This panel will feature presentations from founders of two worker-owned tech startups in NYC that were launched during the pandemic:
• Ken Lewis, co-Founder of The Drivers Cooperative (
https://drivers.coop/), a driver-owned rideshare platform cooperative organized to upgrade job quality in the gig economy.
• Troy Walcott, co-Founder of People's Choice Communications (
https://www.peopleschoice.coop/), an Internet Service Provider launched by striking cable technicians to bridge the digital divide.
While neither cooperative espouses a political ideology, let alone a socialist ideology, their principles and mission reflect values that many would associate with democratic socialism: solidarity, equity, democracy, justice, equality, solving social problems, struggle against predatory monopoly incumbents, and establishing worker/community ownership of the means of production.
Come to this session to learn more about how these worker-owned tech companies are challenging exploitation and transforming the political economy of New York City.
