Julian McKinley
3:03:56
Thank you so much.
3:03:58
Good afternoon, Chair Menon and distinguished members of the committee.
3:04:01
It's an honor to address you today.
3:04:02
I appreciate the time to to share about our work at WCBDI and the importance of worker cooperatives.
3:04:07
Thanks to the city council's investment over the past 10 fiscal cycles, WCBDI has helped create and support resilient employment and business ownership opportunities that are really unlike any other in New York or across the nation.
3:04:21
The worker cooperative business model puts agency and assets in the hands of workers and their communities.
3:04:27
They are a haven for workers in low wage, high turnover and often exploitative industries who have been traditionally marginalized and excluded from the broader economy.
3:04:35
In New York City, the majority of worker owners are immigrant women of color in industries like janitorial services, home health care and child care, for example, cooperative home care associates who have already been mentioned during this hearing.
3:04:49
Through worker ownership, workers within these businesses are able to bring home living wages significantly above industry averages.
3:04:56
They're building assets that contribute to financial stability, building worker power and leadership, and transforming industry standards for the better over time.
3:05:05
In fact, transformative industry models using worker ownership launched in New York City around health care, starting with Cooperative Home Care Associates, are now being adopted across the country, including in Philadelphia and San Francisco.
3:05:18
Since its inception in fiscal year twenty fifteen, WCBDI, with council support, has created more than 1,000 jobs and pathways to business ownership, created more than 200 New York sorry, new worker cooperative businesses that offer higher hourly wages and have reached more than 10,000 entrepreneurs with education and technical assistance services.
3:05:38
Worker cooperatives are unique in their ability to establish, grow, and retain community wealth to make entrepreneurship accessible and to create stable, dignified work.
3:05:48
We urge City Council to continue investing in worker cooperatives through WCBDI by enhancing our funding to $5,090,000 for fiscal year 'twenty six.
