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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Catherine Murcek, Worker Owner at Samamkaya Yoga Back Care & Scoliosis Collective
2:59:08
ยท
145 sec
Catherine Murcek, a worker-owner at Samamkaya Yoga Back Care & Scoliosis Collective, testified in support of the Worker Cooperative Business Development Initiative (WCBDI) and commercial rent stabilization. She emphasized the resilience and unique benefits of worker cooperatives, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Urged the council to enhance WCBDI funding to $5,090,000
- Highlighted how the cooperative structure helped Samamkaya survive the pandemic
- Stressed the importance of commercial rent stabilization for protecting workers and small businesses
Catherine Murcek
2:59:08
Hi.
2:59:08
Thank you for the opportunity to testify online today.
2:59:11
My name is Katherine Mersak, I'm a worker owner at Samankaya Yoga Back Care and Scoliosis Collective.
2:59:17
We are a member of the New York City Network of Workers Co ops, also known as NCNOC, which is a partner organization of WCBDI, which you heard about from my colleagues.
2:59:27
Your support of our community of democratically run businesses helps to protect and create jobs for women, immigrant workers, and communities of color across the five boroughs and in a wide array of industries.
2:59:40
I'm testifying today to urge you to continue to support the great work of WCBDI, enhancing their funding to $5,090,000 and to also support commercial rent stabilization to protect New York City's Workers and small businesses from displacement.
2:59:54
These measures help protect consumers and workers alike by creating stability and resilience in our local economy.
3:00:01
My co op, Sammunkaya, is a very special little studio in Chelsea specializing in therapeutic yoga for back care with classes both online and in studio.
3:00:10
I'm proud to say my 19 other worker owners and I just celebrated ten years of democratically running the studio together in the same space the whole time.
3:00:19
To make yoga accessible to all ages and abilities, we used specialized rope walls and equipment, which incurred hefty start up costs that we are still paying cooperative business structure makes us unique among yoga studios in New York and is one of the reasons we were more resilient through the pandemic than many of the yoga studios that we sadly lost.
3:00:39
Even though the pandemic forced us to close our physical space temporarily, we banded together to decide as a team how we would pivot, divide the labor, and we worked together to keep the studio afloat while making sure our teachers who most needed to work could keep teaching online and make ends meet.
3:00:54
And that's just one example of how a cooperative business can be really resilient.
3:00:58
We were very grateful to have access to technical support from WCDI partners and a couple small grants specific to worker co ops.
3:01:06
One example is NCNOCs Cooperative Sustainability Fund, which helped us pay for consulting sessions, which helped us manage some communication and distribution of labor challenges.
3:01:16
Thank you very much.
UNKNOWN
3:01:17
Is Tom, you.
Julie Menin
3:01:18
Thank you very much.
UNKNOWN
3:01:19
Okay, thank you.
Catherine Murcek
3:01:20
Thank you.
3:01:20
In conclusion, just please enhance WCWDS funding to $5,090,000 There's more in my written testimony.
3:01:28
And please support commercial event stabilization for our wonderful community office.
3:01:32
Thanks.
Julie Menin
3:01:32
Thank you very much.