Looking to start a business?
Learn about resources and support for starting a worker cooperative.
Worker cooperatives are businesses that are owned and democratically operated by the people who work there.
A worker cooperative is a flexible business model that works in many industries.
The City of Madison has longstanding worker cooperative businesses going back to the 1970s with new worker cooperatives incorporating every year.
Madison Cooperative Development Coalition
The Madison Cooperative Development Coalition (MCDC) is the City of Madison’s initiative to form worker cooperatives that address income inequality and racial disparities by creating living-wage and sustainable jobs. They are collaborative of community-based organizations, business resource specialists, and cooperative developers. MCDC works to support the growth and creation of worker cooperatives, specifically addressing the factors affecting local communities of color, low-wealth, and traditionally excluded workforces. The goal is to create a sustainable system that will combat poverty, empower workers and increase equity in order to strengthen Madison’s long-term economic health.
Madison Worker Cooperatives (MadWorC)
MadWorC is a membership organization of worker-owned and operated cooperatives and their supporters. Theor mission is to support and build the solidarity economy in the Madison area by promoting worker ownership and democratically controlled workplaces. They provide cooperative education, development support, peer networking, and technical assistance towards growing an ecosystem of worker-owned cooperatives, which can mutually support each other while building racial, gender, and economic justice in our communities.
After 5 years of development, this workbook was designed to help union co-op teams develop their worker-ownership culture. The workbook contains the essentials of the co-op movement, labor movement, and the Mondragon cooperative network of Spain. It teaches the nuts and bolts of business financials, conflict management and team building skills.
In Collective Courage, Jessica Gordon Nembhard chronicles African American cooperative business ownership and its place in the movements for Black civil rights and economic equality. Adding the cooperative movement to Black history results in a retelling of the African American experience, with an increased understanding of African American collective economic agency and grassroots economic organizing.
Tour will be departing at 10am from
Goodman South Madison Library
2222 S. Park St
sign up at this link/
apúntate aquí
registration is required
transportation and snacks will be provided
Presented in partnership with Madison Worker Cooperatives (MadWorc) madworc.org
Questions? Email malvarado@madisonpublicilbrary.org.
Learn about
worker
cooperatives
June 2024
Co-ops 101
Imagine a business model where workers share in the ownership, decision-making, and profits of a business. Learn about local worker cooperatives and resources to start one.
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Co-ops 101 dates
Tuesday 6/4
@ the Central Library
201 W. Mifflin st
12-1:30 pm
Tuesday 6/4
via Zoom (sign up)
6:30-8 pm
Co-ops 201
What does it take to start up a worker cooperative business? Learn about the steps and requirements to develop your co-op.
Co-ops 201 dates
Tuesday, 6/11
@ the Central Library
201 W. Mifflin st
12-1:30 pm
Tuesday, 6/11
via Zoom (sign up)
6:30-8 pm
Co-op Financing
Learn about start-up loans and microloans for worker cooperatives. With representatives from Shared Capital and Madison Kiva/WWBIC.
Co-op financing dates
Tuesday, 6/18
@ the Central Library
201 W. Mifflin st
12-1:30 pm
Tuesday, 6/18
via Zoom (sign up)
6:30-8 pm
Connect to expert advice, technical assistance, and resources at
Madison Cooperative Development Coalition
Questions? Email malvarado@madisonpublicilbrary.org.