by Vanessa Bransburg, Cooperative Coordinator at Center for Family Life
A few months ago we were invited to visit Wililmantic, Connecticut to discuss the story of our cooperative development project. This is a short video from that day:
Tag Archives: Worker Cooperative Project
Our Presentation in Connecticut
Filed under Fair Work, Immigrants in NYC, Worker Cooperative Project
Si Se Puede! in the Brooklyn Rail
In its September issue, the Brooklyn Rail magazine profiles the Si Se Puede! Women’s Cooperative. In recent years, the coop has been an outstanding success: it has provided its members with a steady source of income and drawn attention by the media and community groups seeking to replicate its model. With growth, however, members have come to face new challenges as they deliberate how to meet the ever-increasing demand for their services:
Like all coops, membership in Si Se Puede! requires participation in the day-to-day management of the business and there is work to be done beyond the payment of dues. For one, members must spend three hours a month promoting the coop to potential clients. This might mean staffing a table at a summer street fair or handing out Si Se Puede! literature in upscale Brooklyn neighborhoods.
This old-fashioned, grassroots outreach has paid off; the coop now has more than 1,300 people in its database—from one-time users to weekly clients. What’s more, they’ve scored work not only from individuals but also from yoga studios, stores, and a Fort Greene bed & breakfast.
In addition to doing outreach, members are also required to attend weekly meetings where business decisions are hashed out. (…) Current hot topics include how fast Si Se Puede! should grow. Should membership be capped, so that the coop remains small, or should it be opened to new members? If they choose to expand, will increased numbers inhibit participatory democracy? Can they avoid a more traditional hierarchical structure if they double or triple in size?
Not easy questions, these, but Si Se Puede! members and CFL staff agree that change is inevitable if the coop is to continue to thrive, and all are confident that the business is strong enough to weather growth spurts and challenges. In fact, [Cooperative Coordinator Vanessa] Bransburg says that interest in the Si Se Puede! model is burgeoning and groups like Make the Road New York and Catholic Charities are looking to CFL for help in establishing similar projects in other parts of the city.
Filed under Fair Work, Worker Cooperative Project
Color Me! Cooperative Launches
by Vanessa Bransburg, Cooperative Coordinator at Center for Family Life
In March, fourteen immigrant women from Sunset Park came together to start a worker-owned interior painting business. They began a 10-week cooperative orientation and training to prepare for the launch of their business. As the Cooperative Coordinator, I designed the curriculum and helped recruit the founding members, but what I did not expect was the high intensity of enthusiasm and focus from the members.
During these first 10 weeks before the launch, we covered the fundamental principles of the cooperative movement, communication skills for group work, decision-making strategies, the infrastructure development of the business and of course- interior painting basics. Week after week, the members expanded their set of skills, including practice painting sessions decorating several rooms at the offices of Center for Family Life. This not only provided them with the opportunity to develop their painting skills but also to learn how to work effectively as a team.
By the end of the 10-week period, members developed a good rapport with each other and gained confidence as newly minted business owners. During the last two sessions, members met with Maria Parodi, a marketing specialist from from a consulting agency, Vidal Partnership, to learn about branding and marketing. Ms. Parodi also helped them develop their business name and positioning. These trainings were filled with energy and geared the members towards a more focused path, getting a better sense of who their target audience would be and the best ways to approach them.
On April 28th, we held a graduation ceremony for the Color Me! Cooperative. The room was filled with family members, friends and CFL staff, all of whom felt proud of the members for having come such a long way to start their very own business enterprise. As a symbolic acknowledgement of this big moment, each coop member received a certificate. We also celebrated the event with delicious food.
The Cooperative is now offering Sunset Park residents and friends of the Center a promotional offer to paint your home or apartment at a 50% discount. The promotion is for a limited time only, so give us a call today for an estimate. You can reach us at (718) 633-4823.
Help Us Win Ashoka’s Changemakers Competition!
Center for Family Life needs your support! We are excited to be partiocipating in the Changemakers Competition by Ashoka and Green Mountain Coffee called Revelation to Action. The competition supports innovative ideas that strengthen and improve communities.
The Changemakers Competition is a great opportunity to get the word out about our partnership with immigrant workers to organize cooperative businesses that create opportunities for safe work at a fair wage.
You can increase our chances by visiting the Changemakers website, adding our project to your favorites and leaving positive feedback. Here’s how:
- Visit our project entry here and read about what we do.
- Add our project to your favorites and leave us feedback about our entry.
Please also spread the word to your colleagues and friends! The competition is an open platform where we can share our work with the world, so the more people we can inspire, the better!
Thank you very much for your help!
The Growing NYC Cooperative Network
by Vanessa Bransburg, Cooperative Project Coordinator, Center for Family Life
In the past few months, the Worker Cooperative Project at the Center has fielded numerous inquiries from community-based organizations and individuals about how to develop a worker-owner cooperative in their own communities. We had several meetings to answer their questions and tell them about our story. It soon became clear that these groups and individuals need much more support than these conversations can provide.
Based on these experiences, I began to speak to cooperative worker owners, allies and other developers in New York about the need for support to those interested in developing their own cooperative businesses in low-income immigrant communities around the city. The Center’s annual Fair Work Symposium in December 2009, provided an excellent opportunity for the launch of a city-wide network of worker-owned cooperatives.
The idea behind the NYC Cooperative Network is to provide support, guidance and access to resources to both newly formed cooperatives as well as seasoned ones. By serving as an information clearing house and a forum for advocacy, the network can make a significant impact in the city’s immigrant neighborhoods, promoting economic opportunities through safe and fair work and fostering community development.
The meeting in December was full of energy and inspiration, and a strong desire to build a network that would evolve into an organization working in alliance with the U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives. Since this meeting, the NYC Cooperative Network has created a listserv in order to facilitate communication among the 41 active members.
Our second meeting was held at the Urban Justice Center, coordinated by attorney Ted Barbieri and myself. This meeting helped us refine and express what our goals and interests are. We also had a great time getting to know each other on a more personal level. By the end of the third meeting, held in February at Little Sisters of the Assumption and led by Omar Freilla, Founder of Green Worker Cooperatives and Flor de Maria Eilets, Workforce Coordinator at LSA, members had produced a solid draft of the network’s mission statement.
We still have much work ahead of us, yet it is clear that the NYC Cooperative Network has the potential to become a magnificent space for those who need tools and support as they take on the challenge of developing worker-owned businesses in their own communities.
Filed under Fair Work, Immigrants in NYC, Worker Cooperative Project
Upcoming Events at Employment Services
February will be a busy month at the Center’s Adult Employment Program, with a variety of employment and entrepreneurial opportunities.
On Monday, February 1, is the first open house session for the Cosmetology Project. This is a great opportunity to receive training in cosmetology, receive a state license and find a job in the beauty sector. The event begins at 10 am at our Adult Employment Program office at 443 39th Street, Brooklyn, NY. To inquire, please contact project coordinator Dulce Jimeno at (718) 633-4823.
We invited the Business Outreach Center to provide a small business development workshop on February 5. For those interested in starting a small business, the workshop will help prepare for the first stages of development, including business plan creation and information about useful resources. The two-hour workshop will begin at 10 am at 443 39th Street, Brooklyn, NY; registration is not required. If you have any questions, contact program director Maria Ferreira at (718) 633-4823.
As you may know, 2010 is the year of the decennial Census, and the U.S. Census Bureau is hiring temporary, part-time census workers. The first step to becoming a census worker is taking a test, which you can do at our program site. Tests will take place at 1 pm on several days, including February 1st, 3rd and 5th. If you can’t make it next week, more dates will be available throughout February; please contact Ms. Ferreira at (718) 633-4823 for more information.
Our Worker Cooperative Project will organize a new worker-owned business in spring 2010. The new cooperative will provide interior painting and decoration services, and it follows the model of the successful coops organized by the Center over the past three years. We are organizing an open house event on February 22 at 5:30 pm to recruit members for this new coop. This is a fantastic opportunity for participants to increase their income and become business owners; previous experience and skills are great but not required. To learn more, contact Cooperative Coordinator Vanessa Bransburg at (718) 633 4823. You can also read our previous posts about the award-winning Worker Cooperative Project by clicking on this link.
On February 25, we are hosting an open house event for those interested in working as home attendants. Offered by Partners in Care, this program includes a free, three-week training and a job opportunity for those who complete the training successfully. At the open house event, representatives of Partners in Care will conduct interviews with interested participants between 10 am and noon.
As an ongoing service, we offer credit counseling by a professional consultant every Tuesday from 9 am to 12. This service is available by appointment only – please call Maria Ferreira at (718) 633 4823.
The Adult Employment Program also provides a range of free services to help participants increase their chances to find employment. These include ESL classes and workshops in resume writing, job interview preparation and and using office computer software. To participate, visit our office at 443 39th Street, Brooklyn, NY to complete an application and receive orientation. For those already registered, job search assistance in our computer lab is available every Monday and Wednesday at 9:30 am.
Filed under Adult Employment Program, Fair Work
Toward a “New Economy”
Photo: Annie McShiras
The Sunset Park cooperatives are in the news again! YES!, a nonprofit magazine that promotes “a just and sustainable world,” published an article about the Beyond Care Cooperative.
Jackie Amezquita isn’t your typical nanny. During the workday, she cares for her clients’ young children, educating and nurturing them. But as president of Beyond Care, a 19-member childcare cooperative based in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, her reach extends far beyond those individual families…
Jackie explains that the cooperative forms a valuable support network for its members, who would otherwise be independent contractors: “I have a backing—a backing of a group of women, working for dignity and respect, working to empower the children that we are helping develop in this world. I have a real sense of solidarity with these women.”
Read the whole article here. If you are interested in Beyond Care’s services, check out their web site.
In September, the We Can Do It! Cooperative was featured on CNN and recognized by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus in D.C. In recent months, the coops also appeared on the TV show On the Money, on NPR’s Weekend America and in Indypendent magazine.
Filed under Fair Work, Immigrants in NYC, Worker Cooperative Project
We Can Do It! in the National Spotlight
A big day for the We Can Do It! Cooperative: on September 15, coop members and the Center’s Vanessa Bransburg traveled to Washington D.C at the invitation of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. At the 2009 Public Policy Conference, part of the Hispanic Heritage Month event series, We Can Do It! was showcased as an innovative business that leads the way for Latinos in the green economy. We Can Do It! members were introduced by Brooklyn Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez.
CNN recently featured We Can Do It! in a profile of businesses across the nation where workers take charge.
We Can Do It! is a cooperative formed by Sunset Park residents that provides housecleaning services using green products and methods. Over the past three years, they have developed a thriving business and inspired many in our community and at the Center.
Their outstanding achievement is an example of how creativity, collaboration and perseverance can overcome the formidable barriers to economic success and business ownership that stand in the way for so many in Sunset Park.
Filed under Fair Work, Immigrants in NYC, Worker Cooperative Project
Coops On the Money
The Sunset Park cooperatives supported by the Center were recently featured on the TV show On the Money, which addresses economic justice issues affecting New York City’s neighborhoods. The show is produced by the Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project (NEDAP), a resource and advocacy center for community groups, and airs on different channels around the metropolitan area. You can watch this week’s show about the coops on NEDAP’s Youtube channel. Here’s part one:
Her Story
The video below is an interview with key Si Se Puede!/We Can Do It! Cooperative member Afsari Jahan, from a series called “Herstories in the Economy” by the New York Women’s Foundation:
Since the launch of the cooperative incubator project at Center for Family Life in 2006, the New York Women’s Foundation has provided crucial support for the success of this innovative initiative. You can read their “Grantee Spotlight” about the Center here.
Spark 