From the Southern:
he Carbondale Spring also proposes changes to business growth in the city. “If the city of Carbondale has an interest in retaining businesses on the Strip, perhaps the standard question of how to attract investors is the wrong question,” the proposal reads. Of the businesses for sale on the Strip, the group proposes that the city purchase them and transfer control and ownership to the workers. This is a model the group says is already in place in Cleveland, Ohio and is working. It cited Cleveland’s Evergreen Cooperatives as a successful example. Evergreen Cooperatives operate a farm facility, solar company and laundry services built around the worker-owner cooperative model. According to its website, “the Evergreen Cooperative Initiative is working to create living-wage jobs in six low-income neighborhoods, with a median household income below $18,500, in an area known as Greater University Circle.” Carbondale Spring organizers suggest that the city set up a fund to purchase functioning businesses currently up for sale and bring consultants in to design and transition them into worker-owned co-ops.
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