After a rollercoaster first half year, workers.coop is moving forward along several paths with lots of news and updates to share with our membership. The federation is:

We’re joining the International Cooperative Alliance sectoral networks for co-ops in industry and services: CECOP (Europe) and CICOPA (global). Members have been organising in Scotland; engaging with the ‘permanent assembly’ of Collettivo Fabbrica GKN near Florence; participating in our member Stir to Action’s Playground for the New Economy Festival in Manchester; preparing for Cooperatives Fortnight which starts on June 16th; and a lot more.

Our events listing is now live with 3 member meet-ups and our first training course, more coming soon!

When members sign up to the federation, they do so either as an enterprise member (for worker-led co-ops and employee-owned enterprises) or as a worker member (for individuals). A new policy is in the making to define how workers.coop empowers both categories of member, while also involving supporters –  so we can confidently evolve as a ‘member animated’ network. 

Meanwhile, a new information sharing policy is designed to allow the freest possible safe access to our forums, working group documents, website and other channels. 

These and other themes are in discussion now, on the workers.coop forum – check it out and join in.

We have been busy scheming behind the scenes about how best to facilitate supporters taking on active roles in workers.coop. More to come soon, but to get started, here are some things supporters and members can do:

• Say hello and join in on the Forum
• Add our ‘Member of’ logo to your website or our name to your email sign-off
• Join a working group The Communications group seeks new members.
• Sign up for mobilising tasks. From phone banking worker co-ops, recording our training, to onboarding others. Members contact sam@workers.coop to volunteer.

If you’re a member struggling to navigate our digital platforms, sign up for a 10-15 minute digital onboarding session. You can book here. 

After 22 months of occupation and 7 months without wages, the workers’ fight to convert GKN’s former automotive factory near Florence to socially useful production under worker-community control is entering a critical stage. Dario Salvetti made a solidarity speaking tour to the UK this May, describing their 10-year effort to self-organise as workers. workers.coop members have been discussing ways to support and share expertise with Collettivo GKN in this thread on the forum.

Blake House Productions worker co-op has produced a video reel aimed at disaffected young (or not so young) workers, to promote our website. We aim to start sharing during Co-ops Fortnight, and hope it’ll also get a showing at the workers.coop/Young Cooperators Network event above.

Kitty’s launderette and eco dry cleaners in Anfield, Liverpool, is going from strength to strength, and recently doubled the size of the worker team. The co-op was set up in 2019. It’s named in honour of Kitty Wilkinson, who successfully lobbied Liverpoool council to open the UK’s first public washhouse in 1842.

Cooperation Town’s network has grown to 27 independent estate and street-based food co-ops. Unlike a food bank, where recipients are means tested and have no say in the service, the food co-ops are owned by their members, who decide together what to buy and how to organise themselves.