VAWC is itself a co-op, owned and controlled by its member worker co-ops. VAWC adheres to the sixth co-operative principle – Cooperation Among Cooperatives – because members determine the goals and resources of our co-op in order to support each other and build a truly cooperative economy.
Member and Board Meetings – Practicing Principle 6
The Valley Alliance holds meetings once a month – alternating one month for members and another for our board – to support and build together during the year. Members elect or appoint representatives to VAWC to hold member meetings and VAWCs well as board members to our board of directors.
Our member meetings update representatives on our activities and feature space where co-operators express their needs and goals together. Time is spent with co-operators who are brand new to the movement to those with more than 25 years of experience to gather information and examples of success to address challenges in cooperative business. Anything from how best to hire or fire, marketing and training strategies, taxes and accounting expertise are covered. Co-operators sharing amongst each other has been a cornerstone of our activities since we began 20 years ago.
Board meetings feature higher level dialog regarding the management of VAWC including staff oversight, preparing budget and VAWC Fund disbursements, and leading our impact on educational, legislative, and marketing programming.
Peer-to-peer support is a cornerstone of our work and we aim to be a center for institutional knowledge about bast practices and support of worker co-ops in our region and beyond. Have questions about how we operate? Contact us.