Page 14 RAIN February/March 1983 From: We Oim It. We Own It: Starting andManaging Coops, Collectives, andEmployee Owned Ventures Jim Beatty, Peter Jan Honigsbetg, and Bernard Kamoroff Bell Spring Publishing P.O.Box 640 Laytonville, CA 95454 $9.00,1982,165pp. Just as I began planning for a project with a group of Southeast Asian refugees to start a small truck farming business, this book arrived in our office. Excellent timing. The book surveys the issues of concern in starting and managing a cooperative venture. The book begins with the history and principles of cooperatives and then distinguishes among "Old Wave" (large 1930s), "New Wave" ("small is beautiful" 1960-70s), and "Third Wave" (a blend of old and new) types of coops. Various organizational structures are discussed with goals that ensure the cooperative principle of one person, one vote. The largest section of the book covers management issues: financing, insurance, licenses, bookkeeping, and personnel. Of particular interest is detailed information on the National Consumer Cooperative Bank, a discussion of the meaning of "profit" for coops, and a description of the recent attempts by the IRS to consider coop volunteers as employees and then tax discounts given for hours worked. The book is written in an open and readable style with actual examples given throughout. It may not have all the answers, but can help any coop with the business of knowing what the important questions are. Malang the Community Your Career Randy Ring Community Careers Resource Center 156016th St. NW Washington, DC 20036 $4.00,1981,25pp. Before you set out with your latest issue of Community Jobs (see RAIN IX:2), pages earmarked and job notices circled, read this introduction to community careers. From the publishers of Community Jobs, this booklet offers practical information about community organizations and resources, as well as personal encouragement for seeking the job which meets your needs and expectations. Skills, internships, and short and long-term commitments are discussed. Included are profiles of people dedicated to community and public interest causes. One of the joys of her work, says an attorney for the Consumers Union in Washington, D.C., is that she can "wake up every morning knowing the work (she does) makes a difference." Goodworks: A Guide to Social Change Careers Kathleen Hughes, Editor Center for Study of Responsible Law Box 19367 Washington, DC 20036 $25.00,1982, 300pp. The second edition of Good Works looks a lot like the first with one exception — the new edition has expanded to include 176 additional social change groups. This directory is an essential tool for those interested in social repair and construction work. Fundraising Strategies For Grassroots Organizations Tim Sweeney and Michael Seltzer Community Careers Resource Center 152016th St. NW Washington, DC 20036 $4.00,1982,17pp. Over $45 billion is projected to be lost from the nonprofit sector over the next four years as a result of federal budget reductions and new tax legislation, contend Sweeney and Seltzer. Despite this sobering beginning, the authors are optimistic that small and grassroots nonprofit organizations can survive in the 1980s. The central theme is the need for a diverse funding base. An "Organizational Self Diagnostic" chart is designed to help a group analyze where their present support is coming from. The accompanving narrative helps groups consider the prospects for new sources. The booklet, which is a reprint of three articles inCommunity Jobs (see RAIN Vol. IX, No. 2), presents a clear and concise guide to program planning and fundraising for grassroots and small nonprofits. The booklet would serve as a parhcularly useful tool for a Board or staff planning and fundraising committee. Co-operative DevelopmentAgency 20 Albert Embankment London, England SEI7TJ The Agency was set up by Parliament with all-party support to promote the cooperative sector by providing assistance on how to establish cooperatives and appraise specific projects, including assessment of products, market studies, available skills, finances, and prospects of success. Recently, the agency has begun to move away from a general advisory capacity to provide more specific technical assistance. They recently helpjed with the development of a large cooperative plan for the County Council of Qeveland, England, a town already involved in the development of Europe's first Cooperative Enterprise Centre. They have several publications on the state of cooperatives in Great Britain. Fear at Work; Job BlackmaU, Labor and the Environment Richard Kazis and Richard Grossman The Pilgrim Press 132 West 31st Street New York, NY 10010 $10.95,1982,306 pp. My parents told me many stories about Anaconda, Montana's copper mining and smelting corporation, one of the largest in the world. I remember backpacking into the surrounding mountains only to learn that "the company" owned every tree, lake, stream, and rock that we could see. It still does, but the Anaconda Company's smelter is awaiting demolition. But why would the Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO), which bought Anaconda in 1979 uproot its multimillion dollar smelter? "The company has determined by in-depth studies," stated the announcement, "that the existing plant cannot be retrofitted to satisfy environmental standards and become cost- competitive with modem, large-scale smelters." Not all too rare. Numerous shutdowns are accused of being the result of "environmental idealists"; we can't have both a clean environment and employment. This is job blackmail — a threat of unemployment versus corporate earnings or prerogatives. Fear at Work documents how the threat of job loss due to environmental controls often warns of an upcoming shutdown. As in Anaconda's case, wrote columnist Tom Kotynski, "someone long ago in the Anaconda hierarchy made the decision not to upgrade this antiquated smelter and it was allowed to deteriorate."
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