Join us this June

Democracy at Work:
3rd National Conference of Worker Cooperatives
and Democratic Workplaces
New Orleans, LA
June 19-22, 2008


The conference will be held on the campus of Loyola University in New Orleans, and is co-sponsored by the Twomey Center for Peace Through Justice at Loyola. We're preparing for three full, focused, fun days of information exchange and skill-sharing, thinking about our place in a larger movement for economic justice, creating connections with each other and other groups, and continuing to build our national Federation.

We will have workshops by and for worker cooperators, speakers from around the world, presentations by New Orleanians and those helping to rebuild the city, one-on-one consultation times with co-op development experts, meals together, parties and social events, live music (of course! it's New Orleans!), and plenty of chances to spend time together enjoying the excellent company of other worker cooperative members and supporters.

2008 National Worker Cooperative Conference Schedule
Schedule last updated: Monday, May 26, 2008


THURSDAY 6/19
4-11pm Check in to lodging
8-10pm Movie Night
Faubourg Treme: The Untold Story of Black New Orleans
At Home in Utopia
Argentina: Turning Around

FRIDAY 6/20
8am OPTIONAL: Morning stretching in Audubon Park for early risers
9am Continental Breakfast & Check in to lodging
9:45am Welcome and Introduction
10am USFWC Membership Meeting: All Group
WORKSHOPS
Biodiesel: A Community Industry (Part 1)
What's the Economy For Anyway?
Social Capital and Democratic Participation
Taxation of Patronage Dividends: Are They Subject to Self-Employment Tax?
12pm Lunch
1-3pm USFWC Membership Meeting: Small Groups
Bylaws, Strategic Plan, Inclusiveness and Equity, Member Participation,
Unions and Coops, Big Ideas
WORKSHOPS
Biodiesel: A Community Industry (Part 2)
Intro to Worker Coops
3pm Break
3:30pm New Orleans-Focused Showcase of Cooperatives in Central City N.O.
5:30pm New Orleans Co-op Showcase
Reception
Rebuilding Tours of New Orleans
7pm Party and Dinner hosted by New Orleans emerging co-op community

SATURDAY 6/21
8am OPTIONAL: Morning stretching in Audubon Park for early risers
9am Continental Breakfast
10am Welcome to New Orleans
Shakoor Aljuwani, C4 Tech members, others TBA
10:30am Session 1: Economic Justice, Development, Community
Self-Sufficiency
Speaker: Harvey Reed, Louisiana Assn of Cooperatives, Kathia Duran, Global Trade Network; Greta Gladney, Louisiana Assn of Cooperatives
11:30am WORKSHOPS
Intro to Worker Coops
Green Union Coops: A Strategy for Development
Youth Empowerment Through Cooperation
Managing the Cooperative Difference
Spanish-Speaking Workers' Space
1pm Lunch
2:15pm Session 2: The Cooperative Difference - Nuts and Bolts
Speaker: Omar Freilla,Green Worker Cooperatives
3pm WORKSHOPS
Building the Cooperative Movmement in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast (Part 1)
Taking The Man out of Management
Develop This! The Gloriously Imperfect World of Coop Conversions
Construction Cooperatives
Financial Planning for Growth
4:30pm Break
5pm WORKSHOPS
African American Women in Worker Cooperatives: Then and Now
Rural-Urban Connections in Building a Cooperative Food System
Feeling Lost and Confused? Maybe You Should Come to This Workshop
Senior Workers Benefits
Participatory Credit Union Proposal
7pm Dinner
9pm Social/Musical Event,
Night on the Town

SUNDAY 6/22
8am OPTIONAL: Morning stretching in Audubon Park for early risers
9am Continental Breakfast
Open Space on Continuing Education Opportunities
10am USFWC
Membership Meeting and Elections
WORKSHOPS
Community Connections: Anti-Oppression in Coop Planning & Practices
Effective Online Tools for Dummies
Open space

12:30pm Lunch
1:45pm Session 3: International and Intercooperative Connections
Speakers: Aaron Dawsom, Lisa Russell, Equal Exchange; more TBA
2:45pm WORKSHOPS
Building the Cooperative Movmement in New Orleans (Part 2)
The Role of Politics and Principles in Building an Inclusive Movement
Argentinian Cooperative Movement and Cooperative Fund Experience
Visualizing a New Economy: Local and Regional Federations
Swimming
in the Mainstream: Alliances with Small Business & City Gov't
Union-Coops Roundtable
4:15pm CLOSING EVENT
Bringing the Conference Back: Sharing Practical Applications
5pm Dinner