FEBRUARY 2018

Case Study: Cincinnati Union
Co-operative Initiative
In Cincinnati, Ohio, a city with high levels of
unemployment, new models of co-operation are
being developed, based on examples in US history
aas well as current projects overseas.
The Cincinnati Union Co-op Initiative (CUCI)
is a no-profit union co-op incubator founded in
2009. It develops union co-ops – a hybrid business
combining elements of the democratic worker
ownership of a single co-op business with the
principle of workers’ solidarity.
As in a worker co-op, worker-owners in a union
co-op own and democratically run their business
on the principle of one worker, one vote.
And as in a unionised business, worker-owners
are members of a union and elect a union committee
to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement.
The union also promotes and instills solidarity
between workers in different businesses, industries
and countries.
It’s a model with a long history in the USA,
proving popular in the years after the Civil War;
historians have estimated that the movement had
750,000 members and 185-200 co-ops in 1886.
Since then the model has adapted to suit the
times, in recent years drawing on the work of
Mondragon, a federation of worker co-ops in Spain.
In 2009, Mondragon and the United Steelworkers
union (USW) began a collaboration to create a
template for union co-ops in the US.
The USW-Mondragon union co-op template
replaces Mondragon’s social council with a union
committee to engage in collective bargaining.
The union committee is designed to improve
conditions for employees and aid communication
within the business as it grows. The union also
facilitates mutual assistance and understanding of
workers’ struggles around the world.
CUCI was born from these efforts and works
to create jobs in Cincinatti – a city where nonprofits
have links with Mondragon dating back
to the 1980s.
Co-founders Phil Amadon, Kristen Barker,
Ellen Vera and Flequer Vera hosted CUCI’s first
public event in February 2011, attracting 80 to
90 community members, and began working
with Mondragon and local academic institutions
to develop union co-ops.
The first, Our Harvest food hub, was launched
in 2012. It farms organic food and operates a food
hub that works with local growers and offers a food
source for institutions, individuals, and businesses.
The second, Sustainergy energy retrofitting,
which offers services such as insulation and LED
lighting, came into operation in November 2013.
CUCI also assists with succession planning,
offering services such as feasibility studies,
business development, legal support and training.
While the rapid growth of new technology
brings challenge. it is also offering new possibilities
in terms of ownership – and can offer an answer
to the crucial question of financing of new
models of work.
28 | FEBRUARY 2018