Expanding Citizenship: Workplace Democracy and Civic Engagement in Food Co-ops

Presented by Cecile Reuge (University of Vermont & Vermont Workers' Center)

In the 1880s, the Knights of Labor, known as largest labor union in the world at the time, organized a network of almost 200 industrial cooperatives across the United States. Today, the presence of labor unions is at an all-time low. Meanwhile the cooperative movement continues to grow, but in whose best interest? This resource will explore the history of food cooperatives within the broader context of cooperative and labor movements as well as workers rights in food consumer cooperatives.