We know that workers have been on the frontlines of the pandemic, too often with no real say in the conditions they’ve had to face and the risks they’ve had to take. Meanwhile, the net worth of American billionaires has grown by over a trillion dollars since the start of the pandemic. How would a more democratic economy have responded to the current crisis?

Our new special report from TRNN journalist Jaisal Noor, produced with the support of the Solutions Journalism Network, answers this question with an in-depth look at eight worker cooperatives in four cities: 

• Cooperative Home Care Associates (NYC)
• Brooklyn Packers (NYC)
• Taharka Brothers (Baltimore)
• Joe Squared Pizza (Baltimore)
• Red Emma’s (Baltimore)
• ChiFresh Kitchen (Chicago)
• Evergreen Cooperative Laundry (Cleveland)
• Phoenix Coffee (Cleveland)

How have co-ops in the food industry and in the care sector stepped up to protect their worker-owners? How have traditional businesses found a path through the pandemic through a conversion to worker ownership? How have worker co-ops created opportunities for those traditionally excluded or marginalized in the economy to build workplaces centered around dignity and democracy? And what challenges and setbacks have these nascent efforts to build a new economy facing?

Tune in on May 13th at 7PM EDT for the report’s premiere, and stick around for a live discussion and Q&A, co-sponsored by the US Federation of Worker Cooperatives and the New Economy Coalition, featuring worker-owners from cooperatives featured in the report, and moderated by The Real News’ Managing Editor Lisa Snowden-McCray. The panel will include:

• Jaisal Noor, The Real News Network
• Raina Kennedy, Brooklyn Packers
• Najee Haynes-Follins, Red Emma’s
• Detric McCoy, Taharka Brothers
• Lisa Snowden-McCray, The Real News Network (moderator)

This special report has been supported by the Solutions Journalism Network, a nonprofit organization dedicated to rigorous and compelling reporting about responses to social problems.

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How co-ops across the US weathered COVID-19 by prioritizing their workers

by Jaisal Noor, The Real News Network
May 13, 2021

<h1>How co-ops across the US weathered COVID-19 by prioritizing their workers</h1> <p class="byline">by Jaisal Noor, The Real News Network <br />May 13, 2021</p> <br /> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio"> <div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://youtu.be/D0ELrGy_aqg </div> </figure> <p>We know that workers have been on the frontlines of the pandemic, too often with no real say in the conditions they’ve had to face and the risks they’ve had to take. Meanwhile, the net worth of American billionaires has grown by over a trillion dollars since the start of the pandemic. How would a more democratic economy have responded to the current crisis?</p> <p>Our new special report from TRNN journalist Jaisal Noor, produced with the support of the Solutions Journalism Network, answers this question with an in-depth look at eight worker cooperatives in four cities:&nbsp;</p> <ul> <li>Cooperative Home Care Associates (NYC)</li> <li>Brooklyn Packers (NYC)</li> <li>Taharka Brothers (Baltimore)</li> <li>Joe Squared Pizza (Baltimore)</li> <li>Red Emma’s (Baltimore)</li> <li>ChiFresh Kitchen (Chicago)</li> <li>Evergreen Cooperative Laundry (Cleveland)</li> <li>Phoenix Coffee (Cleveland)</li> </ul> <p>How have co-ops in the food industry and in the care sector stepped up to protect their worker-owners? How have traditional businesses found a path through the pandemic through a conversion to worker ownership? How have worker co-ops created opportunities for those traditionally excluded or marginalized in the economy to build workplaces centered around dignity and democracy? And what challenges and setbacks have these nascent efforts to build a new economy facing?</p> <p><a href="https://youtu.be/D0ELrGy_aqg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><strong>Tune in on May 13th at 7PM EDT for the report’s premiere</strong>, <strong>and stick around for a live discussion and Q&amp;A</strong></a>, co-sponsored by the <a href="https://www.usworker.coop/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">US Federation of Worker Cooperatives</a> and the <a href="https://neweconomy.net/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">New Economy Coalition</a>, featuring worker-owners from cooperatives featured in the report, and moderated by The Real News’ Managing Editor Lisa Snowden-McCray. The panel will include:</p> <ul> <li>Jaisal Noor, The Real News Network</li> <li>Raina Kennedy, Brooklyn Packers</li> <li>Najee Haynes-Follins, Red Emma’s</li> <li>Detric McCoy, Taharka Brothers</li> <li>Lisa Snowden-McCray, The Real News Network (moderator)</li> </ul> <p><em>This special report has been supported by the </em><a href="http://solutionsjournalism.org/"><em>Solutions Journalism Network</em></a><em>, a nonprofit organization dedicated to rigorous and compelling reporting about responses to social problems.</em></p> <p>This <a target="_blank" href="https://therealnews.com/how-co-ops-across-the-us-weathered-covid-19-by-prioritizing-their-workers">article</a> first appeared on <a target="_blank" href="https://therealnews.com">The Real News Network</a> and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.<img src="https://i0.wp.com/therealnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/cropped-TRNN-2021-logomark-square.png?fit=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1" style="width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;"><img id="republication-tracker-tool-source" src="https://therealnews.com/?republication-pixel=true&post=271575&amp;ga4=G-7LYS8R7V51" style="width:1px;height:1px;"></p> Copy to Clipboard

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