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Our Member Councils and Peer Networks are shaping the future of the worker co-op movement in the U.S. through offers and needs markets, collective education & learning and political advocacy for a worker-centered economy.  Here are the highlights for this month from some of our Councils & Networks:

New year, new me…eting times! See below for the schedule of recurring Member Council and Peer Network meetings. 

• The Policy and Advocacy Council is switching to one 90 minute meeting per month, at 2pm ET / 1pm CT / 12pm MT / 11am PT on the first Thursday of the month. 
• The Union Co-ops Council will continue meeting at 1pm ET / 12pm CT / 11am MT / 10am PT on the 2nd Friday on even months. At the February call, we’ll hear from Glitter Bean Cafe, a queer-centric unionized worker co-op in Halifax that arose as an alternative to working in an unfair work environment under private ownership.

• Federation Partners will be meeting quarterly on the last Thursday of January*, April, July, and October at 3:30pm ET / 2:30pm CT / 1:30pm MT / 12:30pm PT. (*The January meeting will be on Thursday, February 2nd.)
• The new Co-op Academies peer network will also be meeting quarterly on the last Monday of February, May, August, and November at 3:30pm ET / 2:30pm CT / 1:30pm MT / 12:30pm PT. 
• Cooperative Booksellers will now be meeting on the first Fridays of each month at 4pm ET / 3pm CT / 2pm MT / 1pm PT. 
• Tech Worker Co-ops will continue meeting on the second Wednesdays of each month at 4pm ET / 3pm CT / 2pm MT / 1pm PT. 

Stay tuned for announcements about getting involved with our other Member Councils and Peer Networks as they re-launch and come online! 

The USFWC applauds Congress and President Biden on passing the Worker Ownership and Readiness and Knowledge Act, co-sponsored by Senator Sanders (D-VT) and Senator Moran (R-KS).

The legislation appropriates $50 million over five years to create the Employee Ownership Initiative within the Department of Labor to promote employee ownership, by supporting new and existing state employee ownership programs, including:

• Federal grants toward state employee ownership programs that provide education and outreach about the possibilities and benefits of employee ownership and business succession planning.
• Funding projects to gather data and and information about state employee ownership programs
• Acting as a clearinghouse on best practices within employee ownership and disseminating that information

The Employee Ownership Initiative is the first federal worker ownership grant program from the Department of Labor.

Important notes about the Employee Ownership Initiative:

• Will require the Secretary to consult with the Department of Treasury.
• Must be established within 180 days of the enactment of the omnibus bill.
• Includes education and outreach regarding financial education, employee teams, open-book management, and seeking greater employee input.
• Includes technical assistance for conversions, including feasibility studies.
• Training entities to apply for funding for the above uses.
• Provides for the development and fostering of networks of employee-owned companies.
• Begins in fiscal year 2025, with grant caps per recipient starting at $300,000 in 2025 up to $439,200 in 2029, and an appropriation of $4 million in 2025 to $16 million in 2029.
• Requires recipients to submit an annual report describing grant uses.
• Requires that the Secretary submit a report to congress on progress related to employee ownership, including costs and benefits of the program.
• Includes funding starting in 2024 to administer the program.

“This is one of the most consequential pieces of legislation supporting ESOPs in decades,” said Jim Bonham, President and CEO of The ESOP Association. “…We very much look forward to a strong working partnership with DOL and Treasury to develop these new regulations once the bill becomes law.”

“The provisions included in the omnibus are the clearest signal yet that Congress is committed to strengthening employee ownership in America, and doing so in a cooperative, bipartisan way,” Bonham said. “With this legislation, The ESOP Association has achieved a major portion of our longstanding policy agenda in Washington. While there is still much work to be done to secure the future of employee ownership, the wins in this bill are crucial to our efforts. We sincerely thank all our champions in Congress who support ESOPs and employee ownership, and who worked so diligently to help millions of American employee owners.”

“The WORK Act provisions speak loudly – Now it’s clear how Congress is invested in growing worker ownership in the US.” said Esteban Kelly, Executive Director of the U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives. “Strong bipartisan support of this legislation shows that our country’s leadership recognizes worker cooperatives and ESOPs as an important tool to build wealth and skills for entrepreneurs. It also ensures more longevity for businesses that are rooted in and reso our communities. We are excited to work with the Department of Labor to implement the WORK Act and we thank our champions Sen. Sanders and Sen. Moran who drove this win home for North American business owners.”

The Employee Ownership Initiative will create major opportunities for state-driven worker ownership education, outreach, and support. The USFWC will keep our community up-to-date on developments and opportunities to advocate.

Read more on the ESOP Association website 

Coverage of the omnibus bill on Roll Call

WORK Act excerpt of full bill text

Keep up with the USFWC’s advocacy work – sign up for email newsletters here

Become a member today and join the USFWC’s Policy and Advocacy member council

Questions? Email us at policy@usworker.coop.

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It’s a historic first for the national grassroots membership organization for worker cooperatives

The U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives is beginning 2023 having reached a new milestone: for the first time in our history, all members of our Board of Directors are people of color.

We held our first board meeting of 2023 this week but the breakthrough came when the all-POC board was sworn in on Friday, November 18th.

In that meeting, four new regional representatives took their seats, joining four continuing at-large representatives, and the non-voting, ex-officio seat reserved for the Executive Director. Additionally, At-Large Representative Mavery Davis was appointed after Representative Marina Maldonado stepped down.

The new representatives are:

• Kimberly Britt
  ChiFresh Kitchen, Northern Regional Representative
• Beatriz Ordaz
  Voces de Nashville, Southern Regional Representative
• Dominique Pearson
  Philadelphia Area Cooperative Alliance, Western Regional Representative [appointed]
• Diana Perez
  Radiate Consulting NY, Eastern Regional Representative
• Mavery Davis
  New Economy Works WV, Also a member of the Seed Commons Network, At-Large Representative (appointed)

Almost half of all worker-owners are people of color, according to the most recent State of the Sector report. On our board, 40% of members are Black while about 60% are latinx of different backgrounds and ethnicities.

The new board makeup reflects the USFWC’s commitment to pursue economic justice using cooperative tools that build Black and brown power through democratic worker ownership.

In 2004, our first board of directors recognized the potential of worker ownership to be an engine for Black and brown communities to create economic democracy coupled with racial justice.

Since then, we have invested in strategies that break down barriers to Black and brown communities accessing worker ownership. That has included increasing financial support for POC-led cooperatives as well as creating opportunities for leadership development and growing our members’ capacity to govern.

Get to know the members of the USFWC’s Board of Directors here.

The federal government is currently updating regulations for programs across several departments, including a few which address access to financing for cooperatives. The USFWC has worked with partners to articulate and vet responses to these updates to ensure co-ops have continued and expanded access to financial options.

There’s still one opportunity left for advocacy this year – we ask you to submit comment and tell the Small Business Administration to ensure co-ops can access their loan programs. 

SBA has invited comment on a proposed rule update on SBA business loan programs which would allow borrowers to use 7(a) loans all or part of a business.

However, the proposed rule fails to address SBA’s personal or equity guarantee requirement within 7(a) lending programs. SBA requires a “personal guarantee” from an owner with a 20 percent stake in the business to receive the small business loan guarantee.

This keeps co-ops from receiving guaranteed loans in the same manner that standard small businesses can. In the cooperative business model, no member typically owns more than a 20 percent stake in the business, meaning the personal guarantee effectively bars cooperatives from accessing this program despite being explicitly listed as an eligible entity. For more information on the personal guarantee, click here.

Here are the two important actions to complete by December 27:

1. Sign on to this comment letter as a supporter of removing SBA’s personal guarantee requirement
2. Submit your own comment letter using this template as a supporter of removing SBA’s personal guarantee requirement (yes, doing both helps!)

A few minutes of your time can make a huge difference in making sure co-ops have access to financing.

If you have any questions, email Aaliyah Nedd, NCBA CLUSA Government Relations Manager at anedd@ncba.coop or Mo Manklang, USFWC Policy Director at mo@usworker.coop.

Spread the word

Share the following or retweet the USFWC’s post:

Co-ops need financing just like any other small businesses – tell the @SBAgov and @USTreasury to ensure their programs serve ALL #smallbiz, including #coops by Dec 19 https://www.usworker.coop/blog/tell-sba-to-support-co-ops-through-their-loan-guarantee-programs/ 

For 12 years, Anna provided balanced leadership to the USFWC Board of Directors

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If leadership styles were animals, Anna Boyer’s would be a bear – analytical, methodical, careful and pragmatic.

It’s a leadership style that often goes unnoticed. But on the U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives’ Board of Directors, Anna brought balance. She provided grounding to the lofty ideas of the visionaries (eagles), and forward-movement to the patient community-builders (deer).

Anna Boyer’s leadership on the USFWC board ended in November, after her 12 years of service made her the USFWC’s longest-serving board member. Her term as Southern regional representative expired and she was ineligible to run again due to term limits in USFWC bylaws.

For 12 years, the balance that Anna brought to the USFWC board kept the governing body running smoothly and better able to focus on the needs of its members.

Ricardo Nuñez, board president, says, “Anna brought diligence that kept the board focused on the USFWC’s mission: serving worker cooperatives and the people who make this visionary form of organizing our labor real.”

“She had a keen eye toward finances. She translated balance sheets, profit and loss statements, and other financial documents to the rest of the board. She was also deeply knowledgeable about the bylaws and processes of the board. She could easily advise us on the powers we did, and did not have, at our disposal. That helped get us out of sticky process situations so we could focus on making informed, appropriate decisions to best serve our members.”

“The Federation is a stronger organization because of Anna,” says Ricardo. “We should acknowledge all of the invisible work she has done over a dozen years to help us, as a community and a movement, get to this point.”

Anna Boyer holds up a certificate of appreciation. The USFWC board recognized Anna for her service at the Fall Membership Meeting, which took place during this year’s Worker Co-op Conference in Philadelphia.

The Board of Directors took the opportunity to acknowledge Anna at the USFWC’s Annual Membership Meeting this Fall. Ricardo and former board member Hilary Johnson presented Anna with a framed certificate of appreciation signed by the board.

“As a board member, I was honored to serve along Anna for 6 years,” Ricardo says. “She was truly an inspiration to me and others with the dedication, diligence, and spirit she brought to the board.”

Anna Boyer joined the board of directors in 2011 as the Southern regional representative. She has also served as the board secretary and treasurer.

Anna represented member co-op C4 Tech and Design in New Orleans, LA. C4 provides web design, IT, and computer repair services to local residents, small to medium sized businesses, and nonprofits. Anna joined C4 in 2008.

Prior to working at C4, Anna worked as a movie theater concession salesperson, mail clerk, landscape maintainer, conservation biologist, insurance consultant, union steward, and telephone system programmer.

The USFWC board and staff are grateful to Anna Boyer for her service and wish her the very best in her future roles.

Update: The Senate and House have passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, which will be signed into law soon!

The Senate is taking steps toward passing a nearly $1.7 trillion omnibus spending package (Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023) needed before Christmas Eve to avert a partial government shutdown. This bill includes a huge victory for worker ownership through the Worker Ownership and Readiness and Knowledge Act, co-sponsored by Senator Sanders (D-VT) and Senator Moran (R-KS). 

The legislation appropriates $50 million over five years to create the Employee Ownership Initiative within the Department of Labor to promote employee ownership, by supporting new and existing state employee ownership programs, including:

• Federal grants toward state employee ownership programs that provide education and outreach about the possibilities and benefits of employee ownership and business succession planning.
• Funding projects to gather data and and information about state employee ownership programs
• Acting as a clearinghouse on best practices within employee ownership and disseminating that information

The Employee Ownership Initiative, if passed, would be the first federal worker ownership grant program from the Department of Labor. 

Important notes about the Employee Ownership Initiative:

• Will require the Secretary to consult with the Department of Treasury.
• Must be established within 180 days of the enactment of the omnibus bill.
• Includes education and outreach regarding financial education, employee teams, open-book management, and seeking greater employee input.
• Includes technical assistance for conversions, including feasibility studies.
• Training entities to apply for funding for the above uses.
• Provides for the development and fostering of networks of employee-owned companies.
• Begins in fiscal year 2025, with grant caps per recipient starting at $300,000 in 2025 up to $439,200 in 2029, and an appropriation of $4 million in 2025 to $16 million in 2029.
• Requires recipients to submit an annual report describing grant uses.
• Requires that the Secretary submit a report to congress on progress related to employee ownership, including costs and benefits of the program.
• Includes funding starting in 2024 to administer the program.

This bill is expected to move swiftly through Congress this week, through the Senate and then through the House. If passed, the Employee Ownership Initiative would create major opportunities for state-driven worker ownership education, outreach, and support. The USFWC will keep our community up-to-date on developments and opportunities to advocate. 

Read more on the ESOP Association website 

Coverage of the omnibus bill on Roll Call

WORK Act excerpt of full bill text

Keep up with the USFWC’s advocacy work – sign up for email newsletters here

Become a member today and join the USFWC’s Policy and Advocacy member council

Questions? Email us at policy@usworker.coop.