Micky Metts: “Cooperative Development – Thinking Outside the Boss!” at Drupal Nights by BioRAFT

Summary

Bringing democracy and social equality to your projects through cooperation. Joining, forming, and running worker-owned businesses in web development.

Worker-owned cooperatives are businesses owned and controlled by the people who work in them. They are a time-tested way to create quality jobs, and are gaining momentum as a strategy to build and anchor wealth in communities.

Justice is a big part of the worker cooperative movement. Fairness and openness are values that must be in place for cooperative efforts to survive and flourish.

“Agaric is a worker-owned cooperative with members from around the globe, that work collectively on projects. We share the work and share the profits. We are active members of the United States Federation of Worker Cooperatives (USFWC) and having attended the Worker National Cooperative Conference in Chicago and the Eastern Conference for Workplace Democracy in Worcester, Ma in July, 2015.”

We would like to present some ideas and processes that are working for us and for others, and to discuss the viable options for cooperatives and collectives within technology. We live and work to connect ideas, resources, and people. Our collective goal (which extends beyond our business) is the most power possible for all people over their own lives. Because we are part of the Free Software movement, we build on tools and frameworks like Drupal, created and tested by thousands of people.

Discussion: We will discuss how Agaric is structured and how some other successful local and worldwide cooperatives work. – What defines a cooperative? – What is a cooperative network? – How do you form a cooperative? – How do you onboard new members? – Why is Drupal important to the cooperative movement?