About Our Meetings
Meeting Location:
4550 South Maryland Parkway, Las Vegas, NV
Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf
The members of LVWORCS meet every Monday from 5:00-8:00 PM, at the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf across from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) campus. Everyone is welcome to come to our weekly meetings.
Past Events
LVWORCS is a registered student organization at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), and as such, has committed itself to doing outreach to students on campus. On multiple occasions, we have set up tables at on-campus events with informational leaflets, inviting students to learn more about our group, the issues we seek to address, and worker cooperatives. We are proud of our participation in the following events:
- UNLV Rebels Go Green (2013), in partnership with our friends at Take Back the Tap. LVWORCS was invited to table at this annual event, which primarily focuses on the sustainability efforts in Las Vegas. We effectively networked and educated some students and faculty at UNLV. LVWORCS was requested by documentary filmmaker, Veronica Robledo (“We Occupy”), to participate in a round table discussion at this event about the worker-cooperative business model, and about how this international movement is a constructive and effective way to empower people and take back control of our economy. This discussion was included during the conclusion of her documentary as a solution to current economic and social instability. Her film is all about the activist community in Las Vegas.
- UNLV Involvement Fair (Fall 2013, Spring 2014, and Fall 2014): Our participation in this biannual event for UNLV student organizations focused on outreach to UNLV students and faculty. Since worker cooperatives are relatively unknown (especially in Nevada and much of the Southwest), a large portion of our efforts are dedicated to educating others about the worker cooperative business model.
- UNLV Public Interest Law Film Festival (2013): In partnership with William S. Boyd School of Law, the 3rd Annual Public Interest Law Film Festival at UNLV was held with the theme of “Economic
InJustice: Global, National & Local Challenges & Opportunities”. LVWORCS was invited to table at this event which featured the documentary, “Shift Change,” which explains what worker-cooperatives are, how they work, their successes, and their positive impact on the community. Our organization was mentioned by the “Shift Change” film-maker, Melissa Young, as a group actively involved in the development of the worker cooperative movement in Las Vegas. Our outreach efforts at this event provided us with strong connections. - UNLV Festival of Communities (2014)
- UNLV New Student Orientation (2014): During this event, LVWORCS directed its outreach toward new undergraduate students, informing them about worker cooperatives and encouraging them to join us. We also used this opportunity to distribute informational handouts to several students about the seven cooperative principles which guide the worker cooperative movement internationally.
- UNLV Rebels Go Green (2014) We participated, once again, in Rebels Go Green again in 2014. The festival was held at the UNLV campus on October 29, 2014, and we did tabling at the event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. As the theme was Reclaim!, we displayed a presentation featuring our name and our slogan, “Think Outside the Boss”, made entirely out of found and repurposed objects, thanks in part to supplies made available by the Marjorie Barrick Museum at their Art Bar, in addition to decorating our table with signs made from reused cardboard and collected litter. We made information available and invited students to join us or come to our meetings to see what we are all about.
In addition to promoting our organization on the UNLV campus through engaging UNLV students in conversations about democracy in the workplace and workers’ empowerment, we have also held presentations throughout the community, attempting to inform the public about worker cooperatives. At these events, we educate people through our featured films, while reaching out to attendees. Our education involves pinpointing the economic and social injustices prevalent in societies and constructive ways to fix those existing injustices. The goal of our outreach efforts is to provide the Las Vegas community with an outlet to learn about and develop solutions to the social disparities surrounding us by creating family-sustaining jobs that empower and circulate wealth in the local area. Among the public presentations we have hosted in the past are:
- A series of film nights showing the four-part film, This Way Out, in the BEH building at UNLV, January 2013
- A film night featuring a screening of Shift Change in the BEH building at UNLV, March 2013
- A film night featuring a screening of Shift Change in the CBC building at UNLV, October 2013
- A film night featuring a screening of The Corporation in the BEH building at UNLV, November 2013
- A film night featuring a screening of Shift Change at Reclaimed Art Suppliez and Community Art Exchange, in January 2014
- A weekly series of film nights showing the four-part film, This Way Out, at AFSCME headquarters, February 2014
- A presentation featuring a video of a TED Talk by Ted Howard about the “Cleveland Model” for worker cooperative entrepreneurship, with a talk by guest speaker Benjamin Tsai of the Hub Bike Co-Op, held at the Center for Social Justice at UNLV, September 2014
Additionally, LVWORCS members made a presence at the Las Vegas Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Parade in both 2013 and 2014, and displayed a group banner both times. Our members have also participated in several worker co-op conferences throughout the country.
Keep looking forward to new and upcoming events and presentations from LVWORCS by checking out this page, or our Facebook page!
LVWORCS 