Childcare, eldercare, disabled care—the entire care sector in the United States is undergoing a “scissors” crisis: Demand is rising rapidly while supply is not only falling but also failing to provide the quality standards that families require. Meanwhile, private equity is moving in to commodify human care on “platforms” which strip away the critical human touch and attention that patients, families, and communities need.
Throughout history and around the globe, communities have responded to crises like this with a transformative model: the social cooperative, a form of social care provision that relocalizes and democratizes caregiving via multistakeholder enterprises co-owned and co-managed by caregivers, care-receivers, and the broader local community.
In this first-of-its-kind book on this model in English, co-op advocate Elias Crim shares case studies on how social cooperatives have taken root and transformed social care in Quebec, Emilia Romagna, and Seoul—and provides a toolkit of history and policy recommendations that show the way these hybrid enterprises can offer quality jobs, quality care, and community control.
“Social Cooperatives: How local communities can reclaim control of social care” features policy recommendations from the USFWC’s Senior Director of Government Relations, Mo Manklang, informed by a decade of working directly with cooperators and allies to shape and drive worker co-op legislation in the U.S.
Purchase now: Social Cooperatives: How local communities can reclaim control of social care
Interested in advocating for worker co-ops? USFWC members can join our monthly Policy and Advocacy Council Calls on the first Thursday of each month. Not a member? Consider joining today.
