Author Archives: John McNamara

About John McNamara

John spent 26 years with Union Cab of Madison Cooperative and currently helps develop co-ops in the Pacific Northwest. He holds a Ph.D. in Business Administration and Masters in Management: Co-operatives and Credit Unions from Saint Mary's University.

Co-op Wars: Lessons for the Future from the Past

During the 1970s, I was a child and missed most of the craziness of that era. I only received driver’s license after the election of Ronald Reagan in the fall of 1980 which largely marks the end of the “’60s”. … Continue reading

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October is Co-op Month!

Here we are again! October is the time to celebrate the cooperatives in our communities throughout the US and Canada. The last year has not offered a lot of hope and has tested our resilience, let’s take this month to … Continue reading

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The Friedman Doctrine 50 Years On: A Total Disaster

On September 13, 1970, Milton Friedman penned and Op-Ed for the New York Times that was essentially the opening shot of the economic civil war between the rival economic ideas of John Maynard Keynes and F. W. Hayek. Friedman, a … Continue reading

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Make USPS a Solidarity Co-op!

The recent fight over the post office has been dramatic and hyper partisan while also obscuring the causes of the financial problems of the post office. These problems largely result from one major decision by the Congress known as the … Continue reading

Posted in 2040, American Dream, Uncategorized, worker co-ops | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

How Do We Sense Make Of It All

Several years ago, in the aftermath of the protests in Wisconsin supporting labor unions, I wrote about sensemaking and how resilient cooperatives can be in adjusting to the changes in the economy and providing an antidote to the Shock Doctrine. … Continue reading

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Abolish The City

A couple of weeks ago, I discussed how the co-op model might change policing in the immediate wake of George Floyd’s murder by Minneapolis police. Since then, the US has seen over four weeks of consecutive protests, calls to de-fund … Continue reading

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How Do We Change the Police?

The above image comes from NPR’s Codeswitch and a show entitled “A Decade of Watching Black People Die“. A similar report from The Guardian based on 2016 numbers also notes that people of color are generally significantly more likely to … Continue reading

Posted in American Dream, Conversion, Human Relations, Management, Pensimientos, Reflections | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Solidarity: We Don’t Need to be Perfect

Is there anything in the world of work that at this moment that is required more than unity? And is it possible to consider unity rather than trying identify ourselves with the values that are already universal? José María Arizmendiarrieta, … Continue reading

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The Weeks of Decades Is Upon Us

The sign of vitality is not to endure, but to be reborn and to be able to adapt. Don José María Arzimendiarrieta There are decades when nothing happens and weeks when decades happen. V.I. Lenin The worker cooperative community was … Continue reading

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May Day 2020: A Day of Solidarity and Support

Normally, I see May Day as the international workers holiday. It would, in my view, be an international paid holiday where nobody labors and celebrates the value of people. A number of worker co-ops close to celebrate (Rainbow Grocery Co-op … Continue reading

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