There was a special guest at the September conference hosted by the United States Federation of Worker Cooperatives (USFWC) in Chicago. At a Friday plenary session on September 13th, the US Department of Labor was in attendance.

Assistant Secretary Lisa M. Gomez, who leads the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) within the Department of Labor, brought to the panel her full support of employee ownership. EBSA has even formed a division as part of a Department of Labor initiative to empower worker-owned businesses. Joining Asst Secretary Gomez on stage was Hilary Abell, who as reported by the USFWC, will be the Division Chief of the newly formed Division of Employee Ownership within EBSA.

These representatives of the federal government were joined on the panel by other leaders of the cooperative movement from state governments and the private sector.

Panelist Aaliyah Nedd is Director of Government Relations at the National Cooperative Business Association and the Cooperative League of the United State of America (NCBA CLUSA). Aaliyah is at the forefront of NCBA CLUSA’s efforts to make cooperatives a priority for policymakers on the federal level. Flequer Vera from Sustainergy Cooperative, who is also on the board of Co-op Cincy, spoke on this panel as well as another conference panel in support of unionized cooperatives. Panelist John McNamara, Co-Executive Director of Northwest Cooperative Development Center, has 26 years of experience in the worker cooperative world with Union Cab of Madison. He has helped to make Washington State a leader in the cooperative movement. Panelist Nneka Onwuzurike is the First Deputy of Business and Neighborhood Development for the City of Chicago Mayor’s Office. The employee-ownership movement and the city of Chicago are lucky to have her, given her experience in community wealth building and welfare. Mo Manklang hosted the discussion and is the Policy Director for USFWC. Mo made and maintains the valuable connection between USFWC and the US Department of Labor.

Asst Secretary Gomes made it clear that she wants to grow the role cooperative businesses with government resources. While there is a mandate for EBSA to support worker ownership based on recent legislation, Ms. Gomes and all members of the panel emphasized how important it is to make yourself heard for public policy initiatives. There are many ways that coops can affect a lot of people, but there are many other voices on Capital Hill and advocacy is still very important. Asst Secretary Gomes emphasized that a cause can get lost once laws are made because it didn’t voice what it needed.

This panel brought to light the necessary connections of state and federal efforts for the cooperative movement. As governments are learning, the more people know about cooperative businesses, the more they become a practical economic solution.