On December 15, 2024, an alliance of worker cooperatives convened a solidarity economy gathering and potluck dinner at the Tenants and Workers United Community Center in Alexandria, Virginia. Tenants and Workers United (TWU) is a democratically controlled grassroots organization committed to building community power across Northern Virginia. The gathering was organized by a collaboration of organizations convened through Democratizing NOVA, including tech worker collective NOVA Web Development, and the Latinx cooperative incubator SECOSOL. The dinner wouldn't have been possible without support from the Virginia Solidarity Economy Network, a grassroots network of organizers focused on building an economy based on democracy, sustainability, equity, solidarity, and pluralism. Participants also came from VOICE and The Democracy Collaborative.
The dinner presented the perfect opportunity to build on the strongest tool of resistance real, working people have: unity.
Much of the evening’s discussion revolved around the development of immigrant worker cooperatives in Northern Virginia and the possibilities for solidarity economy organizing in the region. The gathering allowed worker-owners to connect, bond, and share space. The night featured presentations from Mujeres Manos A La Obra, a cleaning cooperative based in Virginia, NOVA Web Development worker-owned tech co-operative, and SECOSOL, an organization seeking to empower the Latinx community through worker cooperative education, alternative financing, and support from others in their solidarity network. SECOSOL co-presidents Dilcia Molina and Leslie Moncada presented the organization’s brand new website, designed by NOVA Web Development. They affirmed their shared commitment to fostering an economy in Virginia that prioritizes the real needs of real people. This all came together within the broader context of an incoming Trump presidency as many in the Latinx and other historically marginalized communities gear up for four more years of increased antagonism. The dinner presented the perfect opportunity to build on the strongest tool of resistance real, working people have: unity. Worker cooperatives, grassroots organizations, and community members all came together to affirm their solidarity and commitment to building an economy that puts people before profits.
the 2024 USFWC Conference held a special significance for Latinx owned and operated coops as over half of attendees were Spanish speakers.
A solidarity economy movement has been brewing in Northern Virginia, and the whole United States more broadly, for some time. The 2024 United States Federation of Worker Cooperatives (USFWC) Conference was held right in the heart of the nation in Chicago, Illinois. The largest gathering in their history with over 600 attendees from across the country, the 2024 USFWC Conference held a special significance for Latinx owned and operated coops as over half of attendees were Spanish speakers. Democratizing Northern Virginia (DNOVA), a community-engaged civic research project out of George Mason University, has been hard at work documenting coops and other organizations from across the region and has noted the growing presence of cooperatives throughout Northern Virginia.
The dinner itself was served potluck style, and following our discussions, began as one by one folks stacked their plates with an assortment of Latino and holiday culinary staples. Just over thirty people filled the small hall, creating an atmosphere, warm and familiar, that lent itself well to 
conversations between old and new friends. And even as the night started to wind down the spirit of solidarity remained. All this allowed me, a newcomer to the solidarity economy scene and Latino, a degree of comfort not all too dissimilar from being at one of my own family functions. I felt compelled to start up conversations, learn more about the people who are leading the solidarity economy movement in the place I was born and raised, and plant roots within a vibrant and resilient community.
February 04, 2025