The problem facing western societies is that the current existence of offshore labour on truly a massive scale is a relatively new phenomenom since the fall of the Berlin wall and the PR China`s entry into the WTO. This has allowed those companies with good contacts overseas or by hiring N. Americans from the PRC knowing the language and who to pay the inevitable kickbacks to the means to crush their local rivals without the infrastructure and or the indifference to the implications of their decision to offshore. The vast army of eager to please cheaper labour that isn’t overly concerned with the environmental degradation of their country as well as their blatant exploitation effectively doubles as a club to keep those who haven`t already lost their jobs in their countries of origin in line and is effectively morally bankrupt. It`s in this environment of managerial bliss that the creative individual is increasingly marginalized and his efforts muted and in the case of Detroit an entire city. The Wal-Martization of the world means that corporations force inventors and artists to sign humiliating contracts resulting in them essentially handing over the rights to their creations for relatively little in return and without even a guarantee of long term employment and in turn offshoring the work to China etc..: the old social contract has definitely ceased to apply. There is a great deal at stake as those societies which engage wholeheartedly in creative endeavours stand to be in the best position possible to deal with the plague of off-shoring. De-industrialization and a falling birthrate have resulted in a surplus of industrial and educational buildings to be available (at least in some parts of the world) and are frequently owned by the state. My solution would be to provide these buildings to a new type of social construct called craft guilds that would have temporary non-profit status for a 5 to 10 year period in order to permit them to aquire the equipment, machinery, educational liasons and infrastructure necessary to get started and off the ground. The ideal craft guild would be an assemblage of architects, engineers, artists and production technicians who would enter upon mutual contracts respecting their individual rights and not excessive in their demands. It would be unwise to limit this idea to arts and crafts and or furniture etc… as I see this being applicable to the full range of economic activities and could allow western societies to effectively compete against the military dictatorship called the PR China. Patents, copyrights and designs would be owned by their creators with a 10 % royalty fee for the first invention etc…reverting to the guild enabling the continuity of the guild`s existence. Guild types can cover the entire spectrum of creative activities but the special status of the guild would be dependant upon their being engaged in creating goods and services not readily available and not simply being job shops which in reality would have them compete with existing companies and be disruptive as a result. It should also be an objective of the guilds to disavow any government assistance whatsoever for the building and renovation assistance of it and donations if possible and the tax benefits to society for donations of capital and machinery etc…that would be available from the ten year tax free status. I believe these guilds can be operated within the current capitalist system as another type of entity just like the corporation as a creation by government decree but of course with different objectives and methods of achieving their goals. Guilds can offer society the benefits of invention and creative production in order to combat the flood of cheap imports produced by having limited production capabilities as part of the guilds`structure. Prototypes, proof of concepts and short production runs in the least should be possible and even existing corporations can benefit from this concept. Marketing can be carried out via direct internet marketing over Craigs list, Kijiji, and a host of other free internet classified sites and Ebay if necessary in order to bypass the Wal-Mart lowest price is the law phenomenom. This would be a closed loop between creator and the end consumer thus guaranteeing the integrity of the design and manufacturing process and at least allowing the possibility of options for consumers.

A seal of the guilds`approval along with details as to how the product or service was created/mfd. could be given giving the consumer that cares the peace of mind that he/she is part of the solution and not part of the problem. All members of the potential guilds should be have a proven track record of creativity without any financial assistance completely independant of any institution so as to demonstrate the ability to think outside the box and survive with limited or even no resources as anything is possible with money but things get far more difficult without it. This is about creativity and not getting on a gravy train, the soft life is for those hiding out in universities pontificating as opposed to being in the trenches trying to repulse the PRC onslaught, it`s tough love and sink or swim.

The original craft guilds didn`t have a steady stream of government handouts to rely on yet they managed to bring about some pretty crafty innovations such as the Chartres and the Notre Dame cathedrals in Paris, London Bridge, the Gutenberg press and the Sistene chapel etc…. . The impact of creativity should not be underestimated as it has taken a single mother scraping by in England to being a billionaire. How many other J.K. Rowlings have yet to have their creations see the light of day due to narrow corporate interpretations of what society would be interested in which in reality can be totally off the mark as they more often than not play to the lowest common denominator and underestimate the intelliegence of the audience. I believe modernized craft guilds can be a medium by which society can be enriched and the rights of the creative better promoted and protected. This way the current prevalence of societies begging and bribing corporations to invent things and employ people in the western world when in reality they are merely re-inventing the wheel and buying off the shelf items instead of `researching` and then offshoring the production to the PRC as soon as no-one is looking can be remedied to a certain extent. Robert Hennecke.Thanking in advance for your consideration.

The above is my solution for Detroit and if employed correctly could create hundreds of thousands of self directed jobs that would not be vulnerable to off-shoring.

1st Annual Pioneer of Change Awards Press Release

COOPERATIVE HOME CARE ASSOCIATES & SOUTH BRONX FOOD COOPERATIVES CHOSEN FOR AWARDS IN THE 1st ANNUAL PIONEER OF CHANGE AWARDS

Pioneer of Change Award is a first-time award given by Green Worker Cooperatives that seeks to recognize people, organizations and businesses who have made significant contributions to address environmental and economic problems in working communities that don’t pollute the earth or exploit human labor.

Green Worker Cooperatives has chosen Cooperative Home Care Associates (www.chcany.org) for this award because of their contribution to the South Bronx Community by providing a positive and democratic workenvironment in quality home health care. Cooperative Home Care Associates (CHCA) is a for-profit, worker-owned cooperative that provides home health care aides on a contract basis to large health-care providers such as the Visiting Nurse Service and major hospitals. Founded in 1985, CHCA now employs more than 1600 home health aides, most of whom are women of color, and has provided a model for replication projects in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

COOPERATIVE HOME CARE ASSOCIATES is a concrete, profitable example that worker cooperatives can reorient our economy and can improve conditions for workers.

Green Worker Cooperatives, also presents this award to the South Bronx Food Cooperative (www.sbxfc.org) in recognition of their pioneering efforts in establishing the first consumer-owned food cooperative in the South Bronx and promoting cooperative ownership in the Bronx.

GREEN WORKER COOPERATIVES (www.greenworker.coop) is a South Bronx-based organization dedicated to incubating worker-owned and environmentally friendly cooperatives in the South Bronx. Our approach is a response to high unemployment and decades of environmental racism. We don’t have the luxury to wait for new alternatives. That’s why we’re creating them. We believe that in order to address our environmental and economic problems we need new ways to earn a living that does not require polluting the earth or exploiting human labor.
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