The document summarizes two factory take-overs: the Arvida aluminum plant in Quebec, Canada and the Forja San Martin auto-parts factory in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Both factories were abandoned by their owners, leaving hundreds of workers unemployed. In both cases, the former workers occupied the factories in order to reopen them as worker-run cooperatives, with the goal of regaining employment and dignity. They faced legal and economic obstacles but were able to start production again through community support and the cooperative business model.