Co-op Rhody’s big picture goal is to build an economy where working people—especially those historically excluded from economic ownership—create wealth and power through unionized worker cooperatives. We formed out of the campaign to ensure Rhode Island’s cannabis legalization included meaningful forms of “social equity,” especially automatic expungements and worker ownership. We won first-in-the-nation set-aside licenses for worker co-ops and are now working on a project to support the development of these six stores. We believe that worker ownership and union membership are most transformative when they go together. The co-op model offers financial ownership (profit-sharing) and democratic governance to workers. When combined with union membership, workers also benefit from political power, benefits at scale (e.g. healthcare), and access to the union’s legal and financial resources in transparent collective bargaining. In Rhode Island, UFCW Local 328 has played a significant role in cannabis justice work, including contributing an organizer’s staff time to support Co-op Rhody.We do this work because Rhode Islanders deserve more than low-wage jobs from extractive corporations. With set-aside cannabis licenses for co-ops, we see an opportunity to seed a lasting ecosystem of worker-owned businesses that create generational wealth and community ownership in industries where access is usually limited to those with capital.