of the Coalition for Worker Ownership and Power (COWOP)
Confirmed:
Opportunity to Own
H. 503 / S. 305 filed by Rep. Worrell, Rep. Garballey, and Sen. Mark
COWOP is introducing a policy to transfer ownership of small businesses to their workers when the owner decides to sell. This bill would create a major opportunity for growing the worker cooperative ecosystem as a part of the state economy in Massachusetts. It also provides a strategy for Massachusetts to meet the challenge of tens of thousands of small business owners retiring in coming years (aka ‘Silver Tsunami”). Stay tuned for your chance to support this important initiative in coming months. Read our Opportunity to Own fact sheet.
Funding for the MA Center for Employee Ownership (MassCEO)
Sen. Cyr
MassCEO is a state office newly formalized with staff and a line item in the annual budget. Our proposed FY26 budget request for MassCEO is $300,000, a modest amount aimed at meeting sharply growing demand. This crucial agency (under the MA Office of Business Development) builds the cooperative business sector, and requires adequate funding to meet basic needs.
Technical Assistance
Via both the Governor and the legislatures’ FY26 state budget this Spring, COWOP is supporting a significant funding increase for the Small Business Technical Assistance (SBTA) program run by Mass Growth Capital Corporation up to $10M. This program funds technical assistance providers in our ecosystem who specialize in worker coop development. The funds would help expand services enabling local entrepreneurs, especially from communities of color, to establish stable new worker coops, as well as to convert existing conventional businesses to a democratically-run and worker-owned structure.
Coop Revolving Loan Fund
COWOP is proposing to develop a significant new pool of working capital to grow the worker coop ecosystem in MA.
Under exploration:
There are several policy areas of interest that the coalition is exploring and will share publicly pending due process.
By building a robust worker-owned cooperative infrastructure, the Cooperative MA policy platform will support a just recovery from the COVID-19 economic crisis, while making strides towards an equitable economy for workers and communities across Massachusetts. Download our Opportunity to Own fact sheet here.
Join entrepreneurs, workers and communities across the Commonwealth.
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Express your support and help make this policy platform a reality by using our form letter above.
COWOP 