When: Saturday, May 18th @ 7pm

Where: 5604 Manor Rd.

Join us to celebrate the most recent graduating class from Cooperation Texas’ Cooperative Business Institute (CBI) start-up course: 4th Tap Brewing Co-op! Equipped with the knowledge and experience from the CBI, members of 4th Tap are poised to go from humble home brewers to equal owners of Texas’ first worker-owned cooperative brewery! The CBI is a comprehensive training program designed to empower participants with the skills and resources needed to start and strengthen worker-owned businesses in Texas. Through the CBI, members of 4th Tap learned the history, principles and values of worker-owned cooperatives, along with the legal, organizational and business essentials needed to effectively manage their co-op. The ceremony will feature a presentation from the future worker-owners of 4th Tap, several craft brews from 4th Tap, and vegan donuts from previous CBI graduates Red Rabbit Cooperative Bakery!

To RSVP on Facebook, CLICK HERE.

First of all, we’ll be having our monthly volunteer orientation on March 28th at 6 pm!  Come learn more about how you can be a part of the movement to create dignified work across Texas!

Here at Cooperation Texas, we realize that the work of building a healthy, happy new economy starts with building healthy communities.  To that end, we want to do more to welcome people to 5604.  We love it when folks stop in to check out our resource library, pick up some Equal Exchange coffee, or just say hello!  But we also want to be more mindful in how we invite people into the space.

To that end, our board member and licensed yoga instructor Anika Fassia will be doing a monthly yoga class here at 5604 Manor Road.  The yoga class will be by donation, and the donations will help us to continue our work of building cooperative economies here in Texas.  But we also hope to build mindfulness with our community so please join us on Thursday, April 4th at 7 pm!

On Thursday, April 11th at 7 pm, we will be hosting the Austin premiere screening of Shift Change.  From the Shift Change website:

“With the long decline in US manufacturing and today’s economic crisis, millions have been thrown out of work, and many are losing their homes. The usual economic solutions are not working, so some citizens and public officials are ready to think outside of the box, to reinvent our failing economy in order to restore long term community stability and a more egalitarian way of life.

There is growing interest in firms that are owned and managed by their workers. Such firms tend to be more profitable and innovative, and more committed to the communities where they are based. Yet the public has little knowledge of their success, and the promise they offer for a better life.”

We’ll provide cooperatively-made snacks, and following the screening, there will be time for discussion featuring a panel of worker-owners from Austin cooperatives.

If you have any questions about these events or would like to let us know that you need childcare, please email us at info@cooperationtexas.coop!  We look forward to seeing you soon!

First of all, our friends at United for a Fair Economy released their 2013 State of the Dream report in late January.  Cooperation Texas was given the opportunity to contribute some thoughts on how cooperatives can help bridge the racial wealth divide.

We’ve been visiting and having dinner at the ICC (Intercooperative Council) housing co-ops here in Austin.  It’s been exciting to meet the folks who live at ICC co-ops and learn how they got interested in cooperative living.  We also take advantage of the visits to brainstorm about different possibilities for more cooperation among cooperatives here in Austin!

Worker-owner Maria Muñoz of Dahlia Green Cleaning Services talks about the experiences she’s had working at a cooperative.

Also, along with Dahlia Green Cleaning Services, we’ve done presentations to talk about the worker-owners’ experiences.  Worker-owner Eva Marroquin did one such presentation for the East Austin Rotary Club and worker-owner Maria Muñoz presented for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development.

Community presentations are an important part of our work here at Cooperation Texas.  We get to tell people about our work and how excited we are about building cooperative economies!  But perhaps more importantly, we get to hear from the communities around us about their histories with cooperatives and cooperation.  We believe that cooperative economies look different everywhere depending on who lives in the communities that are creating them, and what the needs of those communities are.  Learning about the ever-changing context of cooperation in Austin is key to our work.

Are you interested in learning more about worker-cooperatives from Cooperation Texas or one of the cooperatives that we work with?  We’d love to talk to you or present to your organization, school, or faith community!  Please email us at info@cooperationtexas.coop!

As a member of Dahlia, Maria has begun to build a new life for herself and her family.  Unlike her previous work experience, Maria now has a voice over decisions that affect her and her workplace.  Unlike her previous work experience, Maria is now earning a living wage and has more control over her schedule.  Dahlia has also provided Maria with a range of opportunities for personal and professional growth.  In addition to housecleaning, she also serves as the Treasurer on Dahlia’s Board of Directors and is responsible for bookkeeping and payroll.  As the co-op grows, Maria looks forward to providing similar opportunities to future members.  On what she likes best about cooperatives, Maria says, “Everyone wins together.  There isn’t just one person who creates wealth for themselves.  All the benefits and profits are divided equally for everyone.”

Ricardo moved to Austin, TX in 2007. He currently serves as a manager for a global patient navigation program called Health Network at the Migrant Clinicians Network. His professional interests have been in healthcare relating to migrant populations and other marginalized communities. Ricardo has conducted Promotora training workshops across the U.S. designed to promote community involvement in health issues and patient advocacy. He is also a volunteer for the Care Communities, a local non-profit providing assistance with patients battling Cancer and /or HIV/AIDS. Ricardo also played an active role in the launching of FarMax, a start-up pharmacy in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. His background in Business Management and Marketing, along with his interest in sustainable business practices, led him to volunteer in Cooperation Texas’ Cooperative Business Institute (CBI). In 2012 he was able to be part of the launch of the first worker-owned green cleaning cooperative in Austin, TX called Dahlia Green Cleaning Services.

Anika Fassia

Anika recently moved to Austin in May of 2012 to join the team at Public Works as a Program Associate. In this role, Anika is responsible for conducting trainings, reaching out to new potential allies and working with state and national partners as they strive to build support for an effective public sector that is dedicated to equitable opportunities for all Americans. Prior to joining Public Works, Anika was part of the inaugural class of State Policy Fellows with the D.C. based Center on Budget and Policy Priorities under the State Fiscal Analysis Initiative. She was placed with the Michigan League for Public Policy in Lansing, Michigan, for a two-year fellowship committed to expanding diverse voices in state policy debates. During her time with the League, Anika became their first lead policy analyst on racial equity, immigration and the corrections budget. Anika has her Master of Social work emphasizing in social policy from the University of Michigan. While in graduate school, Anika was a resident and member of the Black Elk student housing cooperative where she was nominated to serve on the board for North American Students of Cooperation (NASCO) where she served a three year term from 2009-2012. During her time on the board she was the co-chair of the inclusion committee and led several workshops on non-violent communication at the annual NASCO Institute. Anika has also served on the board for the Asian Pacific Islander American Vote, Michigan chapter as their Public Policy Chair, and is a current member of the Wheatsville Food Co-op and the University of Michigan Credit Union.