News #10: An Amazing Year

News #10: An amazing year

We're zooming towards 2024 - right through the busiest week for many of our members - while looking back over an extraordinary 12 months of creating and learning. We've been making new connections to worker co-ops across the country, and looking to the new year to review and refresh our vision, mission and purpose. Big thanks to all our members, workers and supporters for making workers.coop happen! We hope the end of December will bring some rest for everyone.

Join workers.coop

A warm welcome to our newest members who have joined since the summer, Loaf bakery, Myco Manchester, Creative Co-op, Chrysalis Commons Earth, Co-operative and Mutual Solutions Ltd, Fractals co-op and Footprint.

Not a member of workers.coop yet?

Benefit from our member-only learning, training and events, and help to actively develop this federation.

If your co-op is new or struggling we have a ‘Pay What You Can’ option. Individuals can support us by joining Solidfund.

Need more reasons to join? Book in a chat with John.

Join workers.coop

Announcements

Worker Co-op Weekend, 17-19 May, Thornbridge Outdoors (Peak District)

We now have a date and venue for the spring Worker Co-op Weekend and can confirm it's going to be sponsored by the brilliant domains.coop who supported our Autumn Assembly in October. Submit ideas for the programme now!

Did you attend (or not attend) the Autumn Assembly in Birmingham? We are looking for feedback for next year, please spend a few minutes filling out this form. Thank you.

CUK membership direct debit not yet gone through? You can still claim 50% dual membership discount on your CUK membership by requesting it before it goes through.

Member profiles Check out newly published member profiles for Agile Collective, Fruit Works, Autonomic and Calverts. Calverts' profile includes provocative tips for how to survive and prosper in business ups and downs, and a cool story about their name. Agile's profile includes a link to their handbook and operating system - an example of true cooperative openness, and a brilliant resource.

HR peer network 14 December 12-1pm

Want to connect, learn and get support from other worker cooperators with similar challenges? Join the HR peer network.

This first session will look at Performance Reviews, and will be a facilitated discussion on:

Do other worker co-ops conduct member and worker performance reviews?
What do you cover in these reviews?
How do we do them without a "boss"?
What approaches are you using to conduct 1-2-1 or group performance reviews?

We are organising more peer networks for the new year. Let us know which you'd be interested in by registering interest here.

Marketing
Secretary
Wholefoods
Retail
How to make money
Pricing

Register here

News shorts

Supporting ex-GKN workers' new co-op Our sister organisation Solidfund has pledged €5,000 to support Gff, the new worker co-op set up by ex-GKN Florence workers in occupation. Gff's industrial plan is to convert the factory from automotive drivetrain manufacture to solar panels and cargo bikes, and they're running a do-or-die campaign to raise €1m in share pledges and donations by the end of the year. The fundraising slogan 'Verso L'Ora X' translates as 'Against the X hour' - so it's fingers crossed. Your co-op can buy its own shares here: https://insorgiamo.org/

Digital strategy for worker co-ops workers.coop is one of four European country partners in a European Union funding bid, for a project develop the capacity of UK worker-led co-ops to evaluate and adopt technology that supports their future growth. The consortium bid is led by Cooperatives Europe and CECOP, and if it's successful the programme will last for three years. Watch this space.

Glasgow co-ops celebrated a year of monthly meet-ups last year, braving freezing December conditions for a special behind the scenes tour of Glasgow Museums' Cooperative Collection led by curator Fiona Hayes, followed by a warm dinner. Artefacts from the late 1700s to coop stamps - anyone remember then? - and everything in between from furniture to banners all evidence the vibrant life of our city based on principles of cooperation. Looking to the future we wondered whether the museum is still collecting cooperative artefacts; and the way we can draw on expertise and collections to raise awareness of the power of our cooperation in our city in combatting exclusion and wealth inequality.

Events

Peer Network: HR

Thurs 14th Dec 12.00 - 13.00 (online)

Want to connect, learn and get support from other worker cooperators around HR? Join this peer network, our first session will focus on Performance Reviews. Register.

All Hands meeting

25 January, 12-2pm (online meeting)

All working groups members meeting for those actively working on the federation (or wanting to), to meet, discuss, plan and celebrate. Next one to be led by People, Policy & Culture working group.

Glasgow co-op meetup - New Year Warmer

9 January, 5.30pm-7.30pm (social)

Come and join us as we welcome in the new year and get crafty to make a Glasgow Coops banner for this year's May Day and create visible solidarity at events. Venue tbc.

All Hands meeting

28 March, 12-2pm (online meeting)

All working groups members meeting for those actively working on the federation (or wanting to), to meet, discuss, plan and celebrate.

Worker co-op weekend

17-19 May, Derbyshire

Save the date! Venue: Thornbridge, Sheffield, Derbyshire

workers.coop AGM

Thursday 30 May, 5-6pm (online meeting)

Details and agenda to be circulated near the time.

1 day all Scotland meet-up

26 June, Dundee (social)

As a follow up to the Autumn Assembly, co-operators are organising an in-person event for Scotland scheduled for the day after the ICA Research Conference.

Get involved in workers.coop this new year

🎉 Suggest a Worker Co-op Weekend programme idea Go wild, add suggestions for topics you want covered (from practical learning, improving performance of worker co-ops or political education). What ideas do you want to discuss, who do you want to hear from?

Based in Scotland? Calling all Scottish co-operators who may be interested in helping organise 1 day in person meetup on 26th June in Dundee. Email louise at mediaco-op.net

📚 Submit a case study. We want to publish more case studies and profiles, so enter one here if you want to see your co-op featured.

🤗 Member inductions Book a 10 minute workers.coop Induction, for you or any fellow co-op member to be onboarded.

☕ Organise a local meetup We're trying to ramp up local meetups and coordination and networking between industries. Contact john@, we provide advice, templates & funding.

💻 Say hello and join in on the Forum

More about the workers.coop merch

Code Our recent print run of the Worker Co-op Code third edition and Manifesto booklet Liberating work are flying off the shelves. The Code is a key text containing workers.coop's interpretation of the seven co-op principles through the lens of practical worker cooperation, that's been translated and distributed around the world - Giuseppe Guerrini, President of CECOP, quoted from it at a recent European summit on worker buyouts. Members and supporters can order copies of both the Code and the Manifesto here.

Posters We've also produced B2 posters featuring an original illustration by Matthew Brazier featuring the motto 'The emancipation of workers is the task of workers themselves', and four different workers.coop banner slogans as voted for by you - 'Liberating work', 'Workers of the world, cooperate!', 'For workers control' and 'Democracy at work'. Along with workers.coop enamel pins, you can order one or more posters - in one or more versions - in the usual way via this form.

Worker Co-op Codes
workers.coop Manifesto (A6 leaflet)
A6 workers.coop postcards
B2 workers.coop posters
Ceramic pin badges (members only)
Pack of stickers

You can also now download freely from workers.coop/Resources.

Order merch here

Name: workers.coop Limited
Registered number: RS004981
Registered Address: 63 Rakewood Rd, Rochdale, OL15 0AP

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