Category Archives: Education

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

Posted in American Dream, Education, Governance, Human Relations, Management | 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

Posted in Education, Human Relations, Pensimientos | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Are We Not Owners? We Are Workers!

Last Winter, Fifty by Fifty ran a series of blog posts about the sale of the ESOP New Belgium Brewery to Kirin. It was a great series of posts of which I was honored to participate. This was and is … Continue reading

Posted in Education, worker co-ops | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Power in Purpose: Part 2-Policy Breakout

The first break out group considered the barriers to cooperatives and what policy changes can occur to break down those barriers. My group (and many of the others) focused on three central areas: Education, Awareness, and Incentives. Education needs to … Continue reading

Posted in Co-op Month, Education, Movement, Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Co-ops in the Miracle Mile

One of the more interesting projects that I have had the pleasure of working on over the last couple years is in southern Idaho. The town of Buhl is about 50 miles from the Nevada border along the Snake River. … Continue reading

Posted in Co-op Month, Education | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Pope Francis and Co-operatives

Tomorrow, Pope Francis arrives for his first visit to the United States. This pope, hailing from Argentina, brings with him a message for all of us in terms of building our economies–the quest for wealth needs to be more than … Continue reading

Posted in Education, Human Relations, Reflections | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

How Do We Measure Coops?

Last week I attended the Tools to Measure Performance and Impact at St. Mary’s University in Halifax. The conference was part of a several year research CURA known as the Measuring the Cooperative Difference. Part of my role with this … Continue reading

Posted in Education, Movement, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Democracy at Work Network

***Disclosure*** I was recently reelected to DAWN’s Board of Governors and the Training and Certification Committee. I am also a founding member of the organization. The following opinion (pitch, if you will) is all mine, however, and should not be … Continue reading

Posted in Education, Movement | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Sensemaking in Worker Cooperatives

For my theory class, I am currently reading a classic article on sensemaking in organizations: “The Collapse of Sensemaking in Organizations: The Mann Gulch Disaster” by Karl Wieck The article reviews Norman McLean’s “Young Men and Fire” and theorizes about … Continue reading

Posted in Education, Pensimientos | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Markets Can Be Healthy

As part of my studies this semester, I am reading the English edition of Cooperative Enterprise: Facing the Challenge of Globalization* by Stefano and Vera Zamagni. In their opening chapters, they lead a discussion about the nature of cooperation (from … Continue reading

Posted in Education, Movement | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment