[S7 E06] New
In this holiday-themed episode of All Things Co-op, Kevin speaks with Ellis Roberts of New York State of Pine, a worker cooperative selling Christmas trees in New York City. They discuss the exploitation of workers and huge markups for consumers from traditional Christmas tree companies, New York State of Pine’s democratic centralist model for decision-making, the question of scale, and the importance of working with and getting to know working-class people as communists and socialists.
If you live in NYC and haven’t gotten your Christmas tree yet, visit NY State of Pine at 323 St. Johns Pl in Prospect Heights, 75 7th Ave in Park Slope, or Metropolitan Ave and Bedford Ave in Williamsburg!
All Things Co-op is a Democracy At Work production. We make it a point to provide the show free of ads. Please consider supporting our work. Learn about all the ways to support our work on our Donate page. Every donation counts! A special thank you to our devoted monthly donors (via both our website and Patreon) whose recurring contributions enable us to plan for the future.
About our guest: Ellis Roberts came to New York from Pennsylvania to join the Occupy Wall Street encampment and never left. After working for, and getting ruthlessly exploited by several large Christmas tree companies, Ellis, a dedicated communist, struck out on his own with a few of his fellow workers and started their own cooperative enterprise selling Christmas trees.
To learn more, visit https://www.nystateofpine.com/
Follow New York State of Pine on social media: https://www.instagram.com/NYStateofPine/; https://www.facebook.com/NYStateofPine/
FOLLOW US ONLINE:
NEW 2021 Hardcover edition of “Understanding Marxism,” with a new, lengthy introduction by Richard Wolff is now available just in time for the Holidays! Visit: https://www.lulu.com
“Marxism always was the critical shadow of capitalism. Their interactions changed them both. Now Marxism is once again stepping into the light as capitalism shakes from its own excesses and confronts decline.”
Check out all of d@w’s books: "The Sickness is the System," "Understanding Socialism," by Richard D. Wolff, and “Stuck Nation” by Bob Hennelly http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/democracyatwork