Banks foreclosed, sold the factory. Workers occupied, started a co-op. Today, a New Era begins...

[Fire Walk With Me]

Occupy Wall Street ‏@OccupyWallSt

Banks foreclosed, sold the factory. Workers occupied, started a co-op. Today, a New Era begins in Chicago:
http://www.newerawindows.com

Our Story

When the boss decided to close our windows factory in 2012, we decided to buy it for ourselves. Today, we are putting together the New Era Windows cooperative, and we hope to be an inspiration for how future jobs can be created in America. This is our story.

[Brigid]

1. I am very much hoping . . .

That this will become a nationwide -- no, make that worldwide -- trend.

[limpyhobbler]

4. Yes indeed. That's what we need. nt

[99th_Monkey]

2. THIS.

If there is any real "solution" as to how to fix our economy from the
ground-roots up, THIS is it. More power to these brave workers for
standing up for their stake in the company; hopefully now they can
actualize their stake and buy out the owner for pennies on the dollar.

Check out Richard Wolff, he's going all over the nation and preaching
his worker ownership "good news" that labor needs to return to it's
Knights of Labor 19th Century roots, and have workers literally OWN
the means of production and profit, rather than "bargain" for the
crumbs off greedy capitalist tables.

These kinds of deals CAN EASILY BE incentivized by the Fed and state
government's quasi-public economic development agencies. I helped
get worker ownership programs up and running at the state government
level in Oregon decades ago.

This is one of the things I wish Obama would invest majorly into, so
workers can begin winning back their right to a decent wage and some
employment security.

See Richard Wolff
http://rdwolff.com/content/democracy-work-cure-capitalism
http://www.democracynow.org/blog/2013/3/25/watch_extended_interview_with_economist_richard_wolff_on_how_marxism_influences_his_work

See Mondragon
http://www.democracynow.org/blog/2013/3/25/video_understanding_the_mondragon_worker_cooperative_corporation_in_spains_basque_country

[limpyhobbler]

5. Yeah we should probably start pressing the politicians on this issue...

Want my vote? Will you support seed funding for worker self-directed enterprises?

[99th_Monkey]

6. +1000 n/t

[cascadiance]

7. Yes! Perhaps look at some of the laws in Argentina that helped start this movement many years back.

... as Naomi Klein and her husband Avi Lewis helped document in their landmark documentary "The Take" that helped motivate such subsequent efforts like the one in Republic to "occupy and resist" when owners try to shut down workplaces and people's lives that don't want and can't afford them to stop...



http://www.thetake.org/

[99th_Monkey]

8. Yes yes.

a thousand yeses.

[Jack Rabbit]

3. Another world is possible . . . .

Last edited Thu May 9, 2013, 06:48 PM - Edit history (1)

. . . and we don't need the ignorami who graduate from elite business schools and fuck up the world economy.

People, we are on our own. This is the direction to go. Nevermind the crooked politicians. Once we have crushed the Wall Street bankers and the global industrialists, the crooked politicians can do no more then then limbs of a dragon once its head is cut off.