For people interested in starting a worker cooperative, one of the most useful things to do is to hear from people who are already living the dream of worker-ownership. Starting a co-op can be an intimdating process, and connecting with those who have “been there and done that” helps not only by providing examples of how particular issues have been addressed in existing co-ops, but also by providing the confidence that comes with being part of a movement, rather than just a group of individuals struggling on their own to create something new.

It is with this in mind that we present a compendium of interviews with worker-owners in co-ops engaged in everything from building houses to baking muffins. It’s our hope that what you find below will help inspire confidence in the worker cooperative model, and a passion for expanding it into new fields and new enterprises. Enjoy!

Videos:

Own the Change [22 minutes]

Arizmendi: A Co-op of Co-ops [15 minutes]

3 Worker-Owners Share Their Stories [11 minutes]

Manufacturing a New World: New Era Windows [8 minutes]

WORKER OWNED: In Their Own Words [31 minutes]

Dual Power Transition – East Side Austin (TX) [18 minutes]

Seattle Firm Converts to Worker Co-op (Metis Construction) [14 minutes]

Seizing the Means of Production [12 minutes]

Building a Co-op Alternative to Local Food Delivery Platforms [14 minutes]

Agile Collective on the Solidarity Economy [2 minutes]

Equal Care Co-op: An Interview with Emma Back [45 minutes]

Audio:

Interview with Adrianna Fike of Mandela Grocery [4 minutes]

Interview with Tyler Brown of Future Focus Media Cooperative [4 minutes]

Interview with James Razsa of Democracy Brewing [36 minutes]

Interview with Josephina Luna of CERO Cooperative (Spanish and English) [46 minutes]

Interview with Aja Hudson of Earth Designs Worker-Owned Cooperative (conversion from sole proprietorship to co-op) [14 minutes]

How We Bought Our Workplace – Ben Oubridge From Valley Organics [1 hour]

The Power of Worker Cooperatives (with Rebecca Kemble of Union Cab Co-op, Georgia Allen and Josezette Bridges of Soaring Independent Cooperative, Mariela Qesada Centeno of Centro Hispano and Roots 4 Change, and others) [54 minutes]

Articles:

A Cooperative Manifesto (by Tim Huet, Arizmendi Assoc. of Cooperatives)

The Open Coop Governance Model in Guerrilla Translation: an Overview

An SBA Loan for Patty Pan Cooperative

Manifesto for Wholesome Cooperation

Loconomics: A Worker-Owned Platform Co-op for Service Professionals