Training Workers to Be their own Boss
CWE and the New York City Network of Worker Cooperatives (NYC NOWC) are helping workers build skills so their cooperative businesses can succeed
“CWE’s training responds to company needs and sometimes the ‘company’ is us.”
That’s how CUNY’s Rebecca Lurie describes CWE’s initiatives to support coops – worker-owned and worker-run businesses that more and more New Yorkers are embracing to take control of their economic futures.
“Not all workforce development activities are about training somebody for an existing job in an existing company,” says Lurie, who is a staff member at CUNY’s School of Labor and Urban Studies. “Workforce development [providers need] to realize that there are a lot of people that want to be entrepreneurial.”
CWE commitment to coops goes back two decades, starting with training programs at the Center for Family Life (CFL) that now support coops in cleaning, childcare, elder care, and other industries.
Juan Cuautle, CFL’s Cooperative Business Development Program Director says that CWE’s funding for these initiatives is essential because students come from vulnerable populations that need training tailored to their level of technical expertise and provided in their native language. The most recent CWE-funded courses include English for Cleaning, Conflict Resolution, Emergency Preparedness, and Cleaning Procedures and Policies.
“ESL for cleaning workers focuses specifically on vocabulary in the cleaning industry so that they learn how to ask clients about the work that they’re doing and the materials they are using,” says Cuautle.
“Because we’re immigrants, sometimes people don’t think we have rights, but we’ve learned through the class that everyone has rights,” says Elvira, a class participant.
CWE has also supported the development of the New York City Network of Worker Cooperatives (NYC NOWC), including funding two of the organization’s popular courses – computer skills and finance for cooperatives. Both courses are provided by instructors who are themselves part of worker cooperatives.
Exmirna took the computer skills class. “When I started, I didn’t know how to turn on a computer, but the professor has a lot of patience, and it took away my fear. [Now], I use [spreadsheets] to calculate work hours, pay rates, and keep track of our clients.”
NYC NOWC’s Program Director Hope Ghazala says participants are gaining more than just skills. “Participants are often monolingual Spanish-speaking women from a variety of co-ops. I think it creates community and a sense of optimism so they know that ‘We can do this.’”