Worker Owned Cooperative and Allies Jam Session

• It's great to be able to bring your whole self to the job
• It can be hard to interface with outside organizations that don't understand what it means to have a horizontal structure
• It's an extremely empowering space, we have trust in each other.
• When there is a problem, it's not just one persons problem, it's everyones problem.
• It can be really consuming
• Growing can be difficult. When you're in a cooperative it's almost like you're in a family or a relationship.
• Stages of development
  • Forming (founders, everyone super excited)
  • Storming (disagreements start)
  • Norming (organizations start to mature and start having norms)
• It's a big leap when the early success is due to frenetic working. You have to take a leap of faith to pull back.
• Design Action is a union shop. It helps with making sure we treat ourselves well. Communications Workers.
  • It's also been really helpful with prospective members
• One phase example. a.k.a a series of things that help me not do what I don't want to do.
  • Freelance culture
  • Project manage each other
  • Dedicated project manager
  • Having someone handle intake
• There is a struggle between specializing and having project managers and having a horizontal organization
• There is a difference between having a position and a role
• Project management is always undervalued
• Adding an additional charge for PM instead of billing seperate hours.
• Difference beween a "project" manager and a "manager". It doesn't create a hierarchy.

Cooperatives Mentioned

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• Aorta Collective
• Design Action
• Electric Embers
• Mirabot
• Open Flows
• Palante
• Quilted

Report back

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• Cooperative are an opportunity to work in an extremely empowering space and to have trust in each other.
• What's working well is the collaboration and what's not working well is the collaboration.