Evergreen Cooperatives
Encyclopedia
The Evergreen Cooperatives are a connected group of worker-owned cooperatives
in Cleveland, Ohio
. They are committed to local, worker-owned job creation; sustainable
, green
and democratic workplaces; and community economic development.
, the city of Cleveland government, and The Democracy Collaborative at the University of Maryland, College Park
, in collaboration with some of Cleveland's most important "anchor institutions," such as Case Western Reserve University
, the Cleveland Clinic
, and University Hospitals. As of November, 2010, Evergreen Cooperatives consist of the Evergreen Cooperative Laundry, Ohio Cooperative Solar, Green City Growers Cooperative, and the Neighborhood Voice.
pioneering an alternative model of business in the United States. Partly based on the highly successful MONDRAGON Corporation in the Basque Region of Spain
. These systems emphasize the network aspect of the Mondragon system—a connected group of semi-autonomous businesses, each owned and controlled by its workers but part of a mutually supportive, worker-owned and worker-controlled association—as opposed to the smaller, more fragmented worker co-ops that have existed in the U.S. for many years.
certified building uses the latest energy efficient equipment:
The laundry hired fifteen employees with the prospect for 35 more workers by the end of the year. Employees received on-the-job technical training plus worked with Towards Employment, a workforce readiness organization which focuses on assisting groups which have typically had difficulty transitioning to gainful employment (e.g., people coming off of welfare or out of jail).
Employees are paid $8 an hour first six months, while they are on a trial period. After that, they are considered for the membership in the cooperative by the peer’s voting. If they are admitted, the salary grows to $10.50 an hour, with 50 cents collected towards the ownership share. After seven years working in the laundry, the individual’s share will be equal to $65,000.
. OCS owns and installs photovoltaic (PV) solar panels on Cleveland-area institutional, governmental, and commercial buildings and performs weatherizing projects for area low-income housing in the solar off-season. OCS is entirely worker-owned by citizens who “face barriers to employment.” OCS was launched in October 2009, and was profitable within its first five months in business. By April 2010 OCS had fourteen employees.
OCS’ customer list includes large Cleveland institutions such as Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals, Case Western Reserve University, City of Cleveland, and the Cleveland Housing Network. In some instances, the client purchases the solar panels from OCS and hires the company to install it. Under this scenario, the client is then responsible for the maintenance of the system and arranging credits with the local utility, insurance, and taxes. Alternatively, OCS will own the solar system, be responsible for all the arrangements, and sell the electricity at a negotiated rate to the client. This is the arrangement OCS has with the majority of its clients; it is expected that the project will create approximately 20 new full-time machinery operator and installer jobs to economically disadvantaged neighborhoods in the near future.
Recent legislation (Senate Bill 221) passed into Ohio
state law, mandates that utilities provide at least 25% of their electricity from alternative energy sources, including at least one-half percent from solar energy, by the year 2025. According to OCS Chief Executive Officer Steve Kiel, this means that Ohio must produce 60 megawatts of solar generating capacity in the year 2012- and that currently the state produces two megawatts.
To help Ohio meet this legislative mandate, OCS’ technical director Erika Weliczko announced that the company will be breaking new ground by “targeting several megawatts over the next couple of years…(T)hat’s on the order of nothing that’s been done in Ohio to date.” In the next three years, OCS plans to have 50 to 100 employee-owners at work installing and maintain the solar panels necessary to meet the new state mandate.
When not working on solar panels, OCS employees work in the year-round weatherization
program focused on households throughout Cleveland. According to Casey Gillfeather, OCS Director of Operations, the weatherization process includes insulating exterior walls, wrapping the hot water tank, installing an energy-efficient dryer vent, weatherize the basement, and insulating the attic in order to reduce energy consumption
of the house by one-third.
that could supply Cleveland-area retailers and wholesalers with fresh produce. The project is in the development stage, with financing and design details currently being determined. The dream looms large in the mind of Alayne Reitman, who came up with the original idea for the GCGC and is now the Chief Executive Officer of the project: “We’re talking about a 5.5 acre
greenhouse that will produce about 5-6 million heads of lettuce
annually and another 300,000 pounds of herbs annually.” Even in the poorest neighborhoods of Cleveland, people spend about $1,000 each on food per year. The hope of the Growers Cooperative is to capture some of that expenditure by providing healthy, local options.
To date, the team implementing the project has begun initial inquiry into what crops potential customers would like produced, developed a business plan that proposes the hiring of more than 40 employee owners, identified “green” energy sources, and applied for and received a HUD
grant and loan package that will allow the remediation of the brownfield site and development of the future facility. The team has received $10 million in federal loans and grants to date.
In the near future, the Growers Cooperative will finalize its designs and consolidate ten acres of land to house their new facilities, which will include the 230000 square feet (21,367.7 m²) greenhouse, a packing building, offices, and advanced energy facilities. It is projected that the GCGC greenhouse will “almost certainly become the largest urban food-producing greenhouse in the country.”
Worker cooperative
A worker cooperative is a cooperative owned and democratically managed by its worker-owners. This control may be exercised in a number of ways. A cooperative enterprise may mean a firm where every worker-owner participates in decision making in a democratic fashion, or it may refer to one in which...
in Cleveland, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
. They are committed to local, worker-owned job creation; sustainable
Sustainability
Sustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...
, green
Green politics
Green politics is a political ideology that aims for the creation of an ecologically sustainable society rooted in environmentalism, social liberalism, and grassroots democracy...
and democratic workplaces; and community economic development.
Background
The Evergreen initiative was created by the Cleveland FoundationCleveland Foundation
Established in 1914, the Cleveland Foundation was the world's first community foundation. , it is America's second-largest community foundation, with assets of $1.62 billion and annual grants of around $84 million....
, the city of Cleveland government, and The Democracy Collaborative at the University of Maryland, College Park
University of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...
, in collaboration with some of Cleveland's most important "anchor institutions," such as Case Western Reserve University
Case Western Reserve University
Case Western Reserve University is a private research university located in Cleveland, Ohio, USA...
, the Cleveland Clinic
Cleveland Clinic
The Cleveland Clinic is a multispecialty academic medical center located in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. The Cleveland Clinic is currently regarded as one of the top 4 hospitals in the United States as rated by U.S. News & World Report...
, and University Hospitals. As of November, 2010, Evergreen Cooperatives consist of the Evergreen Cooperative Laundry, Ohio Cooperative Solar, Green City Growers Cooperative, and the Neighborhood Voice.
Worker-Owned Cooperatives
Evergreen is one of a number of systems of worker-owned cooperativesWorker cooperative
A worker cooperative is a cooperative owned and democratically managed by its worker-owners. This control may be exercised in a number of ways. A cooperative enterprise may mean a firm where every worker-owner participates in decision making in a democratic fashion, or it may refer to one in which...
pioneering an alternative model of business in the United States. Partly based on the highly successful MONDRAGON Corporation in the Basque Region of Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. These systems emphasize the network aspect of the Mondragon system—a connected group of semi-autonomous businesses, each owned and controlled by its workers but part of a mutually supportive, worker-owned and worker-controlled association—as opposed to the smaller, more fragmented worker co-ops that have existed in the U.S. for many years.
Evergreen Cooperative Laundry
Evergreen Cooperative Laundry (ECL) is an industrial laundry serving local hospitals, hotels, and other institutions. The ECL was funded with $5.8 million: $1.5 million from the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the City of Cleveland, $1.8 million in New Markets tax credits, $750,000 from the Cleveland Foundation, and $1.5 million from two banks It operates at the capacity of 10 million pounds of sheets and towels per year, which represents 4% of the local market. According to some sources, the laundry has the potential to expend to 20 million pounds per year. Its customers include two large nursing homes in the local area—Judson Retirement and McGregor Homes. The laundry’s LEEDLeadership in Energy and Environmental Design
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design consists of a suite of rating systems for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings, homes and neighborhoods....
certified building uses the latest energy efficient equipment:
- It uses only one-third of the water compared to the typical industrial laundry (0.8 gallon per pound against 3 gallons per pound).
- It saves 35% of energy by warming up the clean water with heat from the used water.
- It eliminates hazardous waste by using EPA-approved chemicals.
The laundry hired fifteen employees with the prospect for 35 more workers by the end of the year. Employees received on-the-job technical training plus worked with Towards Employment, a workforce readiness organization which focuses on assisting groups which have typically had difficulty transitioning to gainful employment (e.g., people coming off of welfare or out of jail).
Employees are paid $8 an hour first six months, while they are on a trial period. After that, they are considered for the membership in the cooperative by the peer’s voting. If they are admitted, the salary grows to $10.50 an hour, with 50 cents collected towards the ownership share. After seven years working in the laundry, the individual’s share will be equal to $65,000.
Ohio Cooperative Solar
Ohio Cooperative Solar (OCS), a partner member of the Evergreen Cooperatives, employs area residents to help local institutions become green using solar power and weatherizing techniques to improve their energy efficiencyEfficient energy use
Efficient energy use, sometimes simply called energy efficiency, is the goal of efforts to reduce the amount of energy required to provide products and services. For example, insulating a home allows a building to use less heating and cooling energy to achieve and maintain a comfortable temperature...
. OCS owns and installs photovoltaic (PV) solar panels on Cleveland-area institutional, governmental, and commercial buildings and performs weatherizing projects for area low-income housing in the solar off-season. OCS is entirely worker-owned by citizens who “face barriers to employment.” OCS was launched in October 2009, and was profitable within its first five months in business. By April 2010 OCS had fourteen employees.
OCS’ customer list includes large Cleveland institutions such as Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals, Case Western Reserve University, City of Cleveland, and the Cleveland Housing Network. In some instances, the client purchases the solar panels from OCS and hires the company to install it. Under this scenario, the client is then responsible for the maintenance of the system and arranging credits with the local utility, insurance, and taxes. Alternatively, OCS will own the solar system, be responsible for all the arrangements, and sell the electricity at a negotiated rate to the client. This is the arrangement OCS has with the majority of its clients; it is expected that the project will create approximately 20 new full-time machinery operator and installer jobs to economically disadvantaged neighborhoods in the near future.
Recent legislation (Senate Bill 221) passed into Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
state law, mandates that utilities provide at least 25% of their electricity from alternative energy sources, including at least one-half percent from solar energy, by the year 2025. According to OCS Chief Executive Officer Steve Kiel, this means that Ohio must produce 60 megawatts of solar generating capacity in the year 2012- and that currently the state produces two megawatts.
To help Ohio meet this legislative mandate, OCS’ technical director Erika Weliczko announced that the company will be breaking new ground by “targeting several megawatts over the next couple of years…(T)hat’s on the order of nothing that’s been done in Ohio to date.” In the next three years, OCS plans to have 50 to 100 employee-owners at work installing and maintain the solar panels necessary to meet the new state mandate.
When not working on solar panels, OCS employees work in the year-round weatherization
Weatherization
Weatherization or weatherproofing is the practice of protecting a building and its interior from the elements, particularly from sunlight, precipitation, and wind, and of modifying a building to reduce energy consumption and optimize energy efficiency.Weatherization is distinct from building...
program focused on households throughout Cleveland. According to Casey Gillfeather, OCS Director of Operations, the weatherization process includes insulating exterior walls, wrapping the hot water tank, installing an energy-efficient dryer vent, weatherize the basement, and insulating the attic in order to reduce energy consumption
Domestic Energy Consumption
Domestic energy consumption is the amount of energy that is spent on the different appliances used within housing. The amount of energy used per household varies widely depending on the standard of living of the country, climate, and the age and type of residence...
of the house by one-third.
Green City Growers Cooperative
Green City Growers Cooperative (GCGC) was conceived in 2008 as an entirely worker-owned, year-round, hydroponic food production greenhouseGreenhouse
A greenhouse is a building in which plants are grown. These structures range in size from small sheds to very large buildings...
that could supply Cleveland-area retailers and wholesalers with fresh produce. The project is in the development stage, with financing and design details currently being determined. The dream looms large in the mind of Alayne Reitman, who came up with the original idea for the GCGC and is now the Chief Executive Officer of the project: “We’re talking about a 5.5 acre
Acre
The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...
greenhouse that will produce about 5-6 million heads of lettuce
Lettuce
Lettuce is a temperate annual or biennial plant of the daisy family Asteraceae. It is most often grown as a leaf vegetable. It is eaten either raw, notably in salads, sandwiches, hamburgers, tacos, and many other dishes, or cooked, as in Chinese cuisine in which the stem becomes just as important...
annually and another 300,000 pounds of herbs annually.” Even in the poorest neighborhoods of Cleveland, people spend about $1,000 each on food per year. The hope of the Growers Cooperative is to capture some of that expenditure by providing healthy, local options.
To date, the team implementing the project has begun initial inquiry into what crops potential customers would like produced, developed a business plan that proposes the hiring of more than 40 employee owners, identified “green” energy sources, and applied for and received a HUD
United States Department of Housing and Urban Development
The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, also known as HUD, is a Cabinet department in the Executive branch of the United States federal government...
grant and loan package that will allow the remediation of the brownfield site and development of the future facility. The team has received $10 million in federal loans and grants to date.
In the near future, the Growers Cooperative will finalize its designs and consolidate ten acres of land to house their new facilities, which will include the 230000 square feet (21,367.7 m²) greenhouse, a packing building, offices, and advanced energy facilities. It is projected that the GCGC greenhouse will “almost certainly become the largest urban food-producing greenhouse in the country.”