Friday at CCMA

CCMA kicked things off today on a grey morning with the prerequisite Pacific Northwest rain making short appearances on the walk to the conference. University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives Executive Director Courtney Berner welcomed the hundreds of assembled cooperators to Tacoma. Berner explained the intention behind the "A Cascade of Cooperation" theme, saying that our work together gathers strength as it joins and rolls downhill.

Berner explained it was an important moment for our food co-op movement. Berner highlighted activities outside of the breakout sessions such as morning yoga, a puzzle project and the new CCMA Dialogue Studio sessions. Sue Spang, General Manager of Central Co-op in Tacoma and Seattle, spoke on behalf of the host committee and welcomed the group as well. Spang appreciated cooperators for traveling from around the country to Tacoma.

General Session: Integrity, Care, and Equity Under Pressure: Twin Cities Food Co-op Leaders on Navigating ICE in Their Communities

“It was inescapable”

The morning keynote session featured staff from four Twin Cities area co-op discussing their response to ICE during and after Operation Metro Surge this winter. Gabby Davis from National Co+op Grocers (NCG) moderated the panel. The panelists were:

Anne Gazzola- GM Eastside Food Cooperative
Matt Kappra- CEO Valley Natural Foods
Nick Seeberger- CEO Twin Cities Co-op Partners (which includes the two Wedge stores)
Alex Betzenheimer- Operations and Finance Director, Seward Community Co-op

The panelists compared the operational challenges to what happened in covid.  There were safety concerns, fear, and emotions were high.  The actions by ICE necessitated a crisis response type of planning.  One panelist remarked how during Covid stores could rely on government agencies for information, but that was not the case here. 

The co-ops discussed new policies and procedures that were put into place to respond to the crisis. A large amount of cooperation and coordination took place between the various Twin City area co-ops, who pooled knowledge and legal resources.

The theme of how 'political' to be in messaging around the situation came up. The individual stores said they found comfort in actions being taken by all co-ops such as closing for a day of protest or posting "ICE Out" messages. The group being unified helped to insulate the individual stores from blowback.

Examples of cooperation were everywhere.  NCG staff came out to support the stores on the protest day and help to hand out warm drinks.  Willy Street co-op in Madison raised $60k for a donation.  “Our peers made us feel heard,” one panelist said.

The session was brave and powerful as the cooperators shared their individual and collective stories. The theme of being stronger together than they could ever have been apart was felt throughout.

Breakout Sessions

Garlic and Roses hosted our own breakout session titled "Rooted in Narrative" about joyful cooperative storytelling. A session by co-ops in Portland, OR and Portland, ME discussed how co-ops can feel their way around political engagement and how far they can go. Consultants Jeanie Wells and Sarah Dahl presented on the gender wage gap among male and female employees, especially General Managers, that exists across all store sizes and years of experience. They discussed how co-ops are not living up to our values on this issue, and some things that boards, staff and support services can all do to help address it.

The CCMA Dialogue Studio facilitated by Jon Steinman and Laura King featured small groups in a fishbowl format where the inner-most group spoke to a pre-planned prompt, and participants entered and exited the speaking circle. NCG's Allanah Hines led a session called "Rooted in Resistance" that when through the history of people of the global majority in the cooperative movement.

Many other amazing sessions took place with tremendous engagement from the hundreds of board members, staff and other cooperators in attendance.

Other Garlic and Roses Day 1 Notes

In the spirit of self-care, a la the wisdom and guidance of Gabby Davis, some of us (no names) took 20 minute naps that accidentally stretched into 2 hours.

Following our presentation at least 50% of the Garlic and Roses team had a desperate need for sauce. The Forum on Pacific more than met that need through tendies and juicy lucies. (editors note: obviously they've never been to Matt's in Minneapolis)

Official Count of how many times the Garlic and Roses team was called "troublemakers" today - 5

Tyler's How to CCMA without really trying 

-Make a first impression: never wear your name tag. You don’t need that to make sure everyone in attendance knows who you are. 

-Attach yourself to a good local bit or two. For example (totally hypothetical) download a marine traffic app to track large ships’ length, girth, and when they’re arriving in the harbor. Talk about it at every opportunity. If you come across knowledgeable, and charming, your enthusiasm will make it into the CCMA host’s opening remarks.

-Ask questions. Everything I know about the world came from asking strangers questions. When in doubt, skip more sessions than you attend. People will think you’re busy and important.