Photo courtesy of Cooperation MKE
Cooperation MKE tabling
Cooperation MKE tabling
A solidarity economy is defined as “a global movement to build a just and sustainable economy where we prioritize people and the planet over endless profit and growth.” One Milwaukee organization fighting for the solidarity economy is Cooperation MKE, who champion the practices of rank-and-file unions, worker-owned cooperatives, community assemblies and mutual aid by ways of education, resource-sharing and partnership with like-minded groups. As an egalitarian grassroots collective, Cooperative MKE currently has some 30 to 50 active members.
Photo courtesy of Cooperation MKE
Brandon Payton-Carrillo
Brandon Payton-Carrillo (left)
“We have an extreme love for Milwaukee,” Cooperation MKE founder Brandon Payton-Carrillo affirms. “That’s why we all take time to make this place we live that much better. It’s always a moving goalpost, but all get it done and we have a lot of fun doing it. We’re in shitty times, but we all enjoy each other and the community we’ve built.”
Cooperation MKE supports direct democracy and non-hierarchical political and economic structures, operating by a consensus basis followed by action. The collective offers classes educating folks on the solidarity economy and what it entails. When local workers strike, Cooperation MKE members are there to provide mutual aid and walk in solidarity on the picket line. In terms of worker-owned cooperatives, Cooperation MKE offers consultation and guidance to those invested in forming one. “We helped form the Flora Cooperative,” Payton-Carrillo mentions. “We have some skeleton by-laws we work with and engage with those involved in what would work best.”
Time Banking?
Another prominent initiative of the collective is time banking, where instead of using money in procuring goods and services, the two parties use the unit of time as means of exchange. “It works well in community building, particularly in neighborhoods or communities that are capital-poor,” Payton-Carrillo explains. “We’re all workers and all have something to offer, and we all have time.” Folks interested in time banking may sign up on the Cooperation MKE website.
Every September, Cooperation MKE puts on its Mildred Fish Harnack Antifascist Event, honoring the Milwaukee native and freedom fighter who was the only American put to death in Nazi Germany under direct orders from Hitler. “We try to keep her name alive in the community,” Payton-Carrillo says.
Cooperation MKE frequently shares community event flyers as well as educational materials on its Instagram page. Ongoing community partnerships of the group include Lead-Free MKE, Symbiosis Foundation, New Economy Coalition, Milwaukee Tool Library and Shaky Hands, Comité Sin Fronteras, Metcalfe Park Community Bridges, Wisconsin Labor for Palestine and Meristem Collective.
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Community Partnerships
Originally formed in 2022, Cooperation MKE started as a working group within the Milwaukee DSA before splitting off. While looking into other groups with similar missions, the collective connected with Cooperation Jackson out of Jackson, Mississippi and decided to emulate something similar here in Milwaukee.
Currently, Cooperation MKE is building out more programming and community partnerships. The collective would be interested in helping convert existing businesses into co-ops. “In an ideal world in Milwaukee, it’d be great if there was a cooperative bank and office of cooperative economics in City Hall,” Payton-Carrillo contends. “Cook County had something similar to that. If you wanted to start a worker co-op or purchase a business from your employer, that would give you the steps to get started. That would be the gold star.”
Coming up this Saturday, June 13, Cooperation MKE is hosting a summer patio party at Kuumba Juice + Coffee (274 E. Keefe) from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., with an open mic as well as family-friendly activities, food from Don Pastor and tabling organizations. Those interested in joining Cooperation MKE are welcome to come attend virtual meetings held on the fourth Monday of every month.
