{"id":382,"date":"2020-07-29T22:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-07-29T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enlightenment-demo.onedesigns.com\/blog\/?p=382"},"modified":"2020-10-08T09:27:12","modified_gmt":"2020-10-08T09:27:12","slug":"the-cleveland-model-the-citys-flourishing-economy-has-worker-participation-to-thank","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enlightenment-demo.onedesigns.com\/blog\/2020\/07\/29\/the-cleveland-model-the-citys-flourishing-economy-has-worker-participation-to-thank\/","title":{"rendered":"The Cleveland Model: The city’s flourishing economy has worker participation to thank"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Cleveland, USA was once a booming industrial city. When many of the local companies moved to low-wage countries, the city\u2019s economy and social fabric collapsed. Mass unemployment and poverty resulted. Twelve years ago, the first cooperatives were founded in one of the poorest areas of the city. They rely on the participation and co-determination of the workers and sustainable economic activity. Together with the city government, the cooperatives developed a regional economic plan and created the economic upswing. This success became known as the \u201cCleveland Model\u201d and became a model for cities around the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cityscape of Cleveland in the US state of Ohio is a good illustration of the city\u2019s history. Cleveland is full of old factory buildings and the skyline is dominated by skyscrapers from the interwar and postwar period. That was the golden age of Cleveland, when the USA was the driving force of world industry. The Midwest, with cities like Detroit, Chicago and Cleveland, was the heart of this industrial nation. However, when companies in the region began moving production to lower-wage countries in the 1970s, Cleveland\u2019s economy also began to crumble. The former industrial metropolis became a city marked by poverty and emigration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Cooperatives in the poorest areas of the city<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Quarters with a high African-American population, such as the Glenville district, were particularly affected by the economic decline of Cleveland. Mass unemployment, poverty and high crime rates characterized Glenville. In 2008, a laundry opened in the district under the name \u2018Evergreen Cooperative Laundry\u2019. The laundry is markedly different to any similar operation on the area because it runs as a cooperative, where the workers own the business and decide themselves how it is run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The project was started by a consortium of the Cleveland City Government, the city\u2019s universities and hospitals and several charitable foundations. The laundry did not remain the only cooperative in the area for long: the model was so successful that several branches were soon founded. In addition to the laundry, Evergreen Cooperatives operates a production facility for solar panels and several giant greenhouses that produce fresh vegetables for Cleveland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Evergreen Cooperatives operate the largest urban glasshouse facility in the United States, supplying the Cleveland population with fresh local vegetables.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Cleveland Model<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

But the Evergreen Cooperatives in Cleveland are not just simple cooperatives \u2013 they are part of a local economic plan, the so-called Cleveland Model. The idea behind it: local needs should be met by local producers and the workers themselves should have control over that process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although Cleveland was economically hard hit, there were still successful businesses in the city. Cleveland has some of the best hospitals in the USA and excellent universities. Unlike the former factories, it is very unlikely that the hospitals and universities will ever leave because they are firmly established in the city. In the Cleveland model these companies are called \u201canchor institutions\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In the Cleveland model, the various companies and state institutions work together to create jobs and promote the local economy. Community-Wealth.org<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

However, these anchor institutions need a whole range of products to function. Hospitals and universities need electricity and meals for their students and patients, as well as a constant supply of fresh laundry. Instead of buying these products and services somewhere outside of Cleveland, they can now buy them directly from the city\u2019s cooperatives. They can enter into long-term contracts with the anchor institutions, creating secure jobs in crisis-ridden areas like Glenville. The cooperatives are supported by non-profit organizations and the city government, both of which have an interest in creating as many jobs as possible in the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where the workers decide<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In evergreen cooperatives, the workers determine how production is carried out and what is done with the profit, a system much fairer than having the shareholders \u2013 who have no idea about the actual work \u2013 in charge. A cooperative model has another advantage: the workers will never decide to move their own company from the USA to a low-wage country. This means that the economic collapse that came about with the migration of the big factories cannot be repeated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Workers are not simply be given ownership and control of the companies. When a worker starts working for the Evergreen Cooperatives, 50 cents per hour is deducted from his wage. After 7 years he has a cooperative share of 65,000 dollars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cooperatives in the Cleveland model don\u2019t just think about themselves. They pay a part of their profit into a common pot. With this money, other cooperatives can be helped through difficult times or new cooperatives can be founded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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