When workers own companies, the economy is more resilient | Niki Okuk

Prevodilac: Milenka Okuka Lektor: Mile Živković

Are you tired of your boss?

Da li vam je muka od vašeg šefa?

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

Are you tired of going to work

Da li vam je muka da idete na posao

and making money for other people?

i zarađujete novac za druge ljude?

And who are those people anyways?

I ko su ti ljudi uopšte?

Those people that make money from your work.

Ti ljudi koji zarađuju novac od vašeg rada.

Well, they're capitalists.

Pa, to su kapitalisti.

They have capital,

Imaju kapital,

and they use your labor to make more capital.

a koriste vaš rad da steknu još kapitala.

So if you're tired of going to work

Pa, ako vam je muka od odlaska na posao

and making money for other people,

i zarađivanja za druge ljude,

then you're probably like me --

onda ste verovatno poput mene -

just tired of capitalism.

prosto vam je muka od kapitalizma.

Which is ironic, because I'm a capitalist.

A to je ironija jer sam ja kapitalistkinja.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

I own a small business --

Posedujem malu firmu -

Rco Tires in Compton.

Gume Rko u Komptonu.

A few years ago, when I read Van Jones,

Pre nekoliko godina, čitajući Van Džonsa,

and he wrote, "Let's make green collar jobs in the hood,"

a on je napisao: "Stvarajmo u komšiluku ekološka radna mesta",

I took him really seriously.

krajnje sam ga ozbiljno shvatila.

So I cofounded, own and operate a tire recycling company,

Pa sam bila saosnivačica, vlasnica i operativka firme za reciklažu gume,

and I'm really proud of what we've done.

i zaista sam ponosna na ono što smo postigli.

So far, we've recycled a hundred million pounds of rubber.

Do sad smo reciklirali 45 miliona kilograma gume.

That's 21 million gallons of oil diverted from landfills

To je oko 80 miliona litara nafte preusmerene sa deponija

into new products.

u nove proizvode.

(Cheers)

(Klicanje)

We also employ about 15 guys --

Takođe zapošljavamo oko 15 momaka -

mostly people of color,

uglavnom obojene kože,

most of whom are felons,

većina njih su prestupnici,

and we pay above the minimum wage,

i plate su nam iznad minimalnih

and we are now proud members of the United Steelworkers Union.

i trenutno smo ponosni članovi Sindikata ujedinjenih čeličana.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

Now, Rco is not a cooperative now.

Sad, Rko trenutno nije kooperativna firma.

It's a privately held company with community-minded ownership,

To je privatna firma sa vlasništvom okrenutim zajednici,

but I would like it to become one.

ali bih želela da to postane.

I would like for them to fire the boss --

Želela bih da otpuste šefa -

that's me.

a to sam ja.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

And I'm going to tell you why,

A reći ću vam zašto,

but first, let me tell you how we got started.

ali prvo, dozvolite da vam ispričam kako smo počeli.

So a lot of people ask,

Dakle, mnogi ljudi pitaju:

"How did Rco come to be?"

"Kako je nastao Rko?"

And I have to be really honest.

I moram da budem krajnje iskrena.

I leveraged my white privilege.

Iskoristila sam belačke privilegije.

So, here's how white privilege worked for me and Rco.

Dakle, evo kako su belačke privilegije išle na ruku meni i Rku?

My white grandmother was born on her family's plantation

Moja baka belkinja je rođena na porodičnoj plantaži

in Arkansas in 1918.

u Arkanzasu 1918.

She traveled with her white father west,

Putovala je sa svojim belim ocem na zapad,

following the oil boom.

prateći procvat nafte.

And he held various union oil jobs --

A on je držao više poslova u naftnom sindikatu -

jobs which would have never been given to my black great-grandfather,

poslova koje nikad ne bi dobio moj pradeda crnac,

had he lived here at the time.

da je živeo ovde u to vreme.

Granny became a hairdresser

Baka je postala frizerka,

and then got a loan with her husband

a potom je dobila zajedno sa suprugom zajam

who built their home in West Los Angeles --

da bi izgradili dom u Zapadnom Los Anđelesu -

a loan which would never have been given to a black family at the time.

zajam koji, u to vreme, nikad ne bi dobila crnačka porodica.

And after my grandfather passed away,

A nakon što mi je deda umro,

my granny was able to keep that house

moja baka je mogla da zadrži kuću

because she had his pension and his health care

jer je primala njegovu penziju i njegovu zdravstvenu negu

from a state job which he held,

zbog državnog posla koji je imao,

which again, would have never been given to a black man

što opet, nikad ne bi dobio crnac

before the anti-discrimination act of the 1960s.

pre antidiskriminacionog akta iz 1960-ih.

So, you fast-forward 30 years,

Dakle, premotajte 30 godina,

and I graduate,

i ja sam diplomirala

and I want to start my own business

i želim da započnem sopstveni posao

with a pile of debt and a credit card,

sa hrpom dugova i kreditnom karticom

and no experience in the tire industry.

i bez iskustva u industriji gume.

But I had what most people didn't have.

Ali sam imala nešto što većina ljudi nije imala.

I had a clean, safe, free place to live.

Imala sam čisto, bezbedno, besplatno mesto za život.

I moved in with my grandmother,

Preselila sam se kod bake

and I was able to rent our first warehouse,

i mogla sam da iznajmim naše prvo skladište,

buy our first truck,

da kupim prvi kamion,

pay our first employees,

isplatim prve radnike

because I didn't have to worry about paying myself,

jer nisam morala da brinem za sopstvenu platu

because I didn't need to feed myself,

jer nisam morala da prehranjujem samu sebe

because I am the direct beneficiary of generations of white privilege.

jer sam direktni korisnik generacija belačkih privilegija.

Now, telling the story of white privilege is important

Sad, pripovedanje o belačkoj privilegiji je važno

because very often people say,

jer suviše često ljudi kažu:

"Oh, we want more companies like yours.

"Oh, želimo više firmi nalik vašoj.

We want more Rco's,

Želimo više Rkova,

we want more black-owned businesses,

želimo više firmi u posedu crnaca,

female-led, triple bottom line,

koje predvode žene, s trostrukom osnovnom dobiti,

Ban the Box,

za bivše zatvorenike,

green manufacturing companies," right?

ekološke proizvodne firme", je li tako?

But the question we have to ask is, where is the wealth?

Međutim, moramo da pitamo: gde je bogatstvo?

Where is the money?

Gde je novac?

Where's the capital in our communities

Gde je kapital u našim zajednicama

to build the types of businesses that we want?

da bi se izgradile firme kakve želimo?

And in telling a story of the white side of my family,

A pričajući priču belačkog dela moje porodice,

I needed a dozen ways

trebalo mi je više primera

where blacks were excluded from the economy,

gde su crnci bili isključeni iz ekonomije,

whereas the white side of my family was able to gain access and traction,

dok je belačka strana moje porodice bila u stanju da dobije pristup i potisak

and build wealth ...

da sagrade bogatstvo...

Primarily because racism and capitalism are best homies, but --

Prvenstveno jer su rasizam i kapitalizam najbolji drugari, ali -

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

but what that means is that when we ask ourselves,

ali to znači da kad se zapitamo:

"Why are our communities broke?" --

"Zašto su nam zajednice švorc?" -

Like, we're not just broke because we're broke;

Znači, nismo prosto švorc jer smo švorc;

we're broke for a reason.

švorc smo s razlogom.

Historical context really does matter.

Istorijski kontekst je zaista važan.

But our history tells another story as well.

Ali naša istorija takođe priča drugu priču.

There's this incredible book called "Collective Courage,"

Postoji neverovatna knjiga, pod nazivom "Hrabrost kolektiva",

which is the story of how thousands of African Americans

a to je priča o tome kako je na hiljade Afroamerikanaca

have been able to build businesses and schools,

bilo u stanju da izgradi firme i škole,

hospitals, farming cooperatives,

bolnice, zemljoradničke zadruge,

banks, financial institutions --

banke, finansijske institucije -

entire communities and sovereign economies,

čitave zajednice i nezavisne ekonomije,

without a lot of capital.

bez mnogo kapitala.

And they did it by working together

A uspeli su radeći zajedno

and leveraging their community assets

i igrajući na kartu zajedničke imovine

and trusting each other

i verujući jedni drugima

and putting solidarity first --

i dajući prednost solidarnosti -

not just profits by any means necessary.

a ne samo profitu po svaku cenu.

And they didn't have to wait around for celebrities and athletes

I nisu morali da čekaju na slavne ljude i sportiste

to bring their money back to the hood.

da donesu novac u komšiluk.

However, if you are a celebrity or an athlete,

Međutim, ako ste slavni ili sportista,

and you're listening to this,

i slušate ovo,

please feel free to bring your money.

slobodno donesite vaš novac.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

But they did it through cooperative economics,

Ali uspeli su u tome preko kooperativne ekonomije

because they knew

jer su znali

that capitalism was never going to finance black liberation.

da kapitalizam nikad neće da finansira oslobađanje crnaca.

So, there are so many great examples in this book,

Dakle, ima toliko sjajnih primera u ovoj knjizi

and I suggest that everybody just read it

i predlažem da je svi pročitate

because it answers the question I asked earlier,

jer daje odgovor na moje ranije pitanje,

which was where are we going to get the wealth

koje glasi gde ćemo da nađemo bogatstvo

to build the types of business that we want.

da izgradimo tipove firmi koje želimo.

And the answer is going to have to be cooperative economics.

A odgovor će morati da bude kooperativna ekonomija.

There's a lot of different versions of cooperativism.

Ima mnogo različitih verzija kooperativnosti.

What I'm talking about today is worker ownership.

Ja danas govorim o radničkom vlasništvu.

You may not have heard of worker ownership,

Možda niste čuli za radničko vlasništvo,

but it's been an incredible tool

ali ono je bilo izvanredno oruđe

for black economic liberation for a century,

celovekovnog crnačkog ekonomskog oslobađanja

and it's also working all over the world right now.

a takođe je trenutno delotvorno širom sveta.

You may have heard of Black Wall Street

Možda ste čuli za Crnački Vol Strit

or maybe the Zapatistas,

ili za Zapatiste,

but I'll give you an example that's a little bit closer to home.

ali daću vam primer koji vam je malo bliži.

Right now, today, in South Bronx,

Baš sad, danas, u Južnom Bronksu,

is the country's largest worker-owned company.

nalazi se najveća firma u posedu njenih radnika.

It's called Cooperative Home Care Associates,

Nazvana je Udruženje kooperativne kućne nege,

and it was founded by black and Latinx home care workers

a osnovali su je crni i latino radnici kućne nege

who are now able to pay themselves living wages,

koji su trenutno u stanju da sebi zarađuju za život,

they have full-time hours,

rade puno radno vreme,

they have benefits and a pension,

uplaćuju benefite i penziju,

through their membership as a unit of SEIU.

preko svog članstva u međunardnom sindikatu.

And these women owners now receive a dividend back on their ownership

A ove žene vlasnice sada dobijaju povrat u dividendama za svoje vlasništvo

every year that the company has been profitable,

svake godine kada je firma profitabilna,

which has been most years.

što se uglavnom dešava.

So they're able to really enjoy the fruits of their labor

Pa su u stanju da zaista uživaju u plodovima svoga rada

because they fired the boss.

jer su otpustili svog šefa.

They don't have any big investors.

Nemaju nikakve velike investitore.

They don't have fat-cat CEOs

Nemaju zadrigle izvršne direktore

or absentee owners taking the profit out of the company.

ili odsutne vlasnike koji izvlače profit iz firme.

They each pay in about 1,000 dollars over time

Svi s vremena na vreme plaćaju oko hiljadu dolara

in order to gain ownership,

kako bi ostvarili vlasništvo,

and now they own their job.

i sada poseduju svoje radno mesto.

Now, there's hundreds of more examples of companies like this

Sad, ima još na hiljadu primera sličnih firmi

springing up all across the country.

koje niču širom države.

And I'm so inspired by what they're doing,

I veoma sam inspirisana njihovim radom

because it really represents an alternative

jer zaista predstavljaju alternativu

to the type of economy we have now,

ekonomiji koju trenutno imamo,

which exploits all of us.

koja nas sve izrabljuje.

It also represents an alternative

Takođe predstavlja alternativu

to waiting around for big investors to bring chain stores,

čekanju na velike investitore da donesu lance radnji

or big-box stores to our communities,

ili megamarkete u naše zajednice

because honestly, those types of developments,

jer, iskreno, taj vid razvoja

they steal resources from our communities.

krade resurse iz naših zajednica.

They put our mom-and-pop shops out of business,

Gase naše porodične radnje,

they make our entrepreneurs into wage workers,

pretvaraju naše preduzetnike u najamnike,

and they take money out of our pocket

i uzimaju novac iz naših džepova

and send it to their shareholders.

i šalju ga svojim deoničarima.

So, I was so inspired by all these stories of resistance and resilience

Dakle, toliko su me inspirisale ove priče o otporu i otpornosti

that I got together with a few people here in Los Angeles,

da sam se sastala sa nekoliko ljudi ovde u Los Anđelesu

and we created LUCI.

i osnovali smo LUCI.

LUCI stands for the Los Angeles Union Cooperative Initiative,

LUCI stoji za Sindikalno-kooperativna inicijativa Los Anđelesa,

and our objective is to create more worker-owned businesses

a naš cilj je da stvorimo više firmi u vlasništvu radnika

here in Los Angeles.

ovde u Los Anđelesu.

So far, in the last year, we've created two:

Do sad, u protekloj godini, stvorili smo dve:

Pacific Electric, an electrical company,

Pacifik elektrik, električnu firmu

and Vermont Gage Carwash,

i perionicu auta Vermont Gejdž,

which is right here in South-Central,

koja je baš ovde u Saut-Centralu,

some of you guys might be familiar with it.

neki od vas znaju za nju.

This long-time carwash is now owned and operated by its 20 workers,

Ovu staru perionicu auta sada poseduje i njome upravlja 20 njenih radnika,

all of whom are union members as well.

od kojih su svi i članovi sindikata.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

So you might be wondering why the focus on union-worker ownership,

Dakle, možda se pitate zašto se usmeravamo ka sindikalno-radničkom vlasništvu,

but there's a lot of good reasons

ali postoji mnogo valjanih razloga

why the labor movement is a natural ally to the worker-ownership movement.

zašto je radnički pokret prirodni saveznik pokretu radničkog vlasništva.

To build these companies that we want in our community,

Da biste izgradili firme koje želimo u našim zajednicama,

we need a few things.

potrebno nam je par stvari.

We're going to need money, people and training.

Biće nam potreban novac, ljudi i obuka.

Unions have all of those things.

Sindikati imaju sve to.

America's working class has been paying union dues for decades,

Američka radnička klasa već decenijama plaća sindikalne takse

and with it, our unions have been building

a njima su naši sindikati izgradili

dignified, decent, and democratic workplaces for us.

dostojanstvena, pristojna i demokratska radna mesta za sve nas.

However, union jobs are on the steep decline,

Međutim, sindikalni poslovi su u strmoglavom opadanju,

and it's time for us to start calling on our unions

i vreme je da počnemo da prozivamo naše sindikate

to really bring all of their financial and political capital

da zaista donesu sav svoj finansijski i politički kapital

to bear in the creation of new, union, living-wage jobs

kako bi učestvovali u stvarnaju novih, sindikalnih, isplativih poslova

in our communities.

u našim zajednicama.

Also, union halls are full of union members

Takođe, sindikalne sale su pune sindikalnih članova

who understand the importance of solidarity

koji razumeju važnost solidarnosti

and the power of collective action.

i moći kolektivnog delanja.

These are the types of folks that want more union businesses to exist,

To su oni ljudi koji žele da postoji više sindikalnog poslovanja,

so let's build them with them.

pa, hjade da ga sa njima izgradimo.

Learning from our unions,

Učenje od naših sindikata,

learning from our past,

učenje iz naše prošlosti,

learning from our peers,

učenje od naših vršnjaka,

are all going to be very important to our success,

sve će to da bude veoma važno za naš uspeh,

which is why I'd like to leave you with one last example

zbog čega bih volela da vas ostavim s poslednjim primerom

and a vision for the future ...

i vizijom budućnosti...

and that vision is Mondragon, Spain.

a ta vizija je Mondragon u Španiji.

Mondragon, Spain is a community built entirely around worker cooperatives.

Mondragon u Španiji je zajednica u celosti izgrađena oko radničkih zadruga.

There's 260-plus businesses here,

Tamo posluje preko 260 firmi,

manufacturing everything from bicycles to washing machines to transformers.

proizvode sve, od bicikli, preko mašina za veš, do transformatora.

And this group of businesses now employs 80,000 people

A ova grupa firmi trenutno zapošljava 80.000 ljudi

and earns more than 12 billion euros in revenue every year.

i zarađuju preko 12 milijardi evra prihoda svake godine.

And all of the companies there are owned by the people that work in them.

A tamo sve firme poseduju ljudi koji rade u njima.

They've also built universities and hospitals and financial institutions.

Takođe su izgradili univerzitete i bolnice i finansijske institucije.

I mean, imagine if we could build something like this in South-Central.

Mislim, zamislite kad bismo sagradili nešto slično u Saut-Centralu.

The late mayor of Jackson had a similar idea.

Pokojni gradonačelnik Džeksona je imao sličnu zamisao.

He wanted to turn his entire city into a Mondragon-like cooperative economy,

Želeo je da čitav svoj grad preobrati u kooperativnu ekonomiju nalik Mandragonu,

calling his ambitious plan "Jackson Rising."

nasloviviši svoj ambiciozni plan "Uspon Džeksona".

And when I look at Mondragon,

A kada pogledam Mandragon,

I see really what working-class people can do for ourselves

vidim šta zaista ljudi iz radničke klase mogu da urade za sebe

when we work together

kada radimo zajedno

and make decisions for ourselves and each other

i kada donosimo odluke za sebe i druge

and our communities.

i naše zajednice.

And what's really incredible about Mondragon

A kod Mondragona je zaista neverovatno

is that while we are dreaming about them,

to što dok maštamo o njima,

they are dreaming about us.

oni maštaju o nama.

This community in Spain has decided to launch an international initiative

Ova zajednica iz Španije je odlučila da pokrene međunarodnu inicijativu

to create more communities like it all over the world,

da se stvori još zajednica nalik njoj širom sveta,

by linking up with unions,

povezivanjem sa sindikatima,

by supporting organizations like LUCI,

podržavanjem organizacija poput LUCI

and by educating folks about the worker-ownership model.

i podučavanjem ljudi modelu radničkog vlasništva.

Now, here's what you can do to be a part of it.

Sad, evo šta možete da uradite da budete deo ovoga.

If you're a union member, go to your union meetings,

Ako ste član sindikata, idite na sindikalne sastanke

and make sure that your union has a worker-ownership initiative,

i postarajte se da vaš sindikat ima inicijativu radničkog vlasništva,

and become a part of it.

i postanite deo nje.

If you're an entrepreneur,

Ako ste preduzetnik,

if you have a small business,

ako imate malu firmu

or you're interested in starting one,

ili ste zainteresovani da je osnujete,

then link up with LUCI or another organization like us

onda se povežite sa LUCI ili sličnom organizacijom

to help you get started on the cooperative model.

kako biste započeli sa kooperativnim modelom.

If you're a politician,

Ako ste političar

or you work for one,

ili radite za političara

or you just like talking to them,

ili tek volite da razgovarate s njima,

please get the city, state, federal and county legislation passed

molim vas, neka se izglasa gradsko, državno, federalno i okružno zakonodavstvo

that we need in order to fund and support worker-owned businesses.

koje nam je potrebno da bismo finansirali i podržavali firme u vlasništvu radnika.

And for everybody else,

A svi ostali,

learn about our history, learn about our models,

proučite našu istoriju, proučite naše modele,

and seek us out so can support us,

i potražite nas da biste nas podržali,

you can buy from us, invest in us, lend to us and join us,

možete kupovati od nas, ulagati u nas, pozajmljivati nam i pridružiti nam se

because it's really going to take all of us

jer smo zaista neophodni svi mi

in order to build the more just and sustainable and resilient economy

kako bi se izgradila pravednija i održivija i otpornija ekonomija

that we want for ourselves and our children.

koju želimo sebi i našoj deci.

And with that,

A s tim u vezi,

I would like to leave you with a quote from Arundhati Roy,

želela bih da vas ostavim sa citatom Arundati Roj,

and she writes ...

a ona je napisala:

"Our strategy should not be only to confront Empire,

"Naša strategija ne bi trebalo da bude puko suprotstavljanje Imperiji,

but to lay siege to it.

već opsedanje imperije.

To deprive it of oxygen.

Lišiti je vazduha.

To mock it.

Ismevati je.

To shame it.

Posramiti je.

With our art,

Našom umetnošću,

our literature,

našom književnošću,

our music,

našom muzikom,

our brilliance,

našom briljantnošću,

our joy,

našom radošću,

our sheer relentlessness --

našom pukom nemilosrdnošću -

and our ability to tell our own stories.

i mogućnošću pripovedanja sopstvenih priča.

Not the stories that we're being brainwashed to believe.

Ne priča u koje verujemo jer su nam isprali mozak.

The corporate revolution will collapse

Korporativna revolucija će propasti,

if we refuse to buy what they're selling --

ako odbijemo da kupujemo ono što nam prodaju -

their ideas,

njihove ideje,

their version of history,

njihovu verziju istorije,

their wars,

njihove ratove,

their weapons,

njihovo oružje,

their sense of inevitability.

njihov osećaj neizbežnosti.

Because know this:

Jer znajte sledeće:

They be few and we be many.

njih je nekolicina, a nas je mnoštvo.

They need us more than we need them.

Potrebniji smo mi njima nego oni nama.

Another world is not only possible,

Drugi svet ne samo da je moguć,

she's on her way.

na putu je da se ostvari.

And on a quiet day,

A u smiraj dana,

I can hear her breathing."

čujem ga kako diše."

Thank you.

Hvala vam.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)