MadWorC -- Madison Worker Cooperatives

On Saturday, September 17th, 15,000 people congregated at the Alliant Center in Madison for the 10th annual Fighting Bob Fest. In the past, this event was always held in farm fields near Baraboo. This year, for the first time, it took place in Madison.

A personal commentary by the editor

Woody Allen once said that half of success is showing up. The Occupy Madison movement has shown up, and for every person on site, there are hundreds more who are there in spirit. We in Wisconsin know all too well what corporate interests and their political puppets are willing to do to the working class. Thank you for your energy and commitment.

Since 1987, Moving Images Video Project has produced and distributed TV documentaries that encourage peace, human rights, global justice, and protection for the environment. This organization will be filming portions of a new PBS documen­tary called “Shift Change” in Madison from November 10th to the 12th. This film will be about worker cooperatives and their relationship to the local economy.

Locating startup capital for any organization has always been difficult -- in today’s economy it is even more complicated. If the business is a worker cooperative, which many banks consider a fringe business structure, the chances of getting money for a new venture are near zero.

In 2008, Dane County established a Sister County relationship with the Municipality of Andres Eloy Blanco in Venezuela (the capital city of the region is Sanare). Milwaukee also established a sister city relationship with Carora, Venezula in 2009. Sister relationships are designed to build global cooperation, promote cultural understanding and stimulate economic development.

MadWorC has been spreading the word about worker cooperatives at the Farmer's Market on the square every Saturday from 6:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in front of the Camera Shop. Every week, we meet many people and have interesting discussions about what exactly worker cooperatives are. We also are one of the few groups on the square Saturday mornings actively supporting protest activities. We distribute literature, make buttons to give away, and collect donations to support our education and outreach activities.

In 2009, the US Steel Workers (USW) announced it was forming an alliance with the Mon­­dragon Cooperatives. This collaboration would bring together the strength and organization of the union and the workplace democracy and employee ownership of a worker co-op.

On Friday August 26th, 50 people from around the country packed into a small classroom on the MATC campus to learn more about worker cooperatives. This panel discussion, “The Co-op Alternative to Corporate Capitalism,” was part of the first ever Democracy Convention that was held in Madison. The purpose of the convention was to strengthen our democracy where it matters most -- in our communities, our schools, our workplaces and local economies.

Since every worker co-op is a work in progress, and no two do things the same way, MadWorC thought it would be a valuable learning exercise to encourage participating members to attend the board meetings of other local co-ops. The hope was that processes and procedures used at one co-op might help other co-ops solve similar problems, since we all face similar challenges.