Red Sun Press Today

The worker co-op movement goes back almost to the day when when people first strapped on their boots and headed out to the factory or into the fields. Today in the U.S. there are thousands of businesses organized around the principles of cooperation, forming an increasingly significant sub-culture of the economy. With umbrella organizations such as the U.S Federation of Worker Co-ops welcoming new co-ops every day, the working world is beginning to get a leg up on economic justice and democratic control in the workplace. The movement had grown enough by 2012 that United Nations established it as the “International Year of Cooperatives.” Red Sun Press has been a proud member of the co-op movement since 1973, when a group of Boston activists banded together to create printed materials for the anti-war and social justice efforts of the era. They had open membership, with training and support for the workers to support an autonomous commercial print shop. While “certification” of any kind is not strictly necessary to establish a business as a cooperative (check with the secretary of state in your state about possible special incorporation status), it helps to be allied with other co-ops in formal structures to get support and to advance the co-op movement itself. The ICA Group and the Democracy at Work Network among others provide resources and training for business seeking to establish a co-operative identity and structure.  Red Sun recently received status from the International Co-operative Alliance, joining hundreds of other businesses around the world in growing “cooperation among cooperatives.” The Marque of the alliance will appear on Red Sun’s literature as a symbol of our enduring commitment to the worker cooperative enterprise.