Rochdale Pioneers Toad Lane Store Founded: 1844 Number of members: 28 founding members Equity investment:Two weeks wages down, with 10 weeks total investment Retail square footage: Tiny On the longest night of the year, the founders of the consumer cooperative movement opened their grocery store in 1844 in Rochdale, England with little fanfare and five items for sale. Their store was lit with candles, [...]
We hear a lot about “hope” and “change” these days, but how does our vision compare with the kind of lasting change brought about by the humble men and women of Rochdale, England, a century and a half ago? For the Rochdale Pioneers, the founders of our modern cooperative movement, cooperation gave them real tools to change a dire economic situation. Beset by indebtedness, [...]
Mary Jones had reason to look forward with optimism to her upcoming performance review. She felt that over the past six months she had built a track record of good solid performance working as a cook in the co-op kitchen. She was consistently punctual, reliable, productive, and efficient. As a cooperative team member she had filled in many extra days during a coworker’s long [...]
