Worker co-ops blossom in Sunset Park
In June 2006, the Center for Family Life (CFL) in Sunset Parkstarted its first worker cooperative, Si Se Puede! (We Can Do It!),with a small group of women enrolled in CFL’s English as a SecondLanguage classes who had expressed interest in starting their ownbusiness.
They wanted to ensure fair worker treatment and wages, yes, butalso reveled in the opportunity to create something of their ownand to take pride in providing high quality work for their clientsand neighbors, explained Luz Maria Hernandez, Si Se Puede!’scurrent president and one of the original co-op members.
Now, after five years of hard work, the all-female cleaningcooperative excels at operating on its own. Its members supportthemselves as well as an office manager – their first employee -and their co-op serves as inspiration for two other cooperativessupported by CFL: Beyond Care!, a childcare co-op, and GoldenSteps, a non-medical eldercare co-op launching this month.