For Immediate Release: Monday, January 29, 2018
Contact: Kevin Gustafson, Esq., 507-720-2984, dc@democracyatwork.info
Democracy @ Work DC Hosts Dr. Richard Wolff for Talk About Worker Cooperatives
The “world’s foremost Marxist economist” (NYT) will speak at St. Stephen & the Incarnation Episcopal Church on Wednesday, January 31, 2018 at 7:00 PM.
Washington, DC — On Wednesday, January 31, the DC chapter of Democracy @ Work (D@W) will host Dr. Richard Wolff, who New York Times magazine named the “world’s foremost marxist economist,” for a wide-ranging talk about worker cooperatives and their role in the organization of a more democratic economic system.
Titled “Beyond the Capitalist Enterprise,” this talk will critically analyze the traditional hierarchical capitalist workplace, make the case for the cooperative alternative, and provide information about how to get involved at the local level in the movement towards cooperatives. The event is free to the public and will take place at St. Stephen & the Incarnation Episcopal Church at 7pm.
“Democratic representation is expected in civic life, but it’s conspicuously missing in the workplace, an institution where people spend the majority of their waking hours,” said Cinar Akcin, an organizer with D@W-DC. “We believe that worker cooperatives, through the introduction of democracy into peoples’ working lives, pave a path towards a more inclusive, just, and sustainable economy.”
Dr. Wolff is an internationally recognized expert of Marxist economics and worker cooperatives, having written many books on the subjects. He is Professor of Economics Emeritus at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and a current Visiting Professor at the New School University in New York City.
This event comes as momentum builds locally in the movement towards worker cooperatives. The city’s Department of Small and Local Business Development (DSLBD) holds a monthly stakeholders meeting to coordinate the activities of groups involved in the space, inspired by the successes of cooperative development pilot programs in places such as New York City and Madison, WI. ONE DC, a strong local advocacy group focused on racial inequality, has made the development of worker cooperatives a central issue in its recent organizing towards the construction of a Black Workers Center in Anacostia.
D@W-DC seeks to build on this momentum by engaging its volunteers in education, community outreach, and legislative advocacy towards the promotion of worker cooperatives. Its next public meeting will take place on February 7th, 2018 at The West End Library, located at 2301 L St NW, Washington, DC 20037.
About Dr. Richard Wolff: Dr. Wolff is Professor of Economics Emeritus at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and current Visiting Professor at the New School University in New York City. He hosts Economic Update, a weekly hour-long radio show, and is regularly featured in television and print media. Dr. Wolff co-founded the journal Rethinking Marxism and his most recent book, Capitalism’s Crisis Deepens: Essays on the Global Economic Meltdown, was published in 2016.
About Democracy @ Work DC: As a community group dedicated to the promotion of worker cooperatives and democratic workplaces, Democracy at Work DC (D@W-DC) believes that the expansion of worker self-directed enterprises is crucial to the development of a stronger and more equitable economic system. The group advances its mission through education, advocacy, outreach, and political coordination with progressive organizations committed to economic justice. D@W-DC’s parent organization is the national 501(c)3 non-profit Democracy at Work (D@W), which began supporting the formation of local action groups such as D@W-DC in 2016. D@W-DC is staffed by volunteers who are active in progressive movements in the Washington DC area. Visit their website at democracyatworkdc.com.
Economic Update is a weekly nationally syndicated radio program produced by Democracy at Work and hosted by Richard D. Wolff. The program explores complex economic issues and empowers listeners with information to analyze their own financial situation as well as the economy at large. By focusing on the economic dimensions of everyday life—wages, jobs, taxes, debts, and profits—the program explores alternative ways to organize markets and government policies.
The DSLBD Innovation & Equitable Development Office is holding an 
