The past three months we have brought together inspiring gatherings of committed organizers, made progress on our community-owned Neighborhood Birth Center, launched a new policy report and campaign supporting worker cooperatives, and so much more!
We’re grateful to everyone in our ecosystem and beyond who continues to organize, build, and fight for a world where working people have control over the resources we need to live and thrive.
Keep reading to learn more about how we’re building a better world while navigating the conditions of the one we live in. 💜🌎
Construction of The Neighborhood Birth Center begins!
The Neighborhood Birth Center, a co-owner of the Community Movement Commons, along with CED and other partner organizations began construction in September on Winthrop Street in Roxbury, the land we collectively own and govern together. The birth center will provide full-spectrum care, including labor and delivery, pre- and post-natal care, menopause care, family planning, parenting classes, and more. CED team members, Lily, Jennifer, and Maria Christina were excited to join their construction kick-off party at the newly opened Ujima Good Business, Jazz Urbane in Nubian Square.
Community Movement Commons will continue looking for land or a building in Roxbury or Dorchester to be developed into a space for social justice organizations and residents to gather, organize, and grow. Congratulations to NBC staff and board, all the partners, donors, midwives, and Roxbury residents who made this possible.
Last Friday, September 25th, Center for Economic Democracy and Coalition for Worker Ownership and Power (COWOP) released its new report “Turning Economic Crisis into Resilience: State Incentives To Preserve Small Businesses Through Worker Ownership.” The report uncovers the “silver tsunami crisis,” meaning in less than 5 years, over 40% of Massachusetts’ small businesses will be owned by people of retirement age and at risk of closure.
The report also proposes a Massachusetts policy solution to this crisis: the Opportunity to Own (OTO) bill. The Opportunity to Own bill, co-created by CED staff and COWOP organizers, prioritizes support from the state government for worker buyouts when their businesses are up for sale. Additionally, it includes tax incentives for small business owners who sell to their employees while returning revenue to the state over time. Lastly, it provides employees with enough time to build a viable offer for the business.
As a part of the report launch, CED and COWOP co-hosted a policy session introducing the OTO bill at the U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives Conference. The panel included worker cooperative organizers from across the country, including Alex Papali with CED and COWOP, CED policy consultant Brayan L Rosa-Rodriguez, Chloe Chassaing with White Electric Coffee and Rhode Island Worker Cooperative Alliance, Mo Manklang with USFWC, Paola Eisner with Tuttle Law Group, Ra Criscitiello with SEIU-UHW, and Victoria O’Banion with Northwest Cooperative Development Center. The session covered the main elements and strategic timing of OTO, and future opportunities for other states to replicate an OTO-inspired campaign.
Welcoming The Better Budget Alliance’s artist-in-residence, Ngoc-Tran Vu!
The Better Budget Alliance (BBA) is advancing work for the People’s Budget in Boston, with resident working groups starting this fall to develop budget solutions around youth jobs, mental health, and the environment. The coalition recently launched an Artist in Residence Program to engage more residents in the campaign, using art as a point of entry and connection.
The BBA is proud to welcome Ngoc-Tran Vu as its inaugural artist in residence. Ngoc-Tran is a local artist and organizer whose multimedia work highlights stories of migration, displacement, and resilience, and engages and empowers marginalized communities. In this role, Ngoc-Tran will help create accessible paths for residents to get involved in the People’s Budget Campaign.
Recap of the National U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives Conference.
The U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives (USFWC) held its biennial conference at Roxbury Community College in Boston, MA on September 25 and 26, with a theme of “Owning our Future.” Over 400 people from across the worker cooperative ecosystem convened, including worker owners, co-op organizers, government officials, and community leaders. Attendees had the opportunity to visit local cooperatives, including Democracy Brewing and Dorchester Food Co-op, and attend sessions centered on expanding and sustaining the movement to build an economy where workers and communities thrive.
On Friday morning, CED hosted a screening of its film A Collective Future, followed by a panel with Chloe Chassaing of White Electric Coffee and Rhode Island Worker Cooperative Alliance, film protagonist May Nerudova of Circus Cooperative Cafe, and CED’s Co-Executive Director Lily Huang. The film follows the fights of three people for collective ownership over land, labor, and capital. It also captures opportunities for the worker ownership movement to be connected to a larger vision for a democratic economy.
The USFWC recognized as its 2026 Advocacy Champion CED staff member Alex Papali, who lauded COWOP’s collective work to steward a strong campaign around the Opportunity To Own bill. MA Representative Carmine Gentile and MA Senator Julian Cyr also received awards to honor their tireless advocacy for worker ownership, especially to strengthen the Massachusetts Center for Employee Ownership.
Thank you, USFWC and COWOP, for this inspiring conference filled with connections across the country and dialogue around creating a worker-owned future!
CED joins the newly launched national Budget Justice Network!
CED has joined partners across the country to launch the Budget Justice Network, a group of organizers and practitioners based in cities across the United States, advocating for more transparent and resident-driven local budgets. We’re building this space to learn from each other, seed a translocal movement, and figure out together what infrastructure and policies we need to win.
We aim to create a national conversation on budget justice by amplifying our collective work, producing shared content and developing shared narratives. Convening partners include Philly People’s Budget Office, the Participatory Budgeting Project, CED, and Celina Su, author of Budget Justice and longtime PB and people’s budget practitioner. The network will be gathering in Detroit with Detroit People’s Platform this fall.
If you are working on budget justice in your city or county and want to join the network, contact Eliza at eliza@economicdemocracy.us.
The Solidarity Economy Incubator cohort gathers in Roxbury and dreams big.
The Solidarity Economy Incubator cohort continues to grow their projects, rooted in a just transition framework. This September, cohort members gathered in Roxbury at Families for Justice as Healing. At the gathering, we brainstormed ways to build powerful member bases that draw down resources from extractive capitalist structures and birth new structures rooted in cooperation and care.
The gathering also included a special guest facilitator, Coco, from Route 2 Roots Wellness, who led a workshop on using herbs to manage anxiety, stress, and burnout for organizers. Participants learned about herbal support and created their own tea blends to meet their individual needs.
