Centering Committee, part of the University of Georgia’s United Campus Workers, runs the Racial Justice, Labor, and the South Book Club at the Avid Bookshop. The moderator-led discussions provide attendees with exposure to diverse literature and an opportunity to learn about the intersection between labor and race. While University of Georgia students are the target audience, the book club is open to the public. Meetings are currently held on zoom, but in-person meetings at the bookshop introduced a wider audience to the diverse books and increased support of the local business.

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Could cooperatives be the key to regularization for migrant street vendors in Barcelona?

Lucía Blanco Gracia

January 12, 2021 |

The Local |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Spain, Barcelona

Known locally as manteros, street vendors in Barcelona, Spain, organized and created a union called Diomcoop. The union offers full-time contracts to the vendors, which are difficult to obtain, and which allows them to legally sell on the streets. The contracts are a vital path to enter the conventional labor market.

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How a Danish trade union is empowering migrant construction workers to demand equal rights

Snigdha Bansal

January 11, 2021 |

The Local |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Denmark, Copenhagen

A Danish trade union has integrated migrant construction workers by overcoming language and cultural barriers. The move has led to better working conditions, equal pay, healthcare, and housing for migrant workers - all of which also helps them integrate better into Danish society. Accommodating migrant workers on Danish construction sites has also solved the problem of surplus labor which was negatively impacting the union’s ability to negotiate with company bosses.

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Tip Me's Digital Tipping Solution Lets You Tip the Workers Who Made Your Clothes

Katia Mullova

December 03, 2020 |

Reset |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Germany

To mitigate the problem of unfair supply chains, Tip Me allows consumers to send money directly to the workers creating the merchandise in factories halfway across the world. Brands pay a fee to sign up for the system "in order to boost their ethical credibility" which provides funding for Tip Me, allowing the company to handle the logistics of getting tips into the hands of those for whom they are intended. Half of all shoppers have used the tipping feature when presented with the opportunity.

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Worker-led programs like Milk with Dignity are key to protecting dairy farm workers

Aaron Mok

November 19, 2020 |

Prism |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Vermont

A first-of-its-kind worker-led program in Vermont is helping dairy migrant workers to "hold farmers, corporations, and suppliers in the dairy industry accountable for the rights of workers in their supply-chains through a legally-binding agreement." Although not all dairy farm operations have joined in the program as participants, it has been enacted on 64 farms and helped bolster wages and housing situations for migrant farmers.

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How Essential Food Workers Are Fighting Back

Nadra Nittle

July 31, 2020 |

Civil Eats |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Nevada

Meatpacking workers protested Covid-19 safety concerns and a coalition of advocacy groups filed a civil rights complaint with the government accusing Tyson and JBS USA of racial discrimination during the pandemic because the safety issues disproportionately impact line workers, who are largely people of color. Nevada’s Culinary Union also sued Las Vegas Strip casinos for unsafe working conditions. Two casinos have been dropped from the suit after deciding to negotiate privately with the union and Tyson has since instituted some safety measures, but broader impacts of the complaints remain to be seen.

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