Melat Seyoum
2:45:05
Good afternoon, honorable chairperson Lennon and distinguished members of the New York City Committee on Consumer and Worker Protection.
2:45:11
My name is Melat Siyum, and I'm the director of political affairs and strategic partnerships at the New York City Network of Worker Owned Cooperatives, also known as NCNOC.
2:45:21
We are the member led local trade association representing worker cooperative businesses and democratic workplaces in New York City metropolitan area.
2:45:29
I'm here alongside my colleagues from the Democracy at Work Institute, Center for Family Life, Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition, and our advocacy council members representing 10 other organizations that make up the worker cooperative business development initiative.
2:45:44
As many before us have shared, we are here during these unprecedented times to support immigrant worker owners in New York City, asking the New York City Council to continue supporting the expansion of worker ownership in next year's budget and firmly into the future.
2:45:57
Since the inception of the initiative, we have shared we have created over 200 new cooperative businesses and over 1,200 new jobs that are not only providing higher hourly wages, but also building wealth and assets for individuals who are overwhelmingly BIPOC women and immigrants.
2:46:12
We have seen firsthand how the initiative has served to bolster our sector, strengthening existing cooperative businesses and creating new ones.
2:46:20
The initiative partners have collectively worked to create a comprehensive ecosystem of support for cooperative businesses that not only ensures the creation of new cooperatives in low income areas, but also the technical assistance needed to sustain businesses and create jobs, as well as the education and outreach needed for communities, interested entrepreneurs, and allied organizations.
2:46:40
We did a lot of work during the pandemic and brought in, over $220,000,000 in grants and loans to cooperatives to keep them afloat.
2:46:47
And we did this with, 3,700,000 budget.
2:46:50
We asked city council to enhance our funding to 5,000,000, $97,082 in order for our initiative to double down and do the work that is essential for this economic recovery for cooperative businesses.
