Riis Settlement is proud to be incubating a new worker cooperative. A worker cooperative is a democratically run business that is owned by the workers themselves; they share both the work and the profits. Coops are defined by two main characteristics: each member has an equal say (one member, one vote) and each member has an equal share of the profits.
Worker cooperatives, which can span a wide range of sectors from dog-walking to food production, have been gaining in popularity in recent years and current estimates count over 350 across the country. They offer individuals, especially some of the more marginalized members of society, a great way to not just make a living but to have ownership over their own lives. Typically, for the majority of coop members, stable job opportunities are limited and the chance to build a better life is a constant struggle. Coops have the ability to turn lives around, and the benefits to the members, their families and the community are manifold.
The Process
Last July, our Immigrant Services program was selected to join The New York City Worker Cooperative Development Initiative. Facilitated by the Center for Family Life in Sunset Park (CFL), the initiative provides technical assistance, training, consultation and legal services to community-based organizations interested in incubating a worker cooperative. Since then, our department’s community advocate and program director have attended regular trainings and now, just a short year later, we are fully immersed in the implementation stage of a worker’s cleaning cooperative.
Ms. Lucy Block, who recently joined Riis Settlement as the Cooperative Developer /Community Advocate, has started the recruitment process. She is currently holding mini-workshops for students in our ESOL classes in an effort to familiarize them with the cooperative process and, beginning on Jun 29th, more formal informational open-houses will be held to engage all members of the community.
The Riis Settlement worker cooperative began as the vision of our Director of Immigrant Services, Ms. Karina Wegman and now, thanks to the hard work of the entire Immigrant Services team and generous grants from the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies and the Center for Family Life/Surdna Foundation, that vision is nearing reality.
Riis Settlement is excited to be at the forefront of the cooperative movement in Queens, and is excited for what lies ahead for the members who will pioneer this coop. We look forward to keeping you up-to-date on this wonderful story as it develops.
