This article is being reproduced on the workers.coop News page with permission of Suma Wholefoods who originally posted this article here on 13/04/2026. Thanks to Suma for permission to reproduce this article.
This is an interview with Adam from Suma who sits on the board of workers.coop.
Image showing workers.coop members at the end of March during the in-person board day.
You’ve just done almost 9 years on Suma’s Board. How Suma has changed during that time, and how has that experience shaped you?
This is defo a good question, so often when you’re locked into the moment you kind of get caught up and sometimes a bit tired – when you look back over a longer period of time it really makes an impression. A massive event that kind of warps all of our recollection of recent years is COVID, the worry about how to make sure we could continue safely was a such a massive pressure, we really reacted well to all of the associated challenges of the COVID 19 pandemic. Suma’s Board came into existence a couple of years before that time, in 2018. All of us who were on the Management Committee continued onto the board, our responsibilities didn’t really change but the organisation governance was challenged with new reporting and operational responsibilities. Those changes positioned Suma really well to plan and actually react to the pandemic. In the last few years since the pandemic, we’ve appointed more expertise to our leadership team and focused more on planning, especially in terms of the sustainability of our co-op.
In some ways Suma hasn’t changed much, but whenever I speak to people outside our co-op and tell them that we all get the same hourly wage it’s so, so radical that I don’t really get much else reflected back. I’m certain that our Members Council is maturing into a representational body that will help workers collective views be heard and discussed for many years to come- what a great thing to have!
What made you want to put yourself forward for the workers.coop board?
I was ready for a bit of change, interested in worker co-ops, and had fun attending worker co-op weekends and the autumn assembly. So I was keen to do something representing Suma in our wider movement.
From being on the Suma board, are there perspectives you’ll carry into this new position?
Of course, although it’s hard to say exactly what, having only attended a couple of meetings so far, it is still quite early days.
Are there particular challenges at Suma that you think have prepared you for the board at workers.coop?
Yes, finding old and different ways to make decisions, some of our traditions are so important, like one member one vote.
What excites you most about wokers.coop’s purpose, and where do you think it can make the biggest difference for worker co-ops in the UK?
Providing services, support and advice how to set up and run a worker coop. Or, as another worker co-op board member put it recently – hope. We’ve so many challenges in the UK at the moment, setting up and thriving as a worker coop is possible but takes guts and resilience.
What would you most like workers.coop to achieve, and where do you hope to focus your energy?
I’d like to continue to build on all the great work that’s been done so far, building a resilient federation of worker co-ops which supports people across the UK to set up and run profitable worker co-ops, with links internationally to many of the other similar federations
What does “liberating work” actually mean to you in day-to-day practice?
It is an opportunity for us to get our head up and scan the field – look for the through ball or opportunity – a different way to play the game of work and be organised in our business.