Hi cooperators!!!

In Brief: 

I've been invited to a meeting with Lt. Gov's Staff on Thursday the 27th to discuss how the state can better support co-ops and ESOPs. It seems they're about to get a bunch of $$$ from the federal gov and I'd LOVE your help brainstorming key points to raise.

Why this matters: 

Word on the street is that RI's gov is currently more interested in ESOPs than worker-owned co-ops. That comes across in the Lt. Gov's presentation—check it out here. So I'm taking the total accident of my having been invited to this meeting as an opportunity to say: hey!! worker co-ops are awesome!! and you should invest in them :)

How you can help

• Reply to this email to continue the conversation! What would *you* say to the Lt. Gov? How should the WORK Act money be spent? What are your takeaways from the attached powerpoint? Etc...
• Visit me over video during "Office Hours" next Tuesday if you want to discuss. Here's the link.
• Use this shared document as a catch-all for your ideas, research, questions, notes.
  
• Call or text me: XXX-XXX-XXXX

Look man I'm just a 27 year old part-time landscaper.... I've never been invited to a closed-door meeting of state government officials. I'm pretty used to meetings and this isn't really *that* high stakes—hopefully it's just the beginning of a convo, and in the future more of you guys can be invited—but I'd feel 1000% better if I had your help in preparation for Thursday to be able to make the most of this.

Thanks in advance

<3 Hunter

June 26 2024 - Pre-Meeting Goals

Goals:

• Learn more about the position of the state.
  • What’s the status of the WORK Act?
    • Have they started receiving money?
    • Are they planning to apply for the fiscal yr 2025 funds?
    • What do they need to submit to receive & maintain these funds?
      • How can we help arm them with the materials & facts they need?
  • How are they thinking of invest investing those and other funds into worker-ownership?
  • Who are they currently talking to about these issues?
  • Are they thinking about the cannabis industry already? Are they in touch with the CCC?
  • What are they unsure about? Where do they need clarity?
• Communicate the current state of the worker co-op ecosystem. Especially: 
• Stakeholders/Coalition
• Cannabis opportunity
• Conversion opportunity.
• Communicate my strong personal desire to help the state understand worker co-ops, their potential, and their needs.

The Ask:

• Let’s get another meeting on the calendar with more stakeholders (co-op worker-owners, co-op entrepreneurs, co-op legal/policy experts etc)
  • Set calendar date for meeting.
  • Propose Town Hall?
• Can I give you the contact info of some co-op area experts you might want to speak with?

How I'm thinking of approaching this meeting:

• I am attending this as an individual. I'm a local co-op entrepreneur, passionate advocate for co-ops, and consider many in the co-op ecosystem friends and comrades, but I don't speak on behalf of RI worker co-ops or of any group.
• Advocate for outreach and open dialogue with the worker co-op community, especially our well-established worker co-ops enterprises. I'm just one guy with one perspective; there's a long list of people with more experience and knowledge than me, and they should talk to as many of us as possible.
• Emphasize the unique strengths of worker co-ops. I have no beef with ESOPs, but they're relatively well-resourced already. 
• Highlight the unique challenges for worker co-ops. There are lots of challenges the gov could help mitigate for operating co-ops, resources/incentives they could build to encourage co-op conversions and entrepreneurship.
• Draw special attention to the potential & needs of cooperative cannabis dispensaries. As you know, the 2022 RI Cannabis Act set aside 6 retail licenses. These startups will represent a huge increase in worker-ownership in the state, but need substantial support. The Lt. Gov's office should help ensure their success however possible, including through its deployment of WORK act money and through coordination with the Cannabis Control Commission and the dispensary co-ops themselves.
• Encourage them to look to Massachusetts as a model. We love to hate 'em but our northern neighbors, as usual, have beaten us to the punch. RI should look to Mass's success in developing employee ownership centers/resources as a model.
• Come prepared. While I don't know much about the format/agenda of this meeting, I doubt I'll have *that* much space to communicate specifics. I'd like to have a packet of relevant references to refer to in conversation, and maybe some short handouts to give the attendees so they can read about the worker co-op opportunity on their own time.

Important! The $50m for the WORK Act is authorized but not appropriated, meaning that money is not guaranteed - it still must be advocated for. Any outreach the Lt. Gov can do with federal House and Senate representatives to express support for WORK Act appropriations would be a huge help.

Backstory

Meeting: Thursday June 27th 2024, 10AM

Backstory:

Via a sequence of happy accidents, I was sent a powerpoint made by the Lt. Gov's office called "Employee Ownership Makes a Difference"—reading through, it seems they're preparing to receive funds from the WORK Act (among other opportunities.) This is great!! They're preparing to receive hundreds of thousands of dollars to support worker ownerships starting next year!

But reading through the powerpoint you'll also notice an emphasis on Employee Stock Ownership Programs over worker co-ops. The connection who sent me the presentation put it to me more bluntly: "The Governor and Lt. Gov. seem to be more interested in ESOPs than coops."

I sent back some Strong Opinions™ about the importance of state investment in worker co-ops, and now I've been invited to join this conversation with the Lt. Gov. staff. I don’t have an agenda or much context, so I want to come prepared for anything. 

Powerpoint by Lt. Gov

RI Lt. Gov. Presentation 04.02.24.pptx