REPORT TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, COMMUNICATIONS, AND MARKETING COMMITTEE
SUBJECT
Title
Update on Worker Cooperative Program
Report
BACKGROUND
Worker Cooperatives are values-driven businesses that put worker and community benefit at the core of their purpose, meaning worker members at worker cooperatives participate in the profits, oversight, and often management of the business using democratic practices. The City adopted Resolution No. 20-8823 in support of Worker Cooperatives in March 2020 and over the Summer of 2020 entered into a contract with Project Equity to conduct a Business Landscape Analysis to help the City understand the risk to business retention among established companies, the potential future impact on jobs, business tax base, priority industry sectors, and economic development goals.
The City also contracted with Democracy at Work Institute (DAWI) in December 2020. DAWI is an important partner in this initiative works closely with Project Equity to help educate our businesses on available resources and help the City build a sustainable Worker Cooperative program. To help fulfill its scope of work, DAWI is utilizing its partners at Sustainable Economies Law Center (SELC), which provide essential legal tools - education, research, advice, and advocacy - that support resilience and grassroots economic empowerment, and the US Federation of Worker Cooperatives (USFWC), the national membership organization for worker cooperatives, which has trained its members to act as ambassadors and advisors to share their experiences and tools with those businesses contemplating worker ownership.
At the January 26, 2021 Council meeting, Project Equity presented the findings from its Business Landscape Analysis, which was conducted to help the City understand the risk to business retention among established companies, potential future impact on jobs, business tax base, and priority industry sectors, and economic development goals.
In February 2021, the Ci...
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