Cleveland Owns

Tomorrow (TUESDAY, 6/9)— Join Craig and Prerna at Mason’s Creamery for our Summer Office Hours! Drop in anytime from 6 to 8PM to chat about co-ops and learn more about our summer study offerings.

**note: This event was originally scheduled at our office and has now been moved to Mason’s (4401 Bridge Ave), just a short 3 minute walk away from our office! Or just come enjoy some ice cream with us!

This fall our cooperative workplace incubator program, Co-op U, is back!

Have an idea for a cooperative workplace and a team ready to start building it? Apply to Co-op U to bring your vision to life!

You’ll learn practical skills and receive guided coaching as you build your co-op’s foundations. At the end of the program, you’ll share your progress with the broader community at Dolphin Tank! (The cooperative version of Shark Tank)

Ready to apply or want to learn more? Do so on our website at www.clevelandowns.coop

The REI Union workers and co-op members have voted to boycott REI’s Anniversary Sale on Friday 5/15 to Monday 5/25. REI Union workers are asking their friends in the labor and co-op movements to help them leaflet during the sale and are holding a rally on Saturday May 16th 12pm-2pm.

Let’s show up for our friends at the REI Union and make it clear union busting has no place in the co-op movement!

LINK IN BIO!

REI continues to betray cooperative values and the labor movement! After REI union workers successfully got REI co-op members to reject REI’s corporate board elections last spring, REI’s new CEO seemed committed to reform. The REI conceded to a framework to reach an agreement over the fall and winter of 2025. Despite some progress made at the bargaining table, REI fell back on their anti-union tactics. REI ultimately refused to pay union workers at the same level as non-union workers. This was a slap in the face to REI union workers after four years at the bargaining table. In addition, REI continues to waste money on anti-union law firms, roll back co-op democracy, and flagrantly violate labor law.

Shame!

See you May 9th for our annual celebration! Once a year we gather with all our people to remember that there is an alternative to our current economic system, and that, piece by piece, we are building it! We’ll have a full brunch by , music by , a powerful keynote, and the 2026 Cleveland Owns Cooperator of the Year award (who will it be?!?! Past winners include and !).

RSVP at clevelandowns.coop

Labor unions and cooperatives are two strategies that working people have used to build power and fight for what they and their communities need.

Can these two formations work together?
Why would a co-op need a union?
What does a labor union gain from cooperative ownership?
What can we learn from those who are already living this model?
And how can we use it to strengthen labor unions and the cooperative movement here in Cleveland?

On Tuesday May 26th, join the Northeast Ohio Worker Center and Co-op Circles where we explore these questions and more!

RSVP at the link in bio!

Where: Forest City Brewery - 2135 Columbus Rd, Cleveland, OH 44113

When: Tuesday, May 26th, 2026 7-8:30pm

Virtual option: Yes

Masks are provided & encouraged.

—

This event is a collaboration between the Northeast Ohio Worker Center and Co-op Circles

Co-op Circles is an every-other-month event hosted by Cleveland Owns, Forest City Tech Co-op, the Woodhill Community Co-op, People’s Plumbing, Rust Belt Riders, IRTF, and others.

Do you have an idea for a future Co-op Circle topic you want to lead? Send us a proposal to [email protected] and we’ll work with you to see if it could be turned into a Co-op Circle!

These co-ops nerds spent the day playing the new Co-op Game from at the annual meeting of the Ohio Worker-ownership Network (OWN). What a dream! OWN is the statewide network of co-op developers - (and others!). We agree employee-owners do it better!

We’re celebrating 7 years of Cleveland Owns, building co-op ownership structures across Northeast Ohio! 🧡 Join us Saturday, May 9th at our Annual Celebration: Growing the Fruits of our Labor! 🍉🍏🍅🍒

When: Saturday May 9th, 2026 from 11AM to 2PM
Where: St Paul’s Community Church - 4427 Franklin Blvd in Ohio City

We’ll share some big updates, announce the 2026 Cleveland Owns Cooperator of the Year, have games, including a get to know you bingo, music and all the brunch vibes with plenty of vegan options. Latecomers and early-goers welcome!! RSVP above or at the link in bio.

Stay tuned for updates around food, music and our keynote speaker ✨

Spring is here in Cleveland, and as the sun warms our corner of the planet, we are getting ready for our first Co-op Circle of 2026 on Energy Democracy!

RSVP at the Link in Bio!

What is Energy Democracy? Energy Democracy is a way for communities to reimagine how and why we use energy! It intersects with the movements for a solidarity economy, housing justice, and racial justice.

We know we cannot allow our current energy system to continue. This is an energy system that is driven by extraction and overconsumption. It accelerates environmental destruction and climate chaos, and provides the motivation for the destructive wars in Iran and Venezuela.

Energy Democracy puts power in the hands of the people! It provides communities with a diverse set of tools to fight back, have real decision-making power, and build the energy system we need. A new energy system that is diverse and deeply democratic from the bottom up and provides for our communities needs in line with the natural world.

Join us on Thursday April 16th from 6-8pm as we learn about Energy Democracy and how groups here in Northeast Ohio and all across the globe are using this transformative framework.

Food and childcare are provided. Masks are provided and encouraged. This event is hosted by Co-op Circles – an event series organized cooperatively by many co-op groups in Cleveland.

Date/Time: Thursday April 16th, 2026 from 6-8pm
Location: Living Truth Center - 1850 Belmore Rd, East Cleveland, OH 44112

For the past year, a group of organized residents have been working to convert their beautiful, historic 27 unit apartment building into a resident-owned, permanently affordable housing co-op.

They’ve incorporated as an entity, finalized their bylaws and are now fundraising for their next step: a property condition assessment!! Join us on Saturday, March 7th from 5 to 10PM at Negative Space Gallery (1541 E38th St) at their benefit show and support residents taking collective ownership over where and how they live ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

Can’t make it on Saturday? You can still throw down! Tinyurl.com/PlazaSuitesco-op or check out the link in our bio!

Join us next Sunday, February 1st, for ¡TERTULIA!: a conversation around co-op housing, inspired by Bloomington IN 🎵🍞🌱

This will be an evening of shared food, music and conversation around cooperative living, inspired by a visit to friends and peers in the thriving cooperative network of Bloomington, Indiana. This is a collaborative event between Cleveland Owns and COFA House—join us on February 1st to find community, debrief our Bloomington experience, and plant seeds for the next co-op housing projects in Cleveland. We’re lucky to be hosted at the lovely Brownhoist on St. Clair!

Date/Time: Sunday, February 1st - 6pm to 10pm
Location: The Brownhoist, 4403 St. Clair Ave
Dinner starts @ 6pm
Programming from 6:30-8pm
Chatting + jamming 8-10pm
Children are welcome! No experience in collective living is required, just curiosity ☺️

We encourage folks to get there by 6:30pm to savor the full breadth of our program, but you are welcome to come by when you can!