PORTRAITS OF THE SOLIDARITY ECONOMY
Wondering what kinds of businesses and organizations are part of New York City’s solidarity economy? SolidarityNYC recently finished a series of short films, Portraits of the Solidarity Economy, featuring the stories of solidarity economy leaders and the projects they serve.
Want to learn more? Watch the short films below or wait for our DVD! Also, make sure to take a peak below each film for descriptions of the solidarity economics practices they represent.
(A big thank you to everyone who helped make the films possible!)
PRACTICES OF THE SOLIDARITY ECONOMY
The films show six examples of solidarity economy practices: worker-cooperatives, consumer cooperatives, participatory budgeting, barter networks, credit unions and intentional communities. These are models that form the basis of many other organizations and initiatives and we introduce the basic concepts behind each one here. These are just a few of many more solidarity economy practices.
>WORKER COOPERATIVES
Example
What’s the Goal?
Worker cooperatives seek to meet community needs and create livelihoods through businesses and organizations that are owned and democratically controlled by their workers.
How Do They Work?
Structured in many different ways, they are united by the principle of worker control via collective ownership and a democratic “one member, one vote” or consensus decision-making structure. Both risks and the profits are shared among worker-owners.
Successes
There are an estimated 500+ successful worker cooperatives in the U.S. Worker coops generally have higher rates of employee retention and workplace satisfaction than capitalist businesses. Some studies have also suggested that worker cooperatives have a slightly higher rate of success than other types of small businesses. You can find out more via the U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives, American Worker Cooperative, and the NYC Network of Worker Co-operatives.
>CONSUMER COOPERATIVES
Example
What’s the Goal?
Consumer Cooperatives are structures through which consumers democratically organize to purchase and distribute goods (such as food) and services among each other.
How Does It Work?
The business is owned by consumer-members who buy into the coop through membership fees and/or sweat equity and who benefit (in theory, if not always in practice) from lower prices and/or dividends from the business’ earnings. The coop is typically run by members elected to a Board of Directors and often by managers hired by that Board. Some consumer cooperatives are owned and run jointly by both the consumers and the workers. These coops seek to build democratic participation into every level of their operation, from the membership meeting to the stockroom.
Successes
There are thousands of consumer coops in the U.S.. Though cooperatively owned natural food stores are the most well known examples, housing coops, buying clubs, mutual insurance cooperatives and health care coops are all examples of cooperative consumer self-organization. You can find out more via the Food Co-op Initiative and the Park Slope Food Co-op.
>PARTICIPATORY BUDGETING
What’s the Goal?
The goal of participatory budgeting is to democratize the process of governmental budgeting.
How Does It Work?
Participatory budgeting can occur in three different stages. The public and various civic groups are included in a) analysis and formulation of budgetary priorities, b) monitoring budgetary expenditures and making sure that they are consistent with the budgetary priorities and c) monitoring the delivery of public services. This process attempts to create a space for greater democratic participation throughout the budgeting process.
Successes
The most prominent success of Participatory Budgeting has been in Porto Alegre, Brazil, adopted while under the control of the Worker’s Party (PT). Various other forms of Participatory Budgeting have been implemented in Canada, India, Ireland, Uganda the United States and South Africa, often at a municipal level. You can learn more via the Participatory Budgeting Project.
>BARTER CLUBS
Example
What’s the Goal?
Barter Clubs are organized groups that facilitate the direct exchange of goods and services between people. People meet up and trade things without using money. Community-based barter clubs are not about haggling or just getting a deal. Most small-scale barter clubs are about relationships and mutual aid: the voluntary reciprocal exchange of resources and services for mutual benefit.
How Does It Work?
The simplest way to start a barter club is to make a list of “goods/services offered” and a list of “goods/services needed.” You can start a clothing, food, or other good/service swap event really easily! The group ClothingSwap.com offers tips.
At the most elaborate and largescale end are nationally linked institutions such as the barter markets (clubes de trueque) that have emerged in Argentina since the 2001 financial crisis. In these markets, of which there are more than 100 throughout the country, people exchange a huge array of goods and services using an in house “barter currency” as a kind of IOU that circulates as a medium of exchange. In the absence of a viable national money system, these barter clubs have been essential for the survival of many thousands of struggling families.
Successes
In New York City alone, there are many barter clubs: OurGoods.org (a resource sharing site for artists and activists), BK Swappers (a Brooklyn-based homemade foodie swap), and the Rock Dove Collective (a radical community health exchange network). By identifying the skills and assets that are valuable to other members (like local produce, fresh meals, learning, childcare, and artwork), barter clubs honor motivations other than competition and profit-making and build local relationships of mutual aid, trust, and interdependence.
>CREDIT UNIONS
Example
What’s the Goal?
Created to provide access to credit and financial services on the part of under-served communities, credit unions are member-owned, member-controlled, not-for-profit organizations.
How Do They Work?
Though many of them try very hard to look just like capitalist banks, they are fundamentally different in their operation. Capitalist banks exist to make a profit from the money they borrow and lend, funneling this profit to owners and investors. Credit Unions, on the other hand, exist only to serve their member-owners. Profits generated from credit union activities are returned to the organization to enhance or support services for the membership.
Successes
Like any “democratic” institution credit unions are only as good as their membership makes them. Credit unions without an organized progressive membership fall short of their potential. Credit unions with such an active membership (such as the Santa Cruz Community Credit Union in CA) can provide tremendous resources for community development and social justice efforts. You can learn more via the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions.
>INTENTIONAL COMMUNITIES
Example
What’s the Goal?
Like-minded people form intentional communities in order to live and work together in cooperation for shared goals. They collectively own the properties they use for their living and working.
How Does It Work?
Intentional Communities have, for many centuries, been places where idealists have come together to create a better world. Communities come in all shapes and sizes, and share many similar challenges — such as defining membership, succeeding financially, distributing resources, making decisions, raising children, dividing work equitably, and choosing a standard of living. Many wrestle with questions about right livelihood, spiritual expression, land use, and the role of service in our lives. Virtually all communities share a common root value of cooperation.
Successes
Although there are thousands of intentional communities in existence today, and many others in the formative stages, many people are unaware of them or the roots from which they spring. For comprehensive information, check out the Fellowship for Intentional Community.