As 2006 comes to a close, the US Worker Cooperative Movement is a little richer and a little poorer.

We lost three co-operatives this year--two of them had been in business for 28 years or longer! Two (Good Vibrations and Burley Bicycle) converted to capitalist enterprises and Mifflin St. went out of business.

It was tough to see Good Vibrations and Burley go. Both had been featured with Union Cab in Headlamp Pictures documentary Beyond the Bottom Line: American Worker Co-operatives (aka, Made in America: American Worker Co-operatives). Melissa Hoover (of the US Federation of Worker Co-operatives) and Mimi Schiffman (of NoBAWC) raised some excellent questions about US Worker Co-ops:

"For those of us who believe that worker-owned and democratic workplaces can be a cornerstone to an economically just society, the question of growth is the next big issue to struggle with. The worker cooperative movement, to the extent that it is even yet a movement and not just a collection of successful businesses, is sorely lacking in methods, strategies and experience for keeping a healthy co-op culture in the face of growth, of working with growth, of anticipating and planning to grow in ways that allow us to not only maintain our co-op values in the face of market pressures, but champion them as a real alternative."

To that end, there was some good news in 2006. The US Federation held a wildly successful conference in New York City which focused primarily on growth issues. Networking between cooperatives helped people to realize taht we are more than a collection of successful buinsesses. The conference in New York truly energized the movement in this country. However, the hard work will begin in January after the holidays and the Federation board elections.

The best part about 2006 was connecting with each other. Learning that we are not unique or alone. I was particularly happy to see a new wave of leadership from Union Cab make the connection to the larger world of worker cooperatives.

the Masters of Management program ushered in its fourth wave of students (of which I am one) and will be graduating its first class in 2007. More on that soon!