I was shocked when I read the recent article about worker co-ops printed in both the Gazette and Recorder that stated, “In America, the concept is only about 20 years old, and in many areas like Massachusetts, it is still in its primitive stages.” How could the newspapers allow such a wildly incorrect statement?
In fact, there have been many waves of worker and consumer co-ops the U.S., starting in colonial times as mutual insurance and fire protection associations, and recurring throughout the 19th century often related to agricultural production. One example was the worker-owned silk mill in Florence that was started in the 1840s. In the 20th century, both worker and consumer co-ops appeared during the Great Depression, and then a large wave occurred again in the 1970s and 1980s. Several local worker co-ops formed during that period continue as viable businesses today, such as Pelham Auto (1974) and Collective Copies (1983). During the 1980s, the Labor Center at UMass offered a course on Workplace Democracy and Hampshire College had an academic program also focused on Workplace Democracy. During that time, I was a member of an organizational consulting collective that specialized in assisting worker and consumer co-ops here and elsewhere in the state.
More recently, other local worker co-ops have been formed: Real Pickles (2013), Valley Green Feast (2010), PV Squared (2002); Downtown Sounds (2019), Luthier’s Co-op (2004), OxBow Design Build (2019), and Pedal People (2002). More local worker co-ops can be found at The Valley Alliance of Co-operatives’ website (valleyworker.coop/members). And finally, the ICA group (1977), the oldest national organization dedicated to the development of worker cooperatives, provides business and consulting services, and has an office in downtown Northampton.
Grant Ingle
Conway