It’s time to join! workers.coop is taking membership applications from worker-led and freelancer co-ops. Why should your co-op join? We’ve set out five compelling reasons, which are summed up in the sixth co-op principle: co-ops serve their members most effectively, and strengthen the movement, by working together in local, national and international co-op networks.

To find out more about membership and what we expect to be doing over the next year, follow this link:

Some of you are already active in one or more of our working groups, developing strategy, communications, mobilisation, people and policy, and tech infrastructure. 

We’ve set budgets for 2023, and have a clear idea of what it will take to grow the federation and be effective. This organisation is animated by its members. That means worker cooperators and supporters getting involved in designing and delivering our programme. Take a look at our co-created strategy. Below are some of the current projects and groups we are working on, with many more opportunitiest to get involved in the link below. 

They are evolving all the time - please sign up.

Communications

The communications group has written a strategy and is developing a plan of work covering everything from creating workers.coop’s brand, key audiences and propaganda - including how we talk about the benefits of worker cooperation for workers and their communities, or why worker co-ops are great businesses. If you have design, communications, branding or writing skills, or just want to help make things like this newsletter better, you can join this group.

Member Support

We’re creating a new working group to do member support. Its first job will be to create an online learning programme to provide education modules and webinars, so that every worker has the knowledge and skills to be an effective member of their co-op and the wider movement. Its second will be to design and run a Co-op Clinic, to respond to members’ questions and support them through challenges. To do this, we will recruit, train and coordinate a pool of experienced and expert advisers, drawn from our member and supporter base.

If you have an interest in service design, or want to get involved in writing content or providing training to other worker coops - join this group.

workers.coop will have an ‘all hands’ meeting on Thursday 16th February from 12.30 to 14.00. It’s for everyone involved in the work of the federation to share what they are doing, a chance for new people to find out what’s happening, and see how to get involved. If you’re free even for just part of the time, please come.

We’re looking for a freelancer or studio to support us with generating and publishing our digital communications.

Initially, it’s for 24 days’ work over the next 3 months at £175 per day. It’s likely the contract will be extended, based on how the role develops.

The comms worker will collaborate with the federation’s paid project coordinator and our working groups, which are made up of volunteers and other paid partners. Check out the specification in the link below, and please forward it to anyone you think would be good.