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This fall, beginning Thursday, October 17, Weber
and Melanie Conn of WomenSkills will present
Workers' Cooperatives - Principles and Practice
as part of the Douglas College Employment
Action Project.

This seven session program will look at all
stages of forming and operating a workers’
coop and provide the information needed to
keep the business financially viable.

Practical and Theoretical Knowledge Offered

Using examples from successful coops and
examining the problems of less fortunate groups,
Weber and Conn intend to give participants
practical and theoretical knowledge.

"We'll be assuming that people are starting
from scratch," says Weber, "but if someone,
or a group is already involved in setting up a
coop we can still offer a lot of useful infor-
mation."

The program begins with participants simulating
the formation of a coop. Each person will be
asked to contribute their own skills to help
identify the area which they are best suited.

From there, participants will discuss the best
choices for marketing their idea - what type
of business to enter, where the markets lie,
and how to approach the project.

Democratic management techniques will then
be discussed.

"A coop is unique because it is controlled by the
people who work in it," Weber says. "It is not
based on shares, but rather a one worker, one
vote system."

And despite what appears to bea rigid manage-
ment structure, the course will offer different

possible styles for running a cooperative business.

Cooperative Has A Lot to Offer

"The myth is that if there is no boss in control of
everything there can be no real management," he

 

says. "In reality, the cooperative offers many
styles and each coop has to examine its own
qualities before setting up its system."

The program will also look at working relation-
ships within a cooperative, and how the people
involved can achieve non-traditional roles.

The course will finish with discussions of
financing, the problems of outside investment,
and how to develop a business plan and budget.

Each aspect of the programwill relate directly
to the mock cooperative formed in the class.

"It is an intensive program and participants
should be prepared to do their homework,"
Weber says. "With a cooperative learning
atmosphere, people should walk out witha
solid background in the nature of coops."

Workers’ Cooperatives - Principles and Practice
is being offered at the New Westminster campus
of Douglas College, beginning Thursday,
October 17. The program runs for seven weeks
and the cost is $75.

For more information or registration into this
section of the Douglas College Employment
Action Project, contact Community Programs
and Services at 520-5472.

- DOUGLAS COLLEGE NEWS SERVICES

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