the blueprint collaborative: increasing worker ownership in low-income communities
DESCRIPTION
The Blueprint Collaborative held a live webinar where we went over the Worker Coop Academy, what it will offer to potential participants, what categories of participants we are accepting, and what the commitment from each team will be. We also answered questions from the audience.TRANSCRIPT
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Worker Coop Academy Design by Blueprint Collaborative is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Bay Area BlueprintCreating Pathways to Ownership for Low and Moderate Income Workers in the Inner East Bay
Info Session
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Worker Coop Academy Design by Blueprint Collaborative is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Bay Area BlueprintOverviewThis pilot run of the Worker Coop Academy is one component of the Bay Area Blueprint for Increasing Worker Ownership, a year-long effort that started in April 2014. The Blueprint is creating actionable feasibility studies and pilots across three pathways to increase worker ownership for LMI workers:
1. Cooperative start up and growth assistance through education, business coaching, and legal advice (Worker Coop Academy);
2. Incubating or accelerating scalable cooperatives; and 3. Converting existing businesses to worker ownership.
During the pilot year, we are also designing a course at Laney College. After evaluating the Pilot, the Worker Coop Academy may become an ongoing program, potentially housed at Laney or a community organization.
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Worker Coop Academy Design by Blueprint Collaborative is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Worker Ownership’s benefits to society What does the research say?
All citations available in Worker Cooperatives: Pathways to Scale
Better jobs 158% increase in member incomes at WAGES coops
Lower turnover 15% at Cooperative Home Care Associates vs. 40-60% industry-wide
More efficient Coops in plywood industry were 6-14% more efficient
Higher survival rates 65% of Canadian coops survived 5 years vs. 40-50% of comparable businesses
civic engagement Citizens with employee stock ownership vote more: 73% voted in 2008 vs. 63% of non-owners
Citations available in Worker Cooperatives: Pathways to Scale (download at www.project-equity.org).
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Worker Coop Academy Design by Blueprint Collaborative is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Worker Coop Academy Overview
The Worker Coop Academy aims to assist the formation and expansion of worker-owned businesses that will provide good jobs for Low- to Moderate-Income (LMI) workers.
During Phase 1 (Sept. to Dec. 2014), the Academy will provide a customized educational program tailored to your team’s needs, including workshops on essential topics for starting or growing a successful worker-owned cooperative business. Topic areas include: business fundamentals, people & culture, cooperatives, governance & management, and legal aspects.
During Phase 2, the Academy will provide individualized business coaching and legal counsel, for a subset of Phase 1 participants.
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Worker Coop Academy Design by Blueprint Collaborative is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
1. Objectives
2. Participant Profile
4. Curriculum Framework 3. Outreach &
Selection Process
5. Instructor & Mentor
Profile
Worker Coop AcademyDesign Framework
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Worker Coop Academy Design by Blueprint Collaborative is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
• Expose low- to moderate-income community members in the Inner East Bay to the cooperative business model
– 120-160 people participate outreach activities
• Help 3-5 worker coops launch or grow
– 5-7 teams of 3 people– 15-20 participants total
Worker Coop Academy 1. Objectives
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Worker Coop Academy Design by Blueprint Collaborative is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Worker Coop Academy 2. Participant Profile
• Individuals directly engaged with creating or growing worker-owned cooperative businesses– Startup: Founders of new worker cooperatives that are already operating or
plan to open in 2014 or 2015.– Expand: Members of existing worker coops that seek to grow. – Convert: Owners and employees looking to transition to worker ownership. – Develop: Staff of nonprofits or other organizations that are developing
worker coops that are already operating or that will open in late 2014 or 2015
• Teams with strong potential for short-term business success & job creation for low- to moderate-income workers – Planned or existing coops committed to growth– Highly likely to transfer Academy training to new job creation (business
launch or growth) in 2014 or 2015
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Worker Coop Academy Design by Blueprint Collaborative is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Worker Coop Academy 3. Outreach & Selection Process
• June 11th – August 1st: Teams submit applications • Teams that get their application in by July 11th will have their
applications reviewed first • Rolling applications accepted through midnight on August 1st
• July 21st – August 8th: Team interviews – If you are invited for an interview, we will contact you in
advance to request additional information about scheduling needs and program interests
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Worker Coop Academy Design by Blueprint Collaborative is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Worker Coop Academy 3. Outreach & Selection Process, continued
• August 15th – August 29th: Participants selected and invited to participate – We will hold follow-up conversations with finalists to
discuss tailored program design for each team.
• August 15th – September 8th: Participants commit to program
• Between September 15th and October 1st: Worker Coop Academy begins
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Worker Coop Academy Design by Blueprint Collaborative is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Worker Coop Academy4. Curriculum Framework
• The curriculum framework is designed to offer both a shared experience for the whole cohort and a customized program for each team.
• We will work with each team to determine its customized program.
• Some workshops may be optional.• Total formal classroom time for each team is estimated at
30 hours over the 3 month period.
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Worker Coop Academy Design by Blueprint Collaborative is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Worker Coop Academy 4. Curriculum Framework
Content Area:Business
Menu of topics, adaptable to participants’ needs
• Business feasibility and planning• Business model and strategy• Marketing • Business financing • Financial planning and management• Growth planning• Surplus, profits and taxation of
cooperatives • Balancing business and social goals
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Worker Coop Academy Design by Blueprint Collaborative is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Worker Coop Academy 4. Curriculum Framework
Content Area:People & Culture
Menu of topics, adaptable to participants’ needs
• Constructive communication • Self management • Conflict management • Hiring, firing and evaluating
employees, candidates for membership and worker-owners
• Employee Worker-owner transition• Building a healthy organizational
culture for the long haul
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Worker Coop Academy Design by Blueprint Collaborative is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Worker Coop Academy 4. Curriculum Framework
Content Area:Cooperatives
Menu of topics, adaptable to participants’ needs
• Cooperative principles • History of coops in the United
States and around the world• Site visits to Bay Area coops
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Worker Coop Academy Design by Blueprint Collaborative is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Worker Coop Academy 4. Curriculum Framework
Content Area:Governance and Management
Menu of topics, adaptable to participants’ needs
• Management models, roles and processes
• Governance options • Leadership issues in coops• Decision making practices• Effective meeting practices
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Worker Coop Academy Design by Blueprint Collaborative is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Worker Coop Academy 4. Curriculum Framework
Content Area:Legal aspects
Menu of topics, adaptable to participants’ needs
• Entity formation • Raising capital• Corporate governance• Employment law issues• Taxation of cooperatives
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Worker Coop Academy Design by Blueprint Collaborative is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Worker Coop Academy 4. Curriculum Framework
Content Area:Coop Development
Menu of topics, adaptable to participants’ needs
• Development process from feasibility to maturity
• Pro’s and con’s of different development models
• Components of a development process: training, TA, management, governance, etc.
• Roles of developer and coop
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Worker Coop Academy Design by Blueprint Collaborative is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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Worker Coop Academy Design by Blueprint Collaborative is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
For more information, visit SELC’s website: www.theselc.org/worker-cooperative-academy
A project of the Blueprint Collaborative