Worker co-operatives and concern for community
The Winter 2025 Special Issue of the Journal of Co-operative Studies explores the theme of worker co-operatives and concern for community, and includes contributions by members of the Community Economies Research Network (CERN).
One of the Guest Editors, CERN Member Eleonore Perrin says “the special issue is inspired by co-operative Principle 7, Concern for Community, something we thought was important to feature in this the United Nations’ International Year of the Cooperatives 2025.”
“This outward-facing principle was added after the initial inward-facing principles, such as democratic member control and member economic participation; as a result it tends to receive less emphasis than the other principles.”
“The principle encourages co-operatives to ‘work for the sustainable development of their communities’ and this means shifting attention beyond the co-operative and its members to consider the wider setting in which each co-operative is embedded.”
“As we highlight in our Guest Editorial, the contributions in this special issue show some of the diverse ways that worker co-operatives engage with their communities, from local development partnerships to inclusive governance structures and sustainability initiatives. They also highlight the challenges of navigating the tension between member and community interests while also having to withstand market pressures without eroding democratic integrity, and the risk of being instrumentalised within state or policy agendas.”
The worker co-operatives included are from Brazil, Greece, Italy, the Ivory Coast, Netherlands, Spain, UK and US, and they cover activities such as agriculture, bike repair, cannabis retailing, journalism and taxi services.
Along with the Guest Editorial co-authored by Eleonore Perrin, the contributions from CERN members are by Laura Eccher (on two worker-owned courier services in Italy and Spain), Eliza Hostin Silva (on two of the MST co-operatives in Brazil), and Eric Sarmiento (on the Oklahoma Food Cooperative).
Eleanore Perrin adds, "Community economies scholars contribute to this Special Issue by shifting the attention from governance structures to rethinking the very meaning of 'community,' putting forward a research agenda to foster transformative economic practices in the here and now.”
“These scholars also show how much potential there is to bring together research which focuses on the specificity of each worker co-operative with an appreciation for how opportunities for economic transformation can emerge in contexts with diverse political, cultural and economic characteristics."
The Journal of Co-operative Studies is published by the UK Society for Co-operative Studies and is open access, click here.