Damayan Participates in Workplace Democracy Conference

Last July 10­-12, Damayan Cleaning coop members Jean Llanto and Emma Serafin, along with Damayan staff member Leah Obias, traveled to Worcester, Massachusetts to attend the East Conference on Workplace Democracy along with 300 coop members and professionals along the East Coast. The Conference, which took place at Clark University, offered workshops and panels on a variety of topics relevant to coop development and the solidarity economy. Damayan Cleaning members attended workshops on customer service, sustainability and financing, creating a culture of solidarity, non-­oppressive meeting facilitation, and evaluation and accountability. Leah Obias also spoke on a panel about New York City cooperatives, describing Damayan's incubation model as a community ­based organization incubating a worker cooperative in an economically­ marginalized immigrant community.