A Worker Cooperative Education Program

A Worker Cooperative

Establishing a Worker Cooperative for Business Succession Planning

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Module Descriptions

What is a Worker Cooperative?

Cooperatives are values-driven businesses that are owned and controlled by their members, and they operate for the benefit of those members. Worker cooperatives provide jobs for their members, who work in the business and share its profits. This introductory session describes what makes a worker cooperative a worker cooperative, from its principles to its structure to its processes. It shares some real-world contemporary examples of Black-led worker cooperatives to illustrate the central concepts.  

Worker Cooperatives and African American Cooperative Economics: Origin Stories

African American communities have a rich history of cooperative economics that connects to the experiences of Black-led worker cooperatives today, using cooperatives to create access to good jobs and new markets. Dr. Jessica Gordon Nembhard will share why and how cooperatives have supported Black communities to thrive by rooting economic activity in cooperative values and principles, and worker-owners will describe the vision, commitments, and impacts of their worker cooperatives.

Part 1 will feature Andrea Talley of Mandela Grocery Cooperative and Vinny Green of Taharka Brothers Ice Cream sharing their cooperatives’ startup pathways working with community-based organizations.

Part 2 will feature founding members of ChiFresh Kitchen in Chicago and Tamah Yisrael of Resolve Financial Services Cooperative

Using the Cooperative Advantage to Grow

The Cooperative Advantage, which includes a people-centered approach to development and a focus on strategic partnerships, is a cornerstone of African-American management traditions, and has supported business growth from Black Wall street to today. Adria Powell, CEO of Cooperative Home Care Associates, shares how CHCA’s “Quality Care Through Quality Jobs” approach grew a single cooperative to a very large size. Maru Bautista, former cooperative development director at the Center for Family Life, describes the Brightly franchise model for growing many networked small worker cooperative businesses.

Four Corner Posts of Democratic Management

Management in a worker cooperative differs from conventional business management in some key ways that flow from its democratic principles and structure. Managing in a people-centered way and cultivating a culture of equitable and active engagement is critical for the financial and organizational success of a cooperative. Ngozi Okaro, founder of Custom Collaborative and the Fashion That Works production cooperative, shares an example of a startup worker cooperative moving through a management dilemma concerning mutual accountability between management and workers.

Governance in Worker Cooperatives

The various stakeholder groups in a worker cooperative -- members, managers, and the Board -- must work together and autonomously to make decisions and effectively govern the enterprise. Governance consultant Jamila Medley of Philadelphia Area Cooperative Alliance lays out effective governance structures and decision-making processes. She also discusses how worker cooperatives can be sites for developing governance knowledge and practices that are valuable as Black communities in the United States exercise the right of self-determination and collective governance at the community level as well as the business level.

Developing Worker Cooperative Structures: Legal Considerations

Worker cooperatives take a legal structure that has historically been used to disempower Black communities and turn it on its head to center people, by creating workplaces where workers can maintain their dignity and voice. Attorney Julian Hill explores the African roots of shared ownership, and discusses pathways to forming a worker cooperative. This guided scenario exercise walks participants through a series of questions about entity choice, formation cost, governance, owner liability, employment issues, and taxation.  

Capital for Worker Cooperatives and Other Employee-Owned Businesses

Capital plays a key role in the formation of worker cooperatives, especially those that are converted from conventional businesses. Todd Leverette of Apis & Heritage Advisors and Jennifer Bryant of Washington Area Community Investment Fund (Wacif) explore the capital options available to worker-owned businesses, explain the different considerations for debt and equity, and share how to access capital for growing a shared ownership business. This session also explores various opportunities for investors interested in supporting shared business ownership in Black communities.