Union Cooperative Initiative Worker Network
The Union Cooperative Initiative (UCI) is building an economy that works for all through the creation, incubation, and operation of unionized cooperatives that are good for people and the planet.
We’re a worker-run solidarity cooperative composed of freelance union workers, solidarity workers, network cooperatives, and allied organizations. The UCI no longer offers direct employment due to a lack of stable funding. All workers participating in UCI projects bill and invoice as freelance independent contractors where funding and budget is available.
Workers may also bill through their co-op, non-profit, or independent business. No subcontracting is permitted, however UCI workers may propose working with non-network workers on projects they take a leadership role in. We ensure each worker has a contract setting out the rights and responsibilities of participation.
We have a few core principles for work with the network:
When anyone is paid, everyone should be paid.
We recommend that network co-ops and projects develop transparent open budgets and clear payment guidelines.
All workers must be paid a living wage for projects funded by well resourced partners (unions or large non-profits) or commercial projects
Note that some for-profit (we refer to this as surplus driven) co-ops require sweat equity volunteer contributions especially during the development phase. There are no guarantees of payments on sweat equity contributions. This is one of the risks in worker-ownership.
UCI network projects with income and revenue must follow the UCI redistribution principle where 25% of revenue is contributed back to the cooperative development fund.
These resources are redistributed to equity denied workers to support the building of justice focused cooperatives.
The UCI will only support projects and co-op development promoting social justice for working people.
The UCI freelance network is not the right fit for everyone. Some co-ops and projects can have significant delays in payments and reimbursements caused by payment delays or precarious funding sources. Other co-ops rely entirely on sweat equity/volunteer contributions with no guarantee of payment during their start-up phase. We have also seen co-ops struggle due to funding or a major partner loss.
Some projects in the UCI network also rely entirely on solidarity work contributions. These are campaigns or community causes with no funding source. The UCI network and core operations are entirely run by solidarity work and volunteer contributions.
If you require stable income or these kinds of payment issues causes stress then this isn’t the right fit for your primary workplace. We still invite you to sign-up to the UCI mailing list or UCI Build Power Education Program.
All active UCI workers commit to monthly dues, recommended at personal income levels, to help sustain the operations of the co-op.
These dues range from $5 to $50 per month and begin at the completion of your 1-month onboarding and orientation process. Dues paying workers have first opportunity to apply for paid work projects where they meet the capacity and skills or training requirements.
We encourage all workers to apply to active membership in the co-op if they are interested in participating in governance and network decision-making. There is a 1-year probationary period for new members.