Your Action Needed: Support the National Cooperative Development Act!

Submitted by kiran on December 14, 2011 - 6:43pm

Dear Friends and Allies in the Co-op and Economic Justice Movement,

This Thursday, December 15th, the National Cooperative Development Act will be introduced on the floor of the House of Representatives. Please act now to support its passage. There is more work to be done after it has been introduced, but we need support NOW!

This legislation was drafted by US Rep, Chaka Fattah, who represents some of our core trainers in AORTA. In fact, AORTA member Esteban Kelly was part of an initial meeting in Fall 2010, where we convinced Representative Fattah of the real power that co-ops have to grow local economies.

The bill itself was written with the collective wisdom and perspective of Cooperation Works network of coop development centers. If this bill passes, these centers and other cooperative developers will be able to expand their capacity to develop cooperatively-owned businesses in underserved communities. If you have not already done so, please read the bill, or its summary at www.campaign.coop.

There are many things each of you can do to support this bill:

- Please consider calling your Member of Congress, and arrange a meeting to educate them about the cooperative business model.
- Coop developers can meet with members to tell them about the amazing work you've already accomplished with Federal funds or otherwise.

- And we can all tell them about the kinds of projects that you could help get started in their district with the program proposed in the National Cooperative Development Act. Tell them that the bill will be introduced on Thursday, and Congressman Fattah is recruiting co-sponsors.

Find your Representative's contact info at https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml And of course, follow along by visiting www.campaign.coop

Thanks for your continued support!

The AORTA Collective: Tyrone Boucher, Esteban Kelly, kiran nigam, Lydia Pelot-Hobbs, & Jenna Peters-Golden