Niki Okuk: When workers own companies, the economy is more resilient
نيكي أوكووك: امتلاك العمال للشركات يجعل الاقتصاد أكثر قدرة على الصمود
Niki Okuk is working to create social and economic justice and worker dignity. Full bio
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money from your work.
to make more capital.
green collar jobs in the hood,"
تحافظ على البيئة في الحي،"
a tire recycling company,
الإطارات وامتلكتها وشغلتها،
a hundred million pounds of rubber.
مائة مليون رطل من المطاط.
diverted from landfills
من الزيت المُلقى في مدافن القمامة
of the United Steelworkers Union.
with community-minded ownership,
وتهتم بالمجتمع المحلي.
how we got started.
worked for me and Rco.
البيضاء عليّ وعلى شركتي.
was born on her family's plantation
to my black great-grandfather,
in West Los Angeles --
given to a black family at the time.
لعائلة سوداء في ذلك الوقت.
and his health care
given to a black man
act of the 1960s.
"مناهضة التمييز" في الستينات.
our first warehouse,
about paying myself,
of generations of white privilege.
صاحبة ميزة البشرة البيضاء.
of white privilege is important
طبقًا للمعايير الثلاثية الأساسية،
أين الثروة؟
where is the wealth?
of businesses that we want?
of the white side of my family,
from the economy,
was able to gain access and traction,
قادرًا على الوصول والجذب،
and capitalism are best homies, but --
والرأسمالية يمثلان أفضل ثنائي،
is that when we ask ourselves,
because we're broke;
tells another story as well.
called "Collective Courage,"
thousands of African Americans
businesses and schools,
and sovereign economies,
for celebrities and athletes
a celebrity or an athlete,
through cooperative economics,
لتموّل تحرير السود.
going to finance black liberation.
examples in this book,
the question I asked earlier,
to get the wealth
of business that we want.
to be cooperative economics.
versions of cooperativism.
is worker ownership.
of worker ownership,
for a century,
all over the world right now.
that's a little bit closer to home.
worker-owned company.
Home Care Associates,
and Latinx home care workers
في مجال الرعاية المنزلية
to pay themselves living wages,
as a unit of SEIU.
a dividend back on their ownership
على مكاسب مقابل ملكيتهن
has been profitable,
the fruits of their labor
the profit out of the company.
الذي يقبض أرباح الشركة فقط.
about 1,000 dollars over time
من العمل لساعات إضافية
of companies like this
an alternative
to bring chain stores,
لبناء سلسلة متاجر،
those types of developments,
out of business,
into wage workers,
of resistance and resilience
here in Los Angeles,
هنا في (لوس أنجلوس)،
Union Cooperative Initiative,
لـ(مبادرة نقابة لوس أنجلوس التعاونية)،
more worker-owned businesses
we've created two:
might be familiar with it.
and operated by its 20 workers,
مملوكة لعمالها الـ20 ويشغلونها،
why the focus on union-worker ownership,
على ملكية عمال النقابات.
to the worker-ownership movement.
للحركات الداعية لملكية العمال.
that we want in our community,
people and training.
paying union dues for decades,
الرسوم للنقابات على مدى عقود،
and democratic workplaces for us.
are on the steep decline,
calling on our unions
and political capital
union, living-wage jobs
are full of union members
the importance of solidarity
more union businesses to exist,
المزيد من الأعمال التجارية النقابية،
important to our success,
with one last example
هذا المثال الأخير
built entirely around worker cooperatives.
يتمحور حول التعاونيات العمالية.
to washing machines to transformers.
من الدراجات والغسالات والمحولات.
now employs 80,000 people
in revenue every year.
من الإيرادات كل عام.
are owned by the people that work in them.
and hospitals and financial institutions.
something like this in South-Central.
شركات كهذه في (ساوث سنترال).
had a similar idea.
كانت لديه فكرة مشابهة.
into a Mondragon-like cooperative economy,
إلى الاقتصاد التعاوني مثل (موندراجون)،
"Jackson Rising."
can do for ourselves
for ourselves and each other
about Mondragon
to launch an international initiative
like it all over the world,
مثل (موندراجون) حول العالم،
about the worker-ownership model.
to be a part of it.
go to your union meetings,
اذهبوا إلى الاجتماعات،
has a worker-ownership initiative,
لديها مبادرة لملكية العمال،
or another organization like us
أو مؤسسة أخرى مثلنا
on the cooperative model.
and county legislation passed
الخاصة بالمدينة أو الولاية أو المقاطعة
and support worker-owned businesses.
الشركات المملوكة للعمال.
learn about our models,
lend to us and join us,
وإقراضنا والانضمام إلينا،
going to take all of us
and sustainable and resilient economy
and our children.
with a quote from Arundhati Roy,
to confront Empire,
على التصدي للإمبراطورية،
brainwashed to believe.
what they're selling --
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Niki Okuk - EntrepreneurNiki Okuk is working to create social and economic justice and worker dignity.
Why you should listen
Niki Okuk founded Rco Tires in 2012. They've since recycled more than 300 million pounds of rubber, diverting 70 million gallons of oil from landfills with 16 employees, making it one of southern California's largest sustainability plants. Rco creates alternative uses for trash tires, turning them into new products. Because of Okuk's progressive hiring and management practices, it provides stable jobs for local black and Latino residents who struggle to find employment because of past criminal convictions or legal status.
Okuk grew up in Los Angeles and majored in economics at Columbia University. After working in development with the office of Joseph Stiglitz and working in finance in Korea and Singapore, Okuk completed her MBA with Nanyang University in Singapore, including a sustainability certificate at Sloan School of Business at MIT.
Niki Okuk | Speaker | TED.com