All Things Co-op

In this episode of All Things Co-op, Kevin, Larry, and Cinar discuss the artificial intelligence renaissance going on today and its implications for a cooperative future. Artificial intelligence seems to be here to stay and we have to figure out how to engage with it. The ATC guys focus mainly on the issues of values and alignment, questioning if we should instill our essential human values of fairness and democracy in AI or simply let it run free? Under capitalism, however, the values we actually uphold as a society are not rooted in democracy and kindness. What are the consequences of AI being developed in a hyper-capitalist culture and what are the possibilities for its use in a possible post-capitalist cooperative future? **All Things Co-op is a @democracyatwrk production. We make it a point to provide the show free of ads. Please consider supporting our work.

In this episode of All Things Co-op, Larry, Kevin, and Cinar discuss the Silicon Valley Bank collapse, financial markets, self-regulation and the role of capitalist ideology in modern banking, the effect on real people of bank collapses, and more. **All Things Co-op is a @democracyatwrk production. We make it a point to provide the show free of ads. Please consider supporting our work.

In this episode of All Things Co-op, Larry, Cinar, and Kevin talk to Marcelo Netto, a Brazilian journalist and activist with the Landless Workers Movement in Brazil. They discuss Lula 3, the third term for Brazil's president Lula De Silva, the history of Brazil's development and the unique working class make up, the landless workers movement and their relationship with Lula, the impacts of the Bolsonaro presidency, and more. About our guest: Marcelo Netto is a journalist with a Master's degree in Social Sciences. In the early 2000s, he resigned from the newspaper Folha de São Paulo and interrupted his studies at the University of São Paulo to live in camps with families of the Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST). He studies the relationship between Liberation Theology and global anti-capitalist movements and is currently the Head of Communications for Public Services International, a Global Union Federation of more than 700 trade unions representing 30 million workers in 154 countries. To learn more about the Landless Workers Movement: https://mst.org.br/ Support All Things Co-op on Patreon!

In this episode of All Things Co-op, Kevin and Cinar speak with sociologist, political scientist, author and documentary filmmaker Dario Azzellini. They discuss recuperated workplaces—workplaces that have been abandoned by private capitalist owners and taken over by workers and reorganized to be democratically controlled—and why the process of engaging in struggle with fellow workers builds an enduring ecosystem of trust. They also explore critiques of the Mondragon corporation, why co-ops should be rooted in community and social movements, the dangers of co-op owners identifying as entrepreneurs, the long history of worker struggles around the world, and more. About our guest: Dario Azzellini is a professor and researcher in the Department of Development Studies (Unidad Académica en Estudios del Desarrollo) at the Autonomous University of Zacatecas (Zacatecas, Mexico) and visiting scholar at the ILR School at Cornell University (Ithaca, USA). His primary research interests are labour studies, local and workers’ self-management, and social movements and protest. He has more than 160 academic publications, among them more than 20 books, 11 films, and more than 100 journal articles and book chapters, many of which have been translated into a variety of languages. Together with Oliver Ressler he produced Occupy, Resist, Produce, a series of documentaries on recuperated factories under workers control in Europe. To learn more: www.azzellini.net; https://www.versobooks.com/books/1433-they-can-t-represent-us; https://www.azzellini.net/en/english

The hosts of our podcast All Things Co-op, Kevin, Larry and Cinar answer questions from a live audience. This event originally aired on Friday, January 27, 2023 at 1pm ET.

Please join us for a LIVE Q&A with the hosts of the All Things Co-op podcast on Friday, January 27! Learn more and RSVP: https://www.democracyatwork.info/ask_live_all_things_co_op In this episode of All Things Co-op, Kevin talks to movement lawyer and Clinical Law Professor Julian Hill. Julian’s research and teaching focuses on how law can be used as a tool to support the solidarity economy and social movements. Kevin and Julian discuss Julian’s background and how they got involved in cooperatives and the solidarity economy, what a movement lawyer is, the many contradictions of laws and lawyering, what the solidarity economy needs in order to grow, some resources around co-ops and movement lawyering for interested listeners to explore, and more. About our guest: Julian Hill is currently an assistant professor at Georgia State University College of Law, but they’re also a lifelong learner, community organizer, artist, and attorney. Julian joined Georgia State after completing a two-year fellowship as a Clinical Teaching Fellow and Supervising Attorney with the Social Enterprise and Nonprofit Law Clinic at Georgetown University Law Center. They have also partnered with community-based organizations to co-facilitate political education and co-develop policies and campaigns, facilitating workshops, both in English and Spanish, on worker cooperatives and the solidarity economy with Law 4 Black Lives, the U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives, Democracy at Work Institute, and the New York City Network of Worker Cooperatives, among others. To learn more: https://law.gsu.edu/profile/julian-m-hill/ To learn more about the Solidarity Economy Graphic: https://designforsustainability.medium.com/thriving-communities-the-solidarity-economy-464ef874f51f

In this episode of All Things Co-op, Kevin speaks with Paul Hazen, executive director of the U.S. Overseas Cooperative Development Council (OCDC) and Cooperative Development Foundation hall of fame inductee. Drawing on a lifetime of cooperative development work, Paul shares his insights on the importance of cooperatives in rural communities, how he helped his church start the Community Purchasing Alliance Cooperative, how to achieve bipartisan support for co-ops in congress, national vs. local policies, and more. About our guest: Paul Hazen has held a number positions in the cooperative sector: executive director of Kickapoo Valley Association, a shared services cooperative of nine municipalities, executive director of Rural Housing Inc. in Madison, WI, where he developed co-ops and affordable housing projects in rural communities. In the late 80s, Paul joined the National Cooperative Business Association CLUSA International (NCBA CLUSA), where he raised the profile of cooperatives through advancing domestic co-op policy and programs and greatly expanding funding for international cooperative development, more than tripling its portfolio from $8 million to over $30 million. A few things you might know owe their existence to Paul’s work, such as the USDA Rural Cooperative Development Grant program, and the.coop domain. Since joining the Overseas Cooperative Development Council (ODCD), Paul has led the effort that has resulted in a 50% increase in Congressional funding to $18.5 million for the Cooperative Development Program. At OCDC, Paul has fostered more collaboration among international cooperative developers, including networks of cooperatives in Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe. To learn more: https://ocdc.coop/

In this holiday-themed episode of All Things Co-op, Kevin speaks with Ellis Roberts of New York State of Pine, a worker cooperative selling Christmas trees in New York City. They discuss the exploitation of workers and huge markups for consumers from traditional Christmas tree companies, New York State of Pine’s democratic centralist model for decision-making, the question of scale, and the importance of working with and getting to know working-class people as communists and socialists. If you live in NYC and haven’t gotten your Christmas tree yet, visit NY State of Pine at 323 St. Johns Pl in Prospect Heights, 75 7th Ave in Park Slope, or Metropolitan Ave and Bedford Ave in Williamsburg! About our guest: Ellis Roberts came to New York from Pennsylvania to join the Occupy Wall Street encampment and never left. After working for, and getting ruthlessly exploited by several large Christmas tree companies, Ellis, a dedicated communist, struck out on his own with a few of his fellow workers and started their own cooperative enterprise selling Christmas trees. To learn more, visit https://www.nystateofpine.com/

In this episode of All Things Co-op, Cinar, Larry, and Kevin talk to philosopher, podcaster, and Jacobin contributor Ben Burgis about his views on cooperatives and their relationship to socialism. Burgis and the ATC guys discuss the value of co-ops under a capitalist economy and in a socialist future, the need for political victories to advance socialist ideals, the role of debating those who don’t share your views, and possible paths forward towards a new cooperative society.

In this episode of All Things Co-op, Larry and Kevin talk with Joshua Preiss, professor of Philosophy and the Director of the Philosophy, Politics, and Economics program at Minnesota State University, Mankato. Dr. Preiss talks with Kevin and Larry about the notion of the American Dream, notions of fair rates and just work, this American economic ideology and its relation to economic reality, Adam Smith and the framework of the "Well Ordered Society," the current Winner Take All economic arrangement, the dire consequences of the winner take all dynamic, and some real structural changes that could bring about just work for all. Dr. Preiss has published papers ranging from Milton Friedman’s notion of freedom, the relation of finance capitalism and democratic freedom and, most recently and the focus of this conversation, Just Work for All: The American Dream in the 21st Century. About our guest: Joshua Preiss is a professor of Philosophy and Director of the program in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at Minnesota State University, Mankato. He regularly teaches courses in social and political philosophy, business ethics, philosophy of economics, and the philosophy of race, class, and gender. Just Work for All: The American Dream in the 21st Century by Joshua Preiss: https://www.routledge.com/Just-Work-for-All-The-American-Dream-in-the-21st-Century/Preiss/p/book/9780367694883 To get a discount, enter the code JPS22 at checkout.

In this episode of All Things Co-op, Kevin chats with Professor and author Elizabeth Anderson about her book Private Government, which pushes back on the myth that a free market means workers are free. Most workplaces function like dictatorships, with their own private governments—employers—calling the shots. Kevin and Professor Anderson discuss these contradictions, the historical American ideal of self-employment, classical philosophers and economists such as John Stuart Mill, contract feudalism, co-determination, and more as they weave through an important conversation about the future of work and workplaces. About our guest: Elizabeth Anderson is the Arthur F. Thurnau Professor and John Dewey Distinguished University Professor of Philosophy and Women's Studies at the University of Michigan. She is the author of The Imperative of Integration (Princeton), Value in Ethics and Economics, and Private Government. Professor Anderson's research covers the interconnected nature of social, political and ethical philosophy including: democratic theory, equality in political philosophy and American law, racial integration, the ethical limits of markets, theories of value and rational choice. She has studied the philosophies of John Stuart Mill and John Dewey, feminist epistemology and philosophy of science. Private Government by Elizabeth Anderson: https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691176512/private-government

In this episode of All Things Co-op in honor of National Co-op Month, Kevin interviews Priya Chatwani, a software engineer and organizer at Politics Rewired, a tech cooperative which grew out of the 2020 Bernie campaign that aims to build technology for Left organizing. Kevin and Priya speak about how Politics Rewired got started, the technology they’re currently working on, Big Tech and the role of tech cooperatives, cooperative decision-making, the relationship between technology and organizing, and how technology can support and grow the Left. About our guest: Priya Chatwani is a technologist and organizer who centers anti-capitalism, anti-imperialism, and intersectionality in her efforts to redistribute privilege and build political power on the Left. She’s currently a worker-owner at Politics Rewired, previously worked on public transit planning tools at Remix, and interned at Twitter, Google, and Infosys. While at Stanford, she co-taught "Coding for Social Good" and worked with the Haas Center for Public Service to curate "public interest tech" panels, career newsletters, resource guides, and summer and post-graduate fellowships. Politics Rewired is a worker-owned cooperative designing human and technological solutions for organizers. They work with organizers to streamline workflows so that they can focus on what they do best: building systems and relationships. They work with political campaigns, unions, and movement organizations, with a deliberate emphasis on supporting Left insurgents and building independent Left infrastructure. To learn more: https://www.politicsrewired.com/

Welcome to Season 7 of All Things Co-op! In this special episode in honor of National Co-op Month, Kevin speaks with Kevin O’Brien, co-founder of the union co-op Worx Printing. You may have seen Worx Printing at the Democracy at Work online shop at https://democracy-at-work-shop.myshopify.com/. In this interview, O’Brien discusses his path to starting Worx, globalization and its effects on the apparel industry, the benefits and importance of the union-coop model, best practices for running and sustaining a business, and more. You can find more about Worx and support their work at worxprinting.coop. About our guest: Kevin O'Brien is the co-founder and Managing Member at WorX Printing Cooperative, in Worcester, Massachusetts. For the past 20 years he has focused his career on understanding and working within supply chains. He has worked with Merchandising, Design, Manufacturing, Imprinting, Fulfillment, Distribution as well as Finance and Ecommerce. The foundation of Kevin's experience comes out of the New York City and Los Angeles Garment Centers and from manufacturing facilities throughout the country. His experiences have brought him in contact with the creative and technical genius, as well as the shortcomings, of ethical manufacturing practices. Kevin worked with Ben Cohen of Ben & Jerry’s on Worx’s predecessor, sweatX, trying to right the wrongs of the predatory cut-and-sew arm of the merchandise industry. SweatX shuttered in 2004 after two years of production due to exploitative pressures. In 2014, carrying hard-learned lessons from the closure of sweatX, Kevin co-founded Worx, a union co-op printing shop, to ensure that cutting-edge print technology was coupled with the highest bars of manufacturing and fair trade standards.

In this special All Things Co-op season finale, Kevin traces a brief history of international relations, discusses the rise of international law and the failure of the UN to address our current global dilemmas, and speculates that a cooperative, rather than competitive, international order is necessary to create a sustainable, peaceful world.

In this episode of All Things Co-op, Cinar and Kevin discuss the issue of the environment, its destruction, the cause (spoiler alert: it’s capitalism) and the only true way we can address this looming crisis. They discuss the underlying reason why we have global climate change, its reverberating effects, the potential for revolutionary responses, the danger of eco-fascism, and how a cooperative response could save us.

In this episode of All Things Co-op, Cinar and Kevin talk with Erik Esse, the producer of the new documentary The Co-op Wars. The Co-op Wars traces the history of the food cooperative movement in the mid to late 1970s in Minnesota's Twin Cities. The rapid development of the food co-op network in the area prompted a split between anarchist "hippies" and Bolshevists who styled themselves as the “Cooperative Organization” and set about taking over the People's Warehouse by force. The film provides powerful lessons for cooperative organizations and activists today. As Erik and the ATC guys dissect the film and its implications, they touch on the role of traditional politics, the limits of "third-worldism" in the first world, the mainstreaming of co-ops, the potential influence of COINTELPRO, and much more.

Polls show that most Americans think economic inequality is a problem, but if you listen to right-wing capitalist apologists, you’ll hear that economic inequality is either not that big of a deal, a consequence of economic freedom, and/or actually a good thing. In this episode of All Things Co-op, Cinar and Kevin pick apart these arguments, look at how wages are distributed in co-ops today, and talk about how inequality could be handled in a cooperative society.

In this episode of All Things Co-op, Larry, Cinar, and Kevin celebrate Democracy at Work’s 10 year anniversary by reflecting on their history and involvement with d@w. The ATC guys discuss the value of d@w, their own political histories and perspectives, their path to becoming co-hosts of this podcast, the nuts and bolts of planning, recording and producing episodes, and what they are looking towards in the future.

In this episode of All Things Co-op, Cinar, Larry, and Kevin talk with Terence Courtney, the Director of Cooperative Development & Strategic Initiatives at the Federation of Southern Cooperatives, an organization focused on land retention, cooperative development, and advocacy for small black-owned farms in the Southern United States. Terence and the ATC guys discuss the unique history of black farming in the south, institutional and ideological barriers to growth, and what cooperative associations can mean for historically marginalized communities. About our guest: Terence Courtney began organizing with the Service Employees International Union to improve economic conditions for working people. He led union campaigns and later became the union’s State-wide Representative in Georgia. He’s co-founded and led coalitions such as Atlanta Jobs with Justice and the Atlanta Public Sector Alliance, a community group focused on the public sector. While working with the Black Alliance for Just Immigration, Terence organized both US-born and immigrants of African descent to educate and raise consciousness about immigrant rights and mass incarceration from a Black Diasporic perspective. He co-developed the Organization for Human Rights and Democracy and served as the Director of Organizing overseeing campaigns against school privatization, as well as its spin off project: Cooperative Atlanta. Terence currently serves as the Director of Cooperative Development & Strategic Initiatives for the Federation of Southern Cooperatives.

Does capitalism allow real friendship? How does commodification shape our dating lives? How do people share intimacy in a world in which data is translatable to wealth? These and many more questions are discussed by Cinar, Kevin, and Larry in this episode of All Things Co-op.