Second Conference for Worker Ownership and Workplace Democracy October 13, 2006

The conference will offer a mix of workshops on everything from how to start a worker co-op to personnel policies to franchising and growth to the state of the economy and how it affects worker cooperatives. We're also planning a special track of workshops focused on Building Community Wealth, which will explore how we can strengthen worker co-ops, as a community-based model of ownership, to address social and economic inequities. This conference will also be the first official meeting of the members of the U.S. Federation, at which the Federation will hold elections, form working groups, and determine our next steps.

In addition to workshops and meetings, we'll also have time for worker co-ops in similar regions and industries to meet. There will be scheduled time for individuals in co-ops and the public to meet with technical assistance providers, developers, and benefits vendors (health benefits, pensions).

We're pleased to announce that the conference will feature a showing of The Take, the documentary about the worker cooperative movement in Argentina, where workers saved their jobs by taking back idle factories and putting them to work. It's an inspiring movie, and filmmaker Avi Lewis will be there to present it and talk about recent developments. Plan to stay for Sunday afternoon to watch The Take.

Official Website: http://www.usworker.coop/events/conferences