Tag Archives: consumer coops

Willy St: Co-op for Consumers, Union for the Workers

Posted on November 27, 2019 by John McNamara

Beatrix Potter ( who with her husband Sidney Webb led the Fabian Socialists (predecessors to the Labour Party in the UK) generally opposed the notion of worker co-ops. The argument went something along the lines that all humans share the … Continue reading →

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Self-Help and Grit City

Posted on October 26, 2019 by John McNamara

One of the key concepts of cooperation is the value of Self-Help. At some level, this means that if you don’t like your options in the market, create a co-op to meet your needs. Co-ops exist to meet the needs … Continue reading →

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Alberta Co-op (Portland)

Posted on October 19, 2019 by John McNamara

The Alberta Co-op in Portland’s Northeast community is a consumer (or community) owned grocery that uses a staff collective to manage the co-op. The mission of the co-op “is to serve as a community resource and gathering place, while providing … Continue reading →

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Central Co-op: A Tale of Two Cities

Posted on October 12, 2019 by John McNamara

Before I start with today’s Co-op Month post, please note that I am not a member of Central Co-op, nor have I shopped there. Also, a couple of the managers are alumni of the MMCCU program at St. Mary’s University. … Continue reading →

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The Open Door Policy of Worker Co-operatives

Posted on August 22, 2011 by John McNamara

The 6th Principle of Co-operatives is called, somewhat reflexively, “Co-operation Among Co-operatives.” I have talked about this in a previous post. Today, I want to focus on it from a different perspective provided to us by the spiritual guide of … Continue reading →

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Consumer Co-ops and Workers

Posted on June 14, 2010 by John McNamara

The role of workers in a consumer co-operative (and how the co-op interacts with them) has as many variations as one would expect for a community based economic movement. Some co-operatives (thought not many I expect in today’s world) bar … Continue reading →

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CICOPA: Relations with the Co-operative Movement

Posted on April 5, 2010 by John McNamara

The remaining sections of the World Declaration on Worker Cooperatives focus on the rest of the world and suggest how they and worker cooperatives should interact. The first of these include six “invitations” for the cooperative movement to consider. The … Continue reading →

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#25: The Internationalist Nature of Co-operatives

Posted on March 1, 2010 by John McNamara

Over the last 6 months,  I have been working my way through the Statement on the Co-operative Identity that the International Co-operative Alliance adopted at the 1995 meeting which also commemorated its first century of service. This statement solidified the … Continue reading →

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More on Food Coops

Posted on November 27, 2006 by John McNamara

One of the major critics of Co-operative grocery stores on The Daily Page in Madison goes by the name of “Dogmeat”. Here is his decision-making process for grocery shopping (he had been accused of being a plant for Whole Foods): … Continue reading →

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