Organizations and projects in this space, with a sense of activity level and community size where known.
A cooperative business, arts, and investment ecosystem built by and for Boston's working-class Black, Indigenous, and communities of color. Takes its name from "ujima" (Swahili for collective work and responsibility). Runs a democratically governed community investment fund that residents and members vote on, alongside business support and cultural organizing, aiming to build local economic democracy rather than rely on extractive outside capital. A New Economy Coalition member organization.
AI-generated · Unverified
A Jackson, Mississippi-based vehicle for building a solidarity economy anchored by worker-owned, democratically self-managed cooperatives. Working toward a federation of worker co-ops, a cooperative incubator, and a cooperative financial institution, plus an "Eco-Village" built on a community land trust that already holds dozens of parcels in West Jackson. Current cooperative ventures include an urban farm (Freedom Farms), a lawn-care co-op (The Green Team), and a small-scale digital fabrication co-op. A New Economy Coalition member organization.
AI-generated · Unverified
A worker-owned home care agency in the South Bronx, New York, and by most accounts the largest worker cooperative in the United States, employing roughly 2,000 workers, most of them women of color. Employees can buy an ownership stake through small payroll deductions; worker-owners elect a majority of the board and receive profit-based dividends. A member of the U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives and frequently cited as a model for scaling worker ownership in low-wage industries.
AI-generated · Unverified
A membership network of 200+ nonprofits, mission-driven businesses, grassroots groups, and sectoral associations across the US working to build the scale and power of the solidarity economy movement, with a stated focus on Black, Indigenous, and working-class communities. Founded in 2012 (as a successor to the New Economics Institute). Since 2021 it has operated as a worker self-directed nonprofit with no executive director; decisions are made collectively by staff and elected board representatives through adapted sociocracy.
AI-generated · Unverified
The national membership organization for worker cooperatives in the US, advancing worker-owned and worker-governed workplaces through education, technical assistance, and advocacy. Founded in 2004 out of a national gathering of regional worker-co-op practitioners. Represents nearly 450 business and organizational members, standing in for an estimated 1,300 US worker co-ops and roughly 15,000 workers. Governed by a 100% member-elected board; offices in Oakland, CA and Philadelphia, PA. Co-hosts the annual Worker Co-op Conference with the Democracy at Work Institute.
AI-generated · Unverified