Tag Archives: unionism

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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Worker Co-ops and the American Dream, part 6

Posted on July 10, 2018 by John McNamara

The Union-Co-op as a Pathway to Restoring the American Dream As the effects of the Great Recession linger even ten years later, Americans seek new avenues to meet their needs and desires. The labor movement has largely been fighting a … Continue reading →

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Labor Unions and Co-ops, part 5

Posted on May 23, 2018 by John McNamara

There and Back Again: Unions and Worker Co-operatives In October 2009, the United Steelworkers and Mondragón Co-operative held a joint press conference to announce a partnership to create worker-owned unionized factories in the United States (Witherell, 2013). This marked the … Continue reading →

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Labor Unions and Co-ops, part 3

Posted on May 8, 2018 by John McNamara

A Labor Movement for the New Guilded Age When Ronald Reagan stood before the Brandenburg Gate on June 12, 1987, he not only invoked the rising supremacy of the United States by demanding “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”, he … Continue reading →

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Welcome to the Discussion

Posted on August 14, 2014 by John McNamara

There is a new blog about worker cooperatives entitled “Owning a Better Future”.  The focus of this blog, judging from the first couple of posts, will center on the growing “union coop” model. This model engages both traditional labor unions … Continue reading →

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AFL-CIO-NGO-TBD?

Posted on September 16, 2013 by John McNamara

At the recent convention of the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organization’s, the members spent a great deal of time surveying the reality of the labor movement in the United States and the significant changes since the last meeting … Continue reading →

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A Big Day in Pittsburgh

Posted on March 26, 2012 by John McNamara

For those of you who may not get the emails, the long awaited announcement by the USW and Mondragon will be made at 11:00 am EDT in Pittsburgh, PA. I haven’t really heard much about this project other than it … Continue reading →

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Contradictions in Paradise: When the Workers Become Bosses

Posted on January 31, 2011 by John McNamara

I have written extensively about Mondragon on these pages with almost all of it in a favorable light. There is, however, another side of Mondragon. As a matter of survival, Mondragon’s co-operatives have ventured abroad to place factories outside of … Continue reading →

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CICOPA: Relations with Workers’ Organizations

Posted on May 3, 2010 by John McNamara

The final section of the World Declaration on Worker Co-operatives deals with the co-operative movement’s relations with the international labor movement. CICOPA calls upon the co-operative movement in general and worker co-operatives in particular to engage in dialogue. The statement … Continue reading →

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Neo-Syndicalism: A Path Toward Reimagining Socialism

Posted on December 19, 2009 by Fred Schepartz

In Barbara Ehrenreich’s groundbreaking essay, “Reimagining Socialism,” which appeared recently in The Nation, she states that we on the Left need a plan, but we don’t have a plan. Well, I have a plan, albeit a small one. My plan … Continue reading →

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