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

翻译人员: Liyu Liu 校对人员: Jiawei Ni

Are you tired of your boss?

你厌倦你的上司了吗？

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Are you tired of going to work

你厌倦了为他人工作、

and making money for other people?

为他人赚钱吗？

And who are those people anyways?

那些人都是谁呢？

Those people that make money from your work.

那些通过你的工作来赚钱的人？

Well, they're capitalists.

他们是资本主义者。

They have capital,

他们拥有资本，

and they use your labor to make more capital.

他们用你们的劳力 来赚取更多的资本。

So if you're tired of going to work

所以若你厌倦了上班，

and making money for other people,

厌倦了为他人赚钱，

then you're probably like me --

那么你也许是像我一样——

just tired of capitalism.

只是厌倦了资本主义。

Which is ironic, because I'm a capitalist.

但有些讽刺的是，

我就是资本主义者。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

I own a small business --

我拥有一间小型公司，

Rco Tires in Compton.

是位于康普顿的Rco轮胎。

A few years ago, when I read Van Jones,

几年前，当我读凡·琼斯的作品时，

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

他写道，“让我们在社区中 创造绿领工作。“

I took him really seriously.

我十分重视他的话，

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

因此我与人合伙，拥有并运营一间 轮胎回收公司。

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

我对我所做的一切，非常自豪。

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

到目前为止，我们已经回收了 一亿磅的橡胶。

That's 21 million gallons of oil diverted from landfills

将原本会被丢弃的 2100万加仑的的石油

into new products.

做成新的产品。

(Cheers)

（欢呼）

We also employ about 15 guys --

我们还雇佣了十五个人，

mostly people of color,

主要为有色人种，

most of whom are felons,

大多数为重刑犯，

and we pay above the minimum wage,

我们支付的薪水高于最低工资，

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

我们很自豪成为了 美国钢铁工人工会的一员。

(Applause)

（掌声）

Now, Rco is not a cooperative now.

现在，Rco不是一个合作社。

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

它是一间有社区共有意识的 私营企业，

but I would like it to become one.

但我希望它能够成为一间合作社。

I would like for them to fire the boss --

我希望他们可以开除老板

that's me.

也就是我。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

And I'm going to tell you why,

我会告诉你我为什么要这么做，

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

但首先，我会先谈谈 我们是怎么样开始的。

So a lot of people ask,

很多人会问：

"How did Rco come to be?"

“Rco是如何开始的？”

And I have to be really honest.

老实讲，

I leveraged my white privilege.

我利用了我的白人特权。

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

以下是白人特权是怎样帮助我和 Rco的。

My white grandmother was born on her family's plantation

我的白人祖母出生于1918年 在阿肯色州的

in Arkansas in 1918.

她家族的种植园中。

She traveled with her white father west,

她跟随她的白人父亲来到了西部，

following the oil boom.

追随随石油开发热潮.

And he held various union oil jobs --

他做过各种工会的石油工作，

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

这些工作我的黑人曾祖父 从来不可能得到，

had he lived here at the time.

如果当时他在那儿生活。

Granny became a hairdresser

我的奶奶成为了一名理发师，

and then got a loan with her husband

并和她的丈夫一起贷款，

who built their home in West Los Angeles --

在洛杉矶西部建了他们的家。

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

而在当时，任何一个黑人家庭 永远也不会得到这样的贷款。

And after my grandfather passed away,

在祖父去世后，

my granny was able to keep that house

我的奶奶之所以能够继续保留下 这个房子，

because she had his pension and his health care

是因为有祖父的退休金和健康保险，

from a state job which he held,

这些来自祖父在州政府的工作。

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

然而在上世纪六十年代 反歧视法签署之前，

before the anti-discrimination act of the 1960s.

黑人家庭永远都不会得到这一切。

So, you fast-forward 30 years,

时间快进三十年，

and I graduate,

我毕业了。

and I want to start my own business

我想开创自己的企业，

with a pile of debt and a credit card,

但我背负着一堆债， 也只拥有一张信用卡，

and no experience in the tire industry.

对于轮胎行业毫无经验。

But I had what most people didn't have.

但是我拥有很多人所没有的。

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

我有一个干净、安全、 免费的地方居住。

I moved in with my grandmother,

我搬去和我的祖母一起住，

and I was able to rent our first warehouse,

这样，我有钱租下了 我们的第一间仓库，

buy our first truck,

买下了我们的第一台卡车，

pay our first employees,

为我们最早的一批雇员支付薪水。

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

因为我不必担心我自己的薪水，

because I didn't need to feed myself,

因为我不需要养活我自己，

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

因为我是几代白人特权的 直接受益人。

Now, telling the story of white privilege is important

谈论有关白人特权的故事 是很重要的，

because very often people say,

因为人们常说：

"Oh, we want more companies like yours.

“我们想要更多的像你这样的公司，

We want more Rco's,

我们想要更多的Rco，

we want more black-owned businesses,

我们想要更多黑人拥有的企业，

female-led, triple bottom line,

女性领导的、三重底线的、

Ban the Box,

不查问犯罪记录的

green manufacturing companies," right?

绿色制造商”，对吗？

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

但我们要问的是， 财富在哪里？

钱在哪里？

Where is the money?

在我们的社区里，

Where's the capital in our communities

用来建立我们想要的企业的 资本在哪里？

to build the types of businesses that we want?

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

在讲述我家庭里的白人的故事时，

I needed a dozen ways

我能说很多

where blacks were excluded from the economy,

黑人是如何被排除在经济之外，

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

而我家庭里的白人一方则能 获取对经济的吸引力，

and build wealth ...

积累财富。

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

主要是因为种族歧视和资本主义 是最好的哥们，但是……

(Laughter)

（笑声）

but what that means is that when we ask ourselves,

但是这意味着， 当我们问自己：

"Why are our communities broke?" --

“为什么我们的社区破产了？”

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

我们不是因为破产而破产，

we're broke for a reason.

我们破产是有原因的。

Historical context really does matter.

这确实和历史背景有关。

But our history tells another story as well.

但是我们的历史也同样讲述了 另一个故事。

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

有一本极好的书， 叫《群威群胆》

which is the story of how thousands of African Americans

它讲述了成千上万的非裔美国人

have been able to build businesses and schools,

是怎样建立企业和学校、

hospitals, farming cooperatives,

医院、农业合作社、

banks, financial institutions --

银行和金融机构 --

entire communities and sovereign economies,

建造一个完整的社区和 独立的经济体

without a lot of capital.

用不多的资本。

And they did it by working together

他们的成功是因为他们合力工作，

and leveraging their community assets

利用他们的社区资产，

and trusting each other

相信彼此，

and putting solidarity first --

并且把团结放在第一位，

not just profits by any means necessary.

而非不择手段，追求利益。

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

他们不必等待名人或运动员

to bring their money back to the hood.

把钱带回贫困社区。

However, if you are a celebrity or an athlete,

然而，若你是名人或运动员的话，

and you're listening to this,

你正在听我的演讲，

please feel free to bring your money.

别客气，欢迎你贡献你的钱给社区。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

But they did it through cooperative economics,

他们通过合作经济做到这件事，

because they knew

因为他们知道，

that capitalism was never going to finance black liberation.

资本主义从未资助过黑人解放。

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

在这本书里，有许多很好的例子，

and I suggest that everybody just read it

我建议各位都去读一读，

because it answers the question I asked earlier,

因为它回答了我先前提出的问题，

which was where are we going to get the wealth

我们要从哪里获取财富

to build the types of business that we want.

来建立我们想要的企业？

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

答案就是合作经济。

There's a lot of different versions of cooperativism.

合作主义有许多不同的版本，

What I'm talking about today is worker ownership.

而我今天要讲的是劳工所有权。

You may not have heard of worker ownership,

你也许还没有听过劳工所有权，

but it's been an incredible tool

但在过去一个世纪以来，

for black economic liberation for a century,

它是黑人经济解放的 一个极佳的工具,

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

并且，全世界都在使用这一工具。

You may have heard of Black Wall Street

你或许听说过黑色华尔街，

or maybe the Zapatistas,

或者听说过萨帕塔民族解放军，

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

我会给你举一个更近的例子。

Right now, today, in South Bronx,

今天，就在南布朗克斯，

is the country's largest worker-owned company.

有一间全国最大的劳工所有企业，

It's called Cooperative Home Care Associates,

叫“家庭护理协会合作社”，

and it was founded by black and Latinx home care workers

它由黑人和拉丁裔家庭护理工作者 建立，

who are now able to pay themselves living wages,

他们现在可以向自己支付 足以维持生活的薪水，

they have full-time hours,

他们做着全职工作，

they have benefits and a pension,

他们有津贴和退休金，

through their membership as a unit of SEIU.

因为他们是SEIU （服务业雇员国际工会）的一员。

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

现在每年，这些女性有权人 可从公司的盈利中

every year that the company has been profitable,

获得分红，

which has been most years.

这种状态已经持续多年了。

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

他们能够真正享受 属于他们劳动的果实，

because they fired the boss.

因为他们解雇了老板。

They don't have any big investors.

他们没有任何大型投资者，

They don't have fat-cat CEOs

没有“大亨式”的CEO

or absentee owners taking the profit out of the company.

或总是缺席、却能拿走 公司利益的拥有者。

They each pay in about 1,000 dollars over time

为了获取所有权，

in order to gain ownership,

他们每人都会陆续支付 大约1000美元。

and now they own their job.

现在他们有了属于自己的工作。

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

现在，像这样的公司还有上百家，

springing up all across the country.

在全国各地出现。

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

我被他们的所为激励，

because it really represents an alternative

因为这真正代表了

目前这种剥削型的经济的 另一种替代方案。

to the type of economy we have now,

which exploits all of us.

It also represents an alternative

这也代表了另一种方案，

to waiting around for big investors to bring chain stores,

不用再等待大型投资商为我们的社区 带来的连锁商店

or big-box stores to our communities,

或者仓储式商店。

because honestly, those types of developments,

因为说实话，那种发展

they steal resources from our communities.

会从我们的社区里窃取资源。

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

他们使小型家庭自营生意停业，

they make our entrepreneurs into wage workers,

把我们的企业家转变为 领薪水的工作者，

and they take money out of our pocket

他们把钱从我们的口袋中拿出，

and send it to their shareholders.

拿给他们的股东。

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

我被那些抵抗大型企业的故事 深深鼓舞，

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

所以，与我在洛杉矶遇到的一些人，

and we created LUCI.

我们创立了LUCI。

LUCI stands for the Los Angeles Union Cooperative Initiative,

LUCI是洛杉矶工会合作倡议的 缩写，

and our objective is to create more worker-owned businesses

我们的目标是在洛杉矶创造出更多

here in Los Angeles.

劳工所有的企业。

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

到去年为止，我们创立了两间企业：

Pacific Electric, an electrical company,

Pacific Electric，是一家电力公司，

and Vermont Gage Carwash,

和Vermont Gage洗车公司，

which is right here in South-Central,

就在洛杉矶中南区这里，

some of you guys might be familiar with it.

你们中的有人可能会比较熟悉。

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

这个长期的洗车场现在是由 二十名劳工拥有并运作，

all of whom are union members as well.

并且他们也全都是工会的成员。

(Applause)

（掌声）

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

你可能非常好奇，为什么 要把关注点放在工会劳工所有权上，

but there's a lot of good reasons

很多的很好的理由可以说明

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

为什么劳工运动是劳工所有权运动的 天然同盟。

To build these companies that we want in our community,

为了建造这些我们希望存在于 我们社区中的企业，

we need a few things.

我们需要几样东西。

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

我们需要资金、人力和训练。

Unions have all of those things.

工会能提供这些所需所求。

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

几十年来，美国的劳动阶级一直在支付 工会会费。

and with it, our unions have been building

有了这笔费用，我们的工会就可以为我们

dignified, decent, and democratic workplaces for us.

建设有尊严的、体面的、民主的工作场所。

However, union jobs are on the steep decline,

然而，工会的工作正急剧减少，

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

现在我们该号召我们的工会

to really bring all of their financial and political capital

真正把他们的财务和政治资本

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

用于在我们社区的创造新的、 工会的、

in our communities.

并且薪水足以维持生活的工作。

Also, union halls are full of union members

此外，工会中有很多工会成员，

who understand the importance of solidarity

他们都懂得团结的重要性

and the power of collective action.

和集体行动所带来的力量。

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

这些人希望有更多的 工会企业的存在，

so let's build them with them.

让我们与他们一起建立这样的企业。

Learning from our unions,

从我们的工会中学习，

learning from our past,

从我们的历史中学习，

learning from our peers,

从我们的同辈人中学习，

are all going to be very important to our success,

这些都对我们的成功非常重要，

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

这也是我为什么想要分享给你们 最后一个例子

and a vision for the future ...

和对未来的愿景。

and that vision is Mondragon, Spain.

这一愿景就是西班牙的蒙德拉贡。

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

西班牙的蒙德拉贡是个完全 由合作社所建造的社区。

There's 260-plus businesses here,

那里有超过260间企业，

manufacturing everything from bicycles to washing machines to transformers.

制造各种产品， 从自行车到洗衣机、到变压器。

And this group of businesses now employs 80,000 people

这些企业现在的雇员多达八万人，

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

每年的盈利在120亿欧元以上。

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

而在那里，所有的企业都为 在企业工作的劳动者所有。

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

他们也建造了大学、医院和 金融机构。

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

想象一下，若我们可以在中南区 建造一个像这样的社区。

The late mayor of Jackson had a similar idea.

已过世的杰克逊市市长 也有类似的想法，

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

他希望把整座城市都转变为 类似蒙德拉贡的合作型经济，

calling his ambitious plan "Jackson Rising."

他把这一雄心勃勃的计划称之为 “杰克逊崛起”。

And when I look at Mondragon,

当我看蒙德拉贡时，

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

我看到的是工薪阶级 能为自己做些什么，

when we work together

当团结一致时

and make decisions for ourselves and each other

可以为自己和其他人以及 自己的社区

and our communities.

做些什么。

And what's really incredible about Mondragon

关于蒙德拉贡还有一点是极好的的，

is that while we are dreaming about them,

那就是当我们在梦想着他们的时候，

they are dreaming about us.

他们想到了我们。

This community in Spain has decided to launch an international initiative

这个在西班牙的社区已经决定 发起一个国际倡议，

to create more communities like it all over the world,

在全世界创造出更多 像他们一样的社区。

by linking up with unions,

通过联合各个公会、

by supporting organizations like LUCI,

支持像LUCI这样的组织,

and by educating folks about the worker-ownership model.

教育人们“劳工所有权”模式。

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

如果你想参与其中，你可以做这些：

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

如果你是工会成员， 请参加工会会议，

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

确保你所属的工会有 劳工所有权倡议，

and become a part of it.

并加入其中。

If you're an entrepreneur,

如果你是一名企业家，

if you have a small business,

你拥有一间小型企业，

or you're interested in starting one,

或者你有兴趣自己成立一间公司，

then link up with LUCI or another organization like us

那么和LUCI联系， 或者和其他类似的组织联系，

to help you get started on the cooperative model.

来协助你开启合作社模式。

If you're a politician,

如果你是一名政客，

or you work for one,

或者你为政客工作，

or you just like talking to them,

或者你只是喜欢与政客交流，

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

请协助让我们的城市、州、联邦和县 通过立法

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

来资助和支持劳工所有企业。

And for everybody else,

对于所有其他的人，

learn about our history, learn about our models,

请多多学习我们的历史 了解我们的模式，

and seek us out so can support us,

找寻我们以支持我们。

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

你可以购买我们的产品、投资我们、 借款给我们或者加入我们，

because it's really going to take all of us

因为这真的需要我们所有的人 共同努力，

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

来构建一个我们想要的 更公正的、可持续的、有弹性的经济

that we want for ourselves and our children.

为了我们自己和孩子们。

And with that,

鉴于此，

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

我要给你们分享一句来自 阿兰达蒂·罗伊的话，

and she writes ...

她写到：

"Our strategy should not be only to confront Empire,

“我们的策略不应只是用于 对抗大企业，

but to lay siege to it.

而是围攻它。

To deprive it of oxygen.

夺取它的氧气。

To mock it.

嘲笑它。

To shame it.

羞辱它。

With our art,

通过我们的艺术、

our literature,

我们的文学作品、

our music,

我们的音乐、

our brilliance,

我们的才华、

our joy,

我们的喜悦、

our sheer relentlessness --

我们纯粹的坚持不懈

and our ability to tell our own stories.

和我们的能力 来书写属于我们自己的故事。

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

不去相信的那些洗脑故事。

The corporate revolution will collapse

大企业革命会失败，

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

假如我们拒绝购买他们的产品、

their ideas,

他们的创意、

their version of history,

他们的历史版本、

their wars,

他们的战争、

their weapons,

他们的武器、

their sense of inevitability.

他们所谓的必然性。

Because know this:

因为要知道，

They be few and we be many.

他们是少数，而我们是大多数。

They need us more than we need them.

比起我们需要他们， 他们更需要我们。

Another world is not only possible,

另一个世界并非不可能，

she's on her way.

她已经在路上了。

And on a quiet day,

在平静的日子里，

I can hear her breathing."

我能听见她的呼吸。”

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）