Some long overdue thoughts about the NCBA meeting in May 

Worker cooperatives represented in force at this year's NCBA conference in Washington, DC in early May. With 13 of the 151 attendees at the conference, it’s possible that the worker co-op sector is entirely responsible for the conference's 10% attendance growth from last year.

We were there for various reasons, but overall there seems to be an emerging desire on the part of worker cooperatives to connect to the larger cooperative movement. And, perhaps surprisingly, the larger cooperative movement is intensely interested in what's happening in the worker cooperative world these days.

At the cross-sectoral small group discussions that kicked off the conference, several common issues emerged. A couple threads really stood out to me:

1. Management is really a big issue for the cooperative sector as a whole. The larger consumer co-ops, credit unions, rural electrics, and others are based on a much more traditional management structure than most worker cooperatives have, but as I listened to their issues and struggles it occurred to me that worker cooperatives can contribute significantly to this conversation. We've been doing the hard work of developing democratic structures and processes that work, we've thought hard about how to educate our members and develop leadership. The other co-op sectors need us. They need our energy and creativity, our experience and innovative ideas. We have a lot to share with the rest of the cooperative world.

2. Generational turnover and succession planning came up again and again. It may be hard to understand from the vantage point of a worker coop movement that's brimming with young people, but other coop sectors struggle with bringing in younger members, and with keeping young innovative energy engaged in their coops. There was some talk about adapting meeting culture and processes to be more inviting. Here's another place where worker coop input might be welcome. On the whole, worker cooperatives are young and growing. We can bring a whole new generation into the larger cooperative movement. And we would also do well to pay attention to the struggles and solutions of coops that are facing generational dwindle now, and learn from their responses and strategies.

I'm thinking a lot these days about the possibilities for collaboration, learning and growing together as worker cooperatives come into greater contact with other cooperative sectors. I don't want to gloss over the very real differences among us, and the heartfelt and legitimate critiques the various coop sectors have of one another. But that's another post. I think we have a lot to offer and a lot to learn, and I'm really encouraged by the mutual respect and curiosity I see happening in the larger coop world.
- Melissa