In late 2020 and early 2021, MadWorC held its first Book Club to read Collective Courage: A History of African American Cooperative Economic Thought and Practice, by Dr. Jessica Gordon-Nembhard. In fall of 2021, we read Freedom Farmers by Dr. Monica White. In winter of 2021-2022, we read Emergent Strategy by Adrienne Maree Brown.
We meet on every other Tuesday from 7-8:30pm central time, starting on March 15th.
To order the book:
We recommend supporting your local bookstores to purchase the book. In Madison, this includes A Room of One's Own and Kismet Books.
You can also visit BookShop.org for a list of Black-owned bookstores in the US.
Next Book Club starts June 7th.
Instead of reading a single book, we're going to do "summer school" where we will read articles, listen to podcasts, and watch videos that we are planning to use in our upcoming worker cooperative trade school class. You can attend all of the sessions or just pop in as you are able and you won't be missing anything because each week's discussion will be based on that week's readings, videos, and podcasts.
To receive the Zoom link, fill out this form by 48 hours before the book club you want to attend.
June 7 -
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Read the International Cooperative Alliance Cooperative Identity, Values, and Principles at https://www.ica.coop/en/cooperatives/cooperative-identity
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Read the Democracy At Work Institute’s What is a Worker Cooperative page at https://institute.coop/what-worker-cooperative
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Read the Democracy At Work Institute’s Worker Cooperative Definition at https://www.usworker.coop/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Worker-Cooperative-Definition-2015.pdf
- Read about the Union Co-op Model at https://resources.uwcc.wisc.edu/Worker/Union-Co-op-Model.pdf
June 21 -
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Read Interview with Jessica Gordon-Nembhard at https://geo.coop/story/black-co-ops-were-method-economic-survival
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Watch Worker Co-ops Vs. COVID at https://geo.coop/articles/worker-co-ops-vs-covid
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Watch an interview about Argentina’s recuperated factories at https://eachforall.coop/worker-co-op-recuperation-and-revolution-in-argentina/
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Read the 2019 Worker Cooperative Census at https://institute.app.box.com/s/28pe2jpxvowxjvqralw6e778k5npavx9
July 5 -
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Watch an interview with the Madison Cooperative Development Coalition at https://geo.coop/articles/interview-madison-cooperative-development-coalition
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Watch How Worker Cooperatives Work (silent) at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbZ8ojEuN5I
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Read the AORTA Facilitation Guide at http://arts-campout-2015.sites.olt.ubc.ca/files/2019/02/AORTA_Facilitation-Resource-Sheet-JUNE2017.pdf
July 19 -
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Finish reading the handout comparing different co-op bylaws
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Watch UWCC Webinar on Co-op Finance 101: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaGOT8B7btA
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Read the guide and look at the Excel workbook at https://uwcc.wisc.edu/resources/finance-2/worker-cooperative-finance-tool-kit/.
August 2 -
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Read Systems of Accountability and Evaluation from the Democracy at Work Network: https://institute.coop/sites/default/files/resources/DAWN-Eval-Toolkit-v5.pdf
- Read pages 35-40 in the Worker Cooperative Toolkit: https://institute.coop/sites/default/files/resources/372%202006_NCDF_worker_coop_toolbox_0.pdf
August 16 -
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Read How to Finance a Worker Cooperative by the Sustainable Economies Law Center at https://www.theselc.org/how_to_finance_a_worker_cooperative
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Watch webinar on worker co-op financing (note that some of this is California-based): https://geo.coop/articles/raising-cooperative-capital-worker-co-ops
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GEO #5 (vol. II): Education For Economic Liberation | Grassroots Economic Organizing
August 30 -
- Read 28 questions to answer before meeting a lawyer: https://institute.coop/sites/default/files/resources/28questionsBeforeMeetingLawyer.pdf