There are many options for cooperatives and collectives within technology. Worker cooperatives are businesses owned and controlled by the people who work in them, the cooperative members. They are a time-tested way to create quality jobs, and are gaining momentum as a strategy to build and anchor wealth in communities. http://conference.coop/

1. Cooperatives
and
Collectives
Think Outside the Boss
Presentation by: Michele (Micky) Metts
Design4Drupal 2014

2. Cooperatives
and
Collectives
Think Outside the Boss
Presentation by: Michele (Micky) Metts
Yes!
Cooperatives
And
Collectives!

3. My name is Michele Metts, people call me Micky and I
am known as FreeScholar in the Drupal Community.
I am a member of Agaric, a tech cooperative and
LibreBoston a sub group of Boston Linux User Group.
I speak to groups about the realities of using FREE
software, and I facilitate discussion on building
cooperatives and collectives. I am a Drupal Hacker.
I joined the Drupal community in 2006.
About Us

4. Worker cooperatives are businesses
owned and controlled by the people who
work in them, the cooperative members.
They are a time-tested way to create
quality jobs, and are gaining momentum
as a strategy to build and anchor wealth
in communities. . .
What is a Worker Cooperative:

5. 1) Freelancer: You do everything
yourself. You make all the decisions.
2) Corporate job: You get to share work
and skills with other people. Someone
else is ultimately in charge.
3) Cooperative: Work and decision-
making are shared with your co-workers.
Choices

6. I am a member of Agaric, a growing
cooperative of Drupal Developers.
One great benefit of being part of a
cooperative is being able to devote time to
internal projects.
We all enjoy bringing projects to the group
that are beneficial to humanity.
Members

7. The Agaric Collective Model
As a worker cooperative, Agaric's members are all
workers and owners, or worker-owners, and we work
on projects collectively. Although we are technically
international, we are members of the USFWC (US
Federation of Worker Cooperatives) to support others
in self-determination in their work.
As a collective, we each get a monthly salary (the
same amount for each of us) and we vote on what to
do with the rest of the profits.
Agaric

8. As a cooperative, Agaric is using Free and
Open Source software to develop a
platform to be used as a service -
http://powertoconnect.org - supports
people connecting on events and topical
issues that are deeper than a tweet, such
as meetings or events that may have
member voting, shared documents or
media attached that needs to be
accessible on multiple devices.
Projects

9. Options
What are the options
for cooperatives and collectives
within technology?
Developers cooperatives are
an interesting and rewarding challenge!
Agaric also works with larger collectives or
freelance agencies, as a group.

10. Sometimes I use the term "Freelancing"
because this is the beginning of the path for
some people. Some may fear the word
'collective' and feel it has no foundational
support for a consistent revenue stream...
In reality, a Freelancing Company could also
be a larger or different type of 'collective' -
say a collective that does marketing, client
accounts, billing, paperwork etc.
What is Freelancing:

11. My focus is on social justice,
equality and equity
in the worksphere
Focus
Support cooperatives that offer services like legal, political
lobbyists and activism that will ensure that laws do not change to
impede your cooperative efforts.
Social Justice and activism is a big part of a cooperative and
welcoming society. Fairness and openness is a value standard that
must be in place for cooperative efforts to survive and flourish.
So, search out the socially conscious activists in your area and talk
with them about your cooperative and what you will be doing.

12. Mondragon
Mondragon is one of the leading Spanish business
groups, integrated by autonomous and independent
cooperatives with production subsidiaries and
corporate offices in
41 countries and
sales in more than
150 countries.
mondragon-corporation.com
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-obHJfTaQvw

13. Drupal?
How does Drupal work
for cooperatives?

14. Define a Path
Get familiar with people speaking from experience:
http://commonbound.org/speakers
http://conference.coop/speakers/
Get familiar with what they are speaking about:
http://commonbound.org/sessions

15. Must Have Nice to Have Want to Have
0. Define the parameters of your cooperative
environment.
It could be in Articles of Organization,
ByLaws or a simple contractual agreement
between members...
or just a handshake.
A cooperative or collective is defined by the
members.
0. Define the Parameters

16. Finding Co-Workers
In your field

17. Must Have Nice to Have Want to Have
1. You need to find co-workers in your industry
that value one worker one vote.
Talk to people in your personal network about
your goal.
Let former co-workers know you are forming
or seeking to work with a cooperative.
1. Find co-workers

18. Must Have Nice to Have Want to Have
2. Go to events where you will meet members
of cooperatives and ask them how they are
structured internally.
There are meetups (meetup.com) or you
could start one in your area.
Reach out to mailing lists you are on and ask
if people are interested in working collectively.
2. Go to Events

19. 3. Search for cooperatives that are listed in
several online directories and research their
strategies.
Open Directory search for all types of coops:
http://find.coop/
http://ica.coop/en
Food coops:
http://www.coopdirectory.org/
Worker coops:
http://www.usworker.coop/member-directory
and of course Twitter - https://twitter.com/hashtag/cooperatives
3. Search and Research

20. 4. Discuss options of the workers buying the
company
If you are in a great working situation and the
company is structured in a hierarchy - talk to
the owner about the possibility of selling it to
the workers.
The converted cooperative will continue its
business operations, albeit with a new board,
new governance structure, and new system of
distributing profits.
4. Options to Buy
http://www.co-oplaw.org/conversion

21. 5. Join a cooperative network or 2 or 3...
a) http://usfwc.org
b) http://techworker.coop
c) http://bostoncoop.net
d) http://worcn.org/
5. Join a Network

22. 6. Invest in other cooperatives.
Encourage pooled funds from successful
cooperatives to help bootstrap new proposed
cooperatives.
Seek out people and organizations that are
providing services that your cooperative may
need and introduce them to information that
will help them get started.
6. Invest in Others

23. Who does not like good Science Fiction?
Turn Covert Operations
into
Overt Cooperations

24. 7. Use Free Software
7. Join in the Free Software movement
so we are not building a cooperative society
on a proprietary foundation.
http://fsf.org
Cory Doctorow sheds some light
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbYXBJOFgeI
And if you know nothing at all about FREE software and what it means.
http://doctormo.deviantart.com/art/Free-and-Open-Source-2-323411054

25. What does it mean to be dependent on
the proprietary tools of a competitive
society vs. the FREE tools of a cooperative
society?
We are already the owners of high end,
professional, FREE software, yet many of
us are unaware while others refuse to
take possession.
Why Free Software?

26. Some of the FREE software we
collectively own, is the very same
software that most of the Internet
runs on.
Why are we so willing to pay for a
closed version of a software that
gives us limited access and demands
costly upgrading?
Why Free Software?

27. 1) Pooling contacts (partners to contract work to,
potential clients, mentors).
2) Sharing skills (eg learning from one another).
3)Sharing work (time to be sick, to take a break, to
work on non-paying fulfilling or professional growth
projects).
4) Shared responsibility... In theory, it's you and one or
two or a dozen or even hundreds of other people,
making decisions in your own best interest, not that of
stockholders, executives, or owners or imposed bosses
of any kind.
Benefits

28. Let's explore the potential
that both cooperatives and
Free Software have to more
equitably distribute power.
Explore

29. Jobs are no longer the goal.
Ownership is the future.

30. Legal Links:
http://www.theselc.org/legal-guides
Think Outside the Boss:
http://bit.ly/1puPpcN
Legal Resources

31. We all are equal owners of Free
Software, and combined with
worker cooperatives we could
all be equal owners of the
productive resources of the
world...
Cooperate

32. 1) Cooperation
2) Definition
3) Co-Workers
4) FREE Software
5) Focus
6) Networking
7) Research
8) Invest
9) Succeed
Summary

33. News and Resources
Articles about cooperatives
http://www.thenews.coop/
The Guardian - http://bit.ly/1s83iyE
The ecologist - http://bit.ly/1oaxYyt
http://shareable.net/blog/how-to-start-a-worker-co-op
Worth a listen: "Tech Cooperatives: A Better Way to Make a Living"
http://schedule.sxsw.com/2012/events/event_IAP9313 with Jack Aponte of http://palantetech.com
Starting a cooperative
http://banyanproject.coop/starting-a-news-co-op
tech-coop@npogroups.org -the best tech-worker-coop-related mailing list that i know of
http://npogroups.org/lists/info/tech-coop
http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/workercoop/info
http://www.techworker.coop/
My Projects and Interests:
LibreBoston.org
Agaric.com
PowerToConnect.org
VoipDrupal.org

34. Some related links below that are not specific to cooperatives, but
are very relevant to change in a society where coops can flourish
http://open.bufferapp.com/introducing-open-salaries-at-buffer-including-our-transparent-formula-and-all-individual-salaries - Open salary model at Bruce Buffer
http://building.gittip.com - An Open company blueprint
http://satifice.com/octofice/2013/07/02/tyranny-of-open - Tyranny of Open - critique of free software's worsening of many inequalities (particularly gender and race)
http://www.ashedryden.com/blog/the-ethics-of-unpaid-labor-and-the-oss-community - The Ethics of Unpaid Labor and the OSS Community - by Ashe Dryden.
Other Links of Interest
Thank you for participating in the discussion