Fuerza Laboral and the P.O.W.E.R. Network hosted a fair at the Rhode Island State House on Tuesday featuring many of the business cooperatives, from a host of different industries, offering their products and services in Rhode Island. Fuerza Laboral is a non-profit organization fighting labor discrimination and wage theft. The P.O.W.E.R. Network (People Owning Wider Economic Resources) is a cooperative business incubator. The event commemorated the fourth anniversary of the passage of the bill that enabled cooperatives in Rhode Island.

Cooperatives are employee owned and operated businesses that share decision making and profits with owner/employees. The P.O.W.E.R. Network seeks “to create an economic model led by impacted members of our community that respects the dignity of all workers, draws on workers’ own strengths and skills, and puts people above profits.”

“A network of cooperative businesses founded with these values will provide living-wage, quality jobs to those who are most vulnerable to income inequality, thus changing the economic power dynamic that had previously kept them poor,” writes the P.O.W.E.R. Network.

In addition to the Coop fair, there was a speaking program. I want to highlight the words of Heiny Maldonado is the Executive Director of Fuerza Laboral:

“We are at a decisive moment to Safeguard our Local Economies, especially in vulnerable and marginalized communities, and we are here to achieve it through EQUITY and the SOLIDARITY ECONOMY.

“The achievement of equity plays a central role in cooperativism, since cooperatives were born precisely to confront inequity and propose a new way of conceiving of and guiding the economy. Cooperatives have an important role with their presence, their culture, and their services to bring equitable development to our towns and cities.

“We are proposing to SAFEGUARD OUR LOCAL ECONOMIES with the first Center for Worker Cooperatives and to replicate this model where communities of color are centered in addition to furthering the mission of Fuerza Laboral.

“The social and solidarity economy is a different way of understanding the economy that puts people and the environment at the center. It is universal. It is growing through fair trade, ethical finance, social organizations, cooperatives, and more. It is a model of social transformation that values the needs, skills, and contributions of people and reinvests its profits into society.

“To Safeguard Our Local Economy, the objective is sustainability, that in times of strong austerity measures we defy the crisis.

“We want the Solidarity Economy to include the following:

• The political agenda of the State needs to support the worker cooperative business model, through resources and funding for training and investment in cooperatives, and access to capital. Let cooperatives have the same opportunities that are already granted to other businesses.
• In the financial sector, we ask the banks to make changes in their internal policies, loans, and education in order to make the cooperative business model as viable as it is for other businesses that have access to financing.
• We advocate for a fair economy to fight against poverty, inequalities, and climate change. The economy is for the people. Far from being an act of heroism in times of crisis, cooperativism is a way of life each and every day.

“We at Fuerza Laboral and our community associations in RI are pursuing a Center for Worker Cooperatives that would make resources (education, financing, career support, cultural awareness, government regulations, anchor institutions, networking, and advocacy) accessible; a place not only for workers seeking redress for labor abuses but also for new worker cooperatives (and conversions of conventional businesses) to which they can turn for education and assistance until they can stand on their own feet.

“We know the change that people want: to see: an economy that puts human and environmental needs first and contributes to the sustainable development of our communities. The social and solidarity economy is a different way of understanding the economy. It is a model of social transformation that gives value to the needs, abilities, and contributions of people and reinvests in society, forming a social fabric so that the communities see prosperity grow in wide spaces of peace. Examples of successful achievement of equity by cooperatives can be seen in the Cincinnati and Cleveland cooperative economy models.

“Workers’ cooperatives play a crucial role in SAFEGUARDING THE ECONOMY; their very nature, structure, and form of the operation position them as an eminently equitable business and socioeconomic model. Where there is more cooperativism, we have a sustainable economy for all.“

The speaking portion was emceed by Central Falls City Council President Jessica Vega. Below is all the rest of the video:

Central Falls City Council President Jessica Vega

“It has been inspiring to collaborate with co-workers and our community to purchase our workplace, a cafe in Providence, and reopen it as a worker-owned cooperative,” said Chloe Chassaing from White Electric Coffee. “We’re trying to do our part in one little corner of the world, as a step toward an economy built around opportunity, equity, transparency, and collective engagement. With Rhode Island’s small size there is a unique potential for ideas and practices to spread statewide, so it’s exciting to see growing support for worker-owned cooperative businesses.”

Senator Sandra Cano (Democrat, District 8, Pawtucket):

“Co-ops have the unique potential to integrate economic, corporate and social goals in their business model,” said Senator Jonathan Acosta (Democrat, District 16, Central Falls). “They provide a novel avenue for impoverished and rural communities to be part of the economy and true owners of their labor. We must continue to support their growth and development in all labor sectors across our state.”

“When we first started this journey, we knew nothing about Coops. As we are learning about coops, we ask ourselves why doesn’t everyone register their business as a cooperative,” said Lilliam Abreu, from RASA Cooperative Inc. “Co-ops value each member’s opinion and a collaborative mindset. Each member is an owner and has an interest in the company. The benefits outweigh any disadvantages (like not too many financing options), The values of a coop should be the values all businesses follow.”

Raul Figueroa is a committed grassroots organizer and cooperative developer: