Maximalism

In El Bolsón, Argentina, three women sustain the Mailén cooperative, created in 2017 to generate work. They make jams with Patagonian fruits, transforming the need for jobs into a collective project

The United States House of Representatives, in Washington D.C., passed the Retirement Through Ownership Act, historic ESOP legislation, with strong bipartisan support. It now heads to the president for his signature and enactment into law

The supposedly modern model of French SCOPs, another ICA invention, is full of examples. An SCOP that lays off workers: what future for its values? The employees of the brickyard in Colomiers, France, are protesting against the dismissal of 43 jobs. They denounce that a workers' cooperative resorts to layoffs and demand alternatives to preserve jobs and cooperative values

Forbes: Coceta renews its representation of Spain on the board of directors of the International Cooperative Alliance. The Confederation of Worker Cooperatives of Spain (Coceta), based in Madrid, Spain, keeps its seat on the board of directors of the International Cooperative Alliance. The decision strengthens the presence of Spanish worker cooperativism on the global stage

In April 2026, the employees of Ludovic Hayes traiteur took over ownership of the company by forming a workers' cooperative (Scop) in Mouilleron-le-Captif, in the Vendée, France, after successfully meeting the challenge of a worker buyout

The Xunta is promoting in Baiona, Galicia (Spain), a pioneering social economy initiative that seeks entrepreneurship opportunities developed in community, the launch of cooperatives to build affordable housing and leisure activities for all ages, with the aim of generating employment in the territory

MaMa Jean's Natural Market, in Springfield, Missouri, United States, implemented an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP), becoming 100% employee-owned. The company, with about 150 employees, announced it via press release

The worker cooperative Carte Blanche, in France, supplies eight municipalities. It has won the national prize of the chambers of commerce and industry, a recognition of its model of a worker cooperative with social and environmental impact

The Government of Argentina extended in Buenos Aires the deadline to draft and define the regulatory rules that will govern the worker cooperative sector, according to reports. The measure postpones the definition of the legal framework applicable to these worker-owned companies

The Sicle cooperative, specialized in bicycle gardening, has acquired 450 square meters of garden on the rooftop of a building in Angers, France. The project, worth almost one million euros, seeks to boost its urban gardening activity

Stout published its second annual analysis of investment returns among private companies with employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs), based in Chicago, United States. The index recorded an 18.1% one-year return, outperforming the S&P 500

In Montreuil, a cooperative and activist space runs thanks to the dedication of volunteers. It is called Darna (formerly a Syrian soup kitchen), a "house of peoples and exiles." Darna is at once a cooperative soup kitchen, a café, and a space for meeting and welcoming

"China will lead the creation of an "open-source zone for artificial intelligence" for the BRICS countries, President Xi Jinping said on Sunday at a summit of the 11-nation group held in New Delhi. Xi also called for the establishment of a "broad and consensus-based global AI governance framework.""

In Belfast, Northern Ireland (United Kingdom), new advisors are joining to support companies that adopt employee ownership. The sector shows a "strong appetite" for this model, which allows workers to participate in the ownership of their companies

In Rieti, Italy, a proposal arises for the employees of the Birra del Borgo brewery to organize as a workers' cooperative to take over the company and prevent its disappearance, betting on a model of ownership and management in the hands of the workers

The town of Calascio, in Italy, is driving its revival through a workers' cooperative that transforms tourism activity into local employment, creating job opportunities for its residents

Happy New Year to everyone!

Two Cardigan companies become employee-owned. The companies 3P Technik UK and Celtic Sustainables, based in Cardigan, Wales, United Kingdom, are transformed into an employee-owned business group (EOT), transferring ownership to the workforce and ensuring business continuity under a participatory governance model

Scop Couserans Construction and Ecozimut, in Occitanie, France, jointly develop prefabricated partitions made of wood and lightweight earth for sustainable construction. Cooperation among worker cooperatives drives innovation in natural materials

"If data kills the narrative, then those who have fared best under this Government are the Spanish rich. This is indicated by the sharp increase in the number of rich people in Spain, compared with the stagnation in the average real income per person and in the Arope rate of risk of poverty/social exclusion, the emergence of the working poor and the high rate of child poverty. All this leaves no room for doubt: Sánchez's Government has been the Government of the rich.

And all this is compatible with economic growth, job creation, the increase in the minimum wage and the scant effort in productivity and innovation, to the point that our competitiveness model has been based more on low costs than on increased added value, and growth has owed much to external factors, such as tourism and the Next Generation funds, to public spending in the form of pension increases and to immigrants and the new precariousness of the labour market, where there is still a significant gap in skilled labour."

"The data therefore support a narrative such as the following: under the "progressive" Government, the number of rich people in Spain grows, real wages do not increase, inequality rises and poverty becomes chronic for around 13 million citizens, leading the European ranking for child poverty."

The former Fralib workers of Gémenos relaunch a support campaign despite rising turnover. The former workers of the Fralib factory in Gémenos, France, organized in a self-managed cooperative, are relaunching a support campaign even though their turnover has increased

Between 2018 and 2026, Gross Value Added per employee increased by 44% in nominal terms. However, average remuneration per worker grew by 33%, while the gross margin per employee obtained by companies increased by 55%.

In Washington D.C. (United States), a report presents worker cooperatives as a dignified response to the crisis in care for elderly people with dementia. Owned by the employees, these models seek to improve the quality of care and the workers' conditions, offering an alternative to the current system

In Minneapolis (Minnesota, USA), a young woman shares in MinnPost how her future changed when she joined an employee-owned company. Faced with job uncertainty, the shared ownership model gave her stability, confidence, and a concrete path to build her life

The opportunity too many Americans have never heard of. The Daily Montanan article, from Helena, Montana (USA), highlights ESOP plans as a little-known pathway for workers to acquire their companies and secure their future. Despite being a relevant employment and economic opportunity, the model remains ignored by most citizens of the country

Nueva Cotar: The plant reopened in Rosario, Argentina, under worker management, forming a cooperative project to sustain production and employment