Gathering #1: Learning/Action Lab Panelists and Site Visits
Panelists
Loren Rodgers
Executive Director, National Center for Employee Ownership
lrodgers@nceo.org
Loren Rodgers has been working in employee ownership since 1995 as a researcher, consultant, public speaker, author, and media contact. Before joining the NCEO in 2005, Loren was a senior principal at Ownership Associates, an employee ownership consulting firm in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he worked for ten years. Loren specializes in equity compensation plans, employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs), and worker cooperatives, including best management practices in plan design, communications, employee involvement, governance, management, and organizational culture. He works with firms on technical training, group norms, survey assessment, plan design, and communications. He speaks extensively and writes for academic, trade, and employee-ownership publications in the US and abroad on topics including employee motivation, open-book management, public policy, employee education, organization dynamics, and business literacy. He serves on the board of a Women's Action to Gain Economic Security (WAGES) and New Harbinger Publications, Inc. Loren has a Masters in Public Policy from the University of Michigan, where he studied employee ownership and international development with a focus on Slavic Europe.
Executive Director, National Center for Employee Ownership
lrodgers@nceo.org
Loren Rodgers has been working in employee ownership since 1995 as a researcher, consultant, public speaker, author, and media contact. Before joining the NCEO in 2005, Loren was a senior principal at Ownership Associates, an employee ownership consulting firm in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he worked for ten years. Loren specializes in equity compensation plans, employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs), and worker cooperatives, including best management practices in plan design, communications, employee involvement, governance, management, and organizational culture. He works with firms on technical training, group norms, survey assessment, plan design, and communications. He speaks extensively and writes for academic, trade, and employee-ownership publications in the US and abroad on topics including employee motivation, open-book management, public policy, employee education, organization dynamics, and business literacy. He serves on the board of a Women's Action to Gain Economic Security (WAGES) and New Harbinger Publications, Inc. Loren has a Masters in Public Policy from the University of Michigan, where he studied employee ownership and international development with a focus on Slavic Europe.
| Loren Rodgers on ESOPs |
Hilary Abell
Cooperative Development Consultant
hilaryabell@gmail.com
Hilary Abell is an independent consultant specializing in cooperative development in low-income communities and non-profit capacity building. Hilary launched her consulting practice in 2011, after a decade in senior management positions at San Francisco Bay Area non-profits. From 2003-2011, as executive director of WAGES (Women’s Action to Gain Economic Security), she worked with immigrant women to develop green cleaning cooperatives that dramatically increase members’ incomes, and expanded WAGES’ family of businesses from two co-ops to five. At WAGES, Hilary led the development of innovative programs related to asset building, peer leadership, training, and networking the coops to gain economies of scale. WAGES’ coop network continues to sustain more than 100 high quality jobs in Bay Area communities. Hilary’s previous work at FairTrade USA, Hesperian, and Equal Exchange focused internationally but shared the common theme that frames her work today: helping poor communities build their capacity to be self-sufficient and to promote well-being for all people and the environment.
Hilary was “bit” by the cooperative bug when she was a worker-owner at Equal Exchange in the mid-1990s, inspired by her visits to farmer co-ops in Latin America and by the experience of helping to build a successful fair trade business. In addition to the WAGES co-ops, she has consulted with Opportunity Threads in North Carolina and the Evergreen Cooperatives in Cleveland. She has served on the boards of numerous co-ops, including Equal Exchange, Natural Home Cleaning and Home Green Home, and non-profits such as Opportunity Fund and, currently, Carolina Common Enterprise and LeaderSpring. Along with consulting, Hilary is working on launching a new co-op incubator in the Bay Area while pursuing her MBA in Sustainable Management (part-time) at Presidio Graduate School.
Cooperative Development Consultant
hilaryabell@gmail.com
Hilary Abell is an independent consultant specializing in cooperative development in low-income communities and non-profit capacity building. Hilary launched her consulting practice in 2011, after a decade in senior management positions at San Francisco Bay Area non-profits. From 2003-2011, as executive director of WAGES (Women’s Action to Gain Economic Security), she worked with immigrant women to develop green cleaning cooperatives that dramatically increase members’ incomes, and expanded WAGES’ family of businesses from two co-ops to five. At WAGES, Hilary led the development of innovative programs related to asset building, peer leadership, training, and networking the coops to gain economies of scale. WAGES’ coop network continues to sustain more than 100 high quality jobs in Bay Area communities. Hilary’s previous work at FairTrade USA, Hesperian, and Equal Exchange focused internationally but shared the common theme that frames her work today: helping poor communities build their capacity to be self-sufficient and to promote well-being for all people and the environment.
Hilary was “bit” by the cooperative bug when she was a worker-owner at Equal Exchange in the mid-1990s, inspired by her visits to farmer co-ops in Latin America and by the experience of helping to build a successful fair trade business. In addition to the WAGES co-ops, she has consulted with Opportunity Threads in North Carolina and the Evergreen Cooperatives in Cleveland. She has served on the boards of numerous co-ops, including Equal Exchange, Natural Home Cleaning and Home Green Home, and non-profits such as Opportunity Fund and, currently, Carolina Common Enterprise and LeaderSpring. Along with consulting, Hilary is working on launching a new co-op incubator in the Bay Area while pursuing her MBA in Sustainable Management (part-time) at Presidio Graduate School.
| Hilary Abell on Cooperative Development |
Melissa Hoover
Executive Director, U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives
melissa@usworker.coop
Melissa Hoover is the Executive Director of the United States Federation of Worker Cooperatives (USFWC), the national membership organization for worker cooperatives, founded in 2004. She is also a founding director of the nonprofit Democracy at Work Institute, which provides technical assistance resources to worker cooperatives. For five years she also worked as a cooperative developer with the Arizmendi Association of Cooperatives, where she assisted in the development of new Arizmendi cooperatives and provided ongoing support to existing cooperatives. Melissa started in worker cooperatives as a member at Inkworks Press in Berkeley, California, as a bookkeeper and then member of the management group. She has also worked as an independent consultant helping co-ops and small businesses strengthen all aspects of financial management. Melissa graduated from Stanford University with a BA in History and a research focus on the role of immigrant women in building a cooperative movement in the early 20th century.
Executive Director, U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives
melissa@usworker.coop
Melissa Hoover is the Executive Director of the United States Federation of Worker Cooperatives (USFWC), the national membership organization for worker cooperatives, founded in 2004. She is also a founding director of the nonprofit Democracy at Work Institute, which provides technical assistance resources to worker cooperatives. For five years she also worked as a cooperative developer with the Arizmendi Association of Cooperatives, where she assisted in the development of new Arizmendi cooperatives and provided ongoing support to existing cooperatives. Melissa started in worker cooperatives as a member at Inkworks Press in Berkeley, California, as a bookkeeper and then member of the management group. She has also worked as an independent consultant helping co-ops and small businesses strengthen all aspects of financial management. Melissa graduated from Stanford University with a BA in History and a research focus on the role of immigrant women in building a cooperative movement in the early 20th century.
| Melissa Hoover on Worker Cooperatives |
Site Visits
Women’s Action to Gain Economic Security (WAGES)
http://wagescooperatives.org/
Women's Action to Gain Economic Security (WAGES) is an Oakland-based non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the economic and social well-being of low-income women through cooperative business ownership.
For 18 years, WAGES, has worked with low-income immigrant Latinas to develop healthy, dignified worker-owned co-ops that emphasize environmentally friendly techniques as a way to protect workers' health and the environment. As co-op members, women have healthy work environments, good pay, a voice and vote in key decisions, and an equal distribution of business profits. By working together to own their own businesses, women overcome the isolation and vulnerability that are typical in the housecleaning industry. The co-ops provide improved financial stability for low-wage workers and expand the economic and social empowerment of their families and communities throughout the greater Bay Area.
Currently, WAGES supports five thriving cooperatives of more than 95 women, all of whom are worker-owners of eco-friendly housecleaning businesses. The first co-op WAGES helped develop, Emma’s Eco-Clean, has generated sales of over $6 million since its formation in 1999. Emma's provides its 30 current member-owners with average wages of $15/hour plus health, dental, and vacation benefits – benefits that are almost unheard of in the housecleaning industry. Eco-Care Professional Housecleaning, the next coop WAGES established, now has 15 member-owners who earn $13/hour, plus a limited benefits package. Eco-Care has generated over $2.5 million in sales since the co-op was formed in 2001. The substantial earnings that Emma’s and Eco-Care provide for their member-owners are 150% to 200% above prevailing wages in the commercial housecleaning industry. Both of these businesses are financially independent of WAGES and 100% owned by their workers.
In September 2003, WAGES launched the Oakland-based Natural Home Cleaning Professionals (NHC), with eight member-owners. This co-op built on lessons learned and integrated a “representative democracy” structure. With sales growing rapidly, NHC now has a standing membership of 36 worker-owners. Most importantly, NHC members are now earning nearly $14/hour, far exceeding the $7/hour average starting wage for commercial cleaners in Alameda County. Their most successful co-op to date, NHC has generated sales upwards of $1.4 million each year since 2011. Now in its tenth year, NHC has been financially independent of WAGES since December 2007.
In February 2009, WAGES launched its first co-op enterprise in San Francisco, Home Green Home, teaming up with natural products company Seventh Generation and creating a sustainability partnership between the organizations. And their newest start-up, Natural Home Cleaning Contra Costa, celebrated its grand opening in August 2011.
WAGES provides training and technical assistance to incubate the co-ops and a framework for continued learning and business growth through their Co-op Network. When founding a co-op, WAGES provides the organizing framework for each cooperative, although the businesses are owned completely by their workers from the start. They work intensively with the members during a 3 - 4 year incubation period, helping the members develop skills and the cooperative grow its client base.
David Smathers Moore, Director of Cooperative Development for WAGES, will join Learning/Action Lab participants over lunch to talk about the structure and impact of the WAGES’ cooperatives, their cooperative development model, the lessons they’ve learned and their ongoing projects. We will begin our discussions by viewing a clip from the documentary film Shift Change about the WAGES cooperatives.
http://wagescooperatives.org/
Women's Action to Gain Economic Security (WAGES) is an Oakland-based non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the economic and social well-being of low-income women through cooperative business ownership.
For 18 years, WAGES, has worked with low-income immigrant Latinas to develop healthy, dignified worker-owned co-ops that emphasize environmentally friendly techniques as a way to protect workers' health and the environment. As co-op members, women have healthy work environments, good pay, a voice and vote in key decisions, and an equal distribution of business profits. By working together to own their own businesses, women overcome the isolation and vulnerability that are typical in the housecleaning industry. The co-ops provide improved financial stability for low-wage workers and expand the economic and social empowerment of their families and communities throughout the greater Bay Area.
Currently, WAGES supports five thriving cooperatives of more than 95 women, all of whom are worker-owners of eco-friendly housecleaning businesses. The first co-op WAGES helped develop, Emma’s Eco-Clean, has generated sales of over $6 million since its formation in 1999. Emma's provides its 30 current member-owners with average wages of $15/hour plus health, dental, and vacation benefits – benefits that are almost unheard of in the housecleaning industry. Eco-Care Professional Housecleaning, the next coop WAGES established, now has 15 member-owners who earn $13/hour, plus a limited benefits package. Eco-Care has generated over $2.5 million in sales since the co-op was formed in 2001. The substantial earnings that Emma’s and Eco-Care provide for their member-owners are 150% to 200% above prevailing wages in the commercial housecleaning industry. Both of these businesses are financially independent of WAGES and 100% owned by their workers.
In September 2003, WAGES launched the Oakland-based Natural Home Cleaning Professionals (NHC), with eight member-owners. This co-op built on lessons learned and integrated a “representative democracy” structure. With sales growing rapidly, NHC now has a standing membership of 36 worker-owners. Most importantly, NHC members are now earning nearly $14/hour, far exceeding the $7/hour average starting wage for commercial cleaners in Alameda County. Their most successful co-op to date, NHC has generated sales upwards of $1.4 million each year since 2011. Now in its tenth year, NHC has been financially independent of WAGES since December 2007.
In February 2009, WAGES launched its first co-op enterprise in San Francisco, Home Green Home, teaming up with natural products company Seventh Generation and creating a sustainability partnership between the organizations. And their newest start-up, Natural Home Cleaning Contra Costa, celebrated its grand opening in August 2011.
WAGES provides training and technical assistance to incubate the co-ops and a framework for continued learning and business growth through their Co-op Network. When founding a co-op, WAGES provides the organizing framework for each cooperative, although the businesses are owned completely by their workers from the start. They work intensively with the members during a 3 - 4 year incubation period, helping the members develop skills and the cooperative grow its client base.
David Smathers Moore, Director of Cooperative Development for WAGES, will join Learning/Action Lab participants over lunch to talk about the structure and impact of the WAGES’ cooperatives, their cooperative development model, the lessons they’ve learned and their ongoing projects. We will begin our discussions by viewing a clip from the documentary film Shift Change about the WAGES cooperatives.
Solar Richmond
http://www.solarrichmond.org
Solar Richmond is a non-profit organization in Richmond, California that works to foster healthier, safer, and more sustainable communities, breaking down barriers of race and class as we promote the green economy. They do so by offering free solar training, staffing services leading to temporary and permanent employment, and green business ownership opportunities for low income and under-employed residents.
Michele McGeoy founded Solar Richmond in 2006 to address the eco-divide in the solar industry, a divide that she had witnessed in her previous work in the Silicon Valley tech world. McGeoy approached City of Richmond politicians, businesses and local non-profits to advocate for the adoption of solar and the creation of a solar training program for low-income and underemployed local residents. With support and advice from Richmond’s Mayor and other civic and community leaders, Michele started a program which is now considered a national model. From what began as a solar training course, Solar Richmond is now a social enterprise that also offers holistic leadership development, transitional employment, staffing services and free consulting to consumers.
To date, Solar Richmond graduates have worked with local vendors to install over 2 MW of solar installation, created over 300 temporary jobs through and supported approximately 50 permanent jobs in the solar industry, and completed over 50 installations for low-income homeowners. In 2010, they introduced a City resolution that established a goal of 10 MW of solar installation and 150 new green-collar jobs in Richmond by 2015 and initiated a successful resolution to solarize Richmond’s City Hall. Their work has been highlighted in Van Jones’ bestselling book, The Green-Collar Economy, as well as in O Magazine, TIME, Christian Science Monitor, USA Today, NPR, The New Yorker, San Francisco Chronicle and Solar Today. They have been acknowledged as a model program by the US Conference of Mayors, Community Action Partnership, the Apollo Alliance and Green for All.
This year, Solar Richmond launched the Bay Area’s first solar and energy efficiency cooperative for marginalized workers, Pamoja Energy Solutions, to create permanent jobs and foster inclusive wealth creation. Pamoja is a socially-responsible solar cooperative that offers superior solar system installation and maintenance services while creating worker-ownership opportunities.
Learning/Action Lab participants will visit Solar Richmond’s headquarters in Richmond to meet with Kandea Mosley, Co-Director of Solar Richmond, and other staff members, along with Sushil Jacob from the Green Collar Communities Clinic, the attorney who is assisting Solar Richmond with their cooperative development. We will learn about their operations and programs – particularly their workforce training programs – and talk to them about the ins-and-outs of developing a cooperative.
http://www.solarrichmond.org
Solar Richmond is a non-profit organization in Richmond, California that works to foster healthier, safer, and more sustainable communities, breaking down barriers of race and class as we promote the green economy. They do so by offering free solar training, staffing services leading to temporary and permanent employment, and green business ownership opportunities for low income and under-employed residents.
Michele McGeoy founded Solar Richmond in 2006 to address the eco-divide in the solar industry, a divide that she had witnessed in her previous work in the Silicon Valley tech world. McGeoy approached City of Richmond politicians, businesses and local non-profits to advocate for the adoption of solar and the creation of a solar training program for low-income and underemployed local residents. With support and advice from Richmond’s Mayor and other civic and community leaders, Michele started a program which is now considered a national model. From what began as a solar training course, Solar Richmond is now a social enterprise that also offers holistic leadership development, transitional employment, staffing services and free consulting to consumers.
To date, Solar Richmond graduates have worked with local vendors to install over 2 MW of solar installation, created over 300 temporary jobs through and supported approximately 50 permanent jobs in the solar industry, and completed over 50 installations for low-income homeowners. In 2010, they introduced a City resolution that established a goal of 10 MW of solar installation and 150 new green-collar jobs in Richmond by 2015 and initiated a successful resolution to solarize Richmond’s City Hall. Their work has been highlighted in Van Jones’ bestselling book, The Green-Collar Economy, as well as in O Magazine, TIME, Christian Science Monitor, USA Today, NPR, The New Yorker, San Francisco Chronicle and Solar Today. They have been acknowledged as a model program by the US Conference of Mayors, Community Action Partnership, the Apollo Alliance and Green for All.
This year, Solar Richmond launched the Bay Area’s first solar and energy efficiency cooperative for marginalized workers, Pamoja Energy Solutions, to create permanent jobs and foster inclusive wealth creation. Pamoja is a socially-responsible solar cooperative that offers superior solar system installation and maintenance services while creating worker-ownership opportunities.
Learning/Action Lab participants will visit Solar Richmond’s headquarters in Richmond to meet with Kandea Mosley, Co-Director of Solar Richmond, and other staff members, along with Sushil Jacob from the Green Collar Communities Clinic, the attorney who is assisting Solar Richmond with their cooperative development. We will learn about their operations and programs – particularly their workforce training programs – and talk to them about the ins-and-outs of developing a cooperative.
Recology
http://www.recology.com
Recology is an employee-owned municipal waste management company that provides services that span the needs of urban, suburban and rural communities, including urban cleaning services, collection, sorting, transfer, recovery, and landfill management. Recology has a unique success record in driving resource recovery to unparalleled levels through recycling and composting.
Recology is the largest employee-owned company in the resource recovery industry, partnered with over 113 communities. They are parent to over 40 subsidiaries that provide integrated services to more than 670,000 residential and 95,000 commercial customers in California, Oregon, Nevada and Washington. And they are recognized as the industry leader in resource recovery, having established the first and largest curbside yard trimmings and food scraps collection program in the country. Recology programs have been replicated throughout the country and serve as a national model for resource recovery initiatives.
Recology’s rallying cry “WASTE ZERO” reflects their commitment to using resources wisely, generating waste only as necessary, and finding ways to use waste products in ways that benefit the environment. It also means landfilling only those materials we haven't yet figured out a use for. As part of WASTE ZERO, Recology offers a full range of programs and services to communities tailored to help reduce, reuse, and recycle as well as training and advanced certification program for Recology employees.
In 1986, Recology employees bought the corporation through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) – a plan that provides retirement benefits to employees based on the success of our company. If employees meet the eligibility requirements of the ESOP, they begin to earn shares of stock. The Recology ESOP makes it easy for Recology to focus on providing long-term, sustainable solutions to customers and strengthens teamwork by tying employees' performance to the overall success of the company. The ESOP is a major reason why Recology is consistently able to attract and retain the industry's best people at every level of the company.
Learning/Action Lab participants will visit Recology’s Environmental Learning Center (ELC) in San Francisco, starting with a short video followed by a guided walking tour of the facility. The Environmental Learning Center (ELC) in San Francisco houses a classroom and a gallery featuring work made by artists who have participated in the Artist in Residence (AIR) Program, which has supported more than one hundred professional and student artists in the San Francisco Bay Area over 20 years. Established in 1990, AIR is an award-winning program that hosts professional, full-time artists for four months and provides six artists per year with a stipend, exhibition space, and access to materials that would have otherwise gone to a landfill or recycling facility. The AIR Sculpture Garden at Recology San Francisco is the only existing park of its kind at a ‘garbage’ company.
Our tour will be followed up by a discussion with Recology team members: Michael J. Sangiacomo, President & Chief Executive Officer, Mark R. Lomele, Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer; Chair of ESOP Committee, Julie Bertani-Kiser, Vice President & Director Human Resources, ESOP Committee Member, Tom Phillips, General Manager, Ayanna Banks, Sorter, and Dave Pretari, Driver. We will have a chance to talk with them about their various programs, including their ESOP.
Please note: the tour will involve stairs, hills, and walking on uneven surfaces and all attendees must wear closed-toe, comfortable walking shoes (no sandals).
http://www.recology.com
Recology is an employee-owned municipal waste management company that provides services that span the needs of urban, suburban and rural communities, including urban cleaning services, collection, sorting, transfer, recovery, and landfill management. Recology has a unique success record in driving resource recovery to unparalleled levels through recycling and composting.
Recology is the largest employee-owned company in the resource recovery industry, partnered with over 113 communities. They are parent to over 40 subsidiaries that provide integrated services to more than 670,000 residential and 95,000 commercial customers in California, Oregon, Nevada and Washington. And they are recognized as the industry leader in resource recovery, having established the first and largest curbside yard trimmings and food scraps collection program in the country. Recology programs have been replicated throughout the country and serve as a national model for resource recovery initiatives.
Recology’s rallying cry “WASTE ZERO” reflects their commitment to using resources wisely, generating waste only as necessary, and finding ways to use waste products in ways that benefit the environment. It also means landfilling only those materials we haven't yet figured out a use for. As part of WASTE ZERO, Recology offers a full range of programs and services to communities tailored to help reduce, reuse, and recycle as well as training and advanced certification program for Recology employees.
In 1986, Recology employees bought the corporation through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) – a plan that provides retirement benefits to employees based on the success of our company. If employees meet the eligibility requirements of the ESOP, they begin to earn shares of stock. The Recology ESOP makes it easy for Recology to focus on providing long-term, sustainable solutions to customers and strengthens teamwork by tying employees' performance to the overall success of the company. The ESOP is a major reason why Recology is consistently able to attract and retain the industry's best people at every level of the company.
Learning/Action Lab participants will visit Recology’s Environmental Learning Center (ELC) in San Francisco, starting with a short video followed by a guided walking tour of the facility. The Environmental Learning Center (ELC) in San Francisco houses a classroom and a gallery featuring work made by artists who have participated in the Artist in Residence (AIR) Program, which has supported more than one hundred professional and student artists in the San Francisco Bay Area over 20 years. Established in 1990, AIR is an award-winning program that hosts professional, full-time artists for four months and provides six artists per year with a stipend, exhibition space, and access to materials that would have otherwise gone to a landfill or recycling facility. The AIR Sculpture Garden at Recology San Francisco is the only existing park of its kind at a ‘garbage’ company.
Our tour will be followed up by a discussion with Recology team members: Michael J. Sangiacomo, President & Chief Executive Officer, Mark R. Lomele, Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer; Chair of ESOP Committee, Julie Bertani-Kiser, Vice President & Director Human Resources, ESOP Committee Member, Tom Phillips, General Manager, Ayanna Banks, Sorter, and Dave Pretari, Driver. We will have a chance to talk with them about their various programs, including their ESOP.
Please note: the tour will involve stairs, hills, and walking on uneven surfaces and all attendees must wear closed-toe, comfortable walking shoes (no sandals).
