#CrepeGate and Employee Ownership Discussed on Cooperative Vermont

Matt and Eric chat with special guest Brian Kelly about #crepegate and the Skinny Pancake owner's subsequent Facebook statement expressing of interest in the possibility of transitioning the eatery to employee ownership.
Full Episode: http://youtu.be/8MbCGDjgcHU
Cooperative Vermont on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Coopera...
The Skinny Pancake's #Crepegate Statement: http://skinnypancake.com/2012/11/28/t... and an excerpt on the other bidders' LWO positions. "Misconception #3: Two other bidders for this project offered a LWO but we did not. Page 25 of our proposal, on the public record, shows this to be patently false. We were told to offer 2 scenarios: one with the LWO, one without it, and we did exactly what we were told. Had Breuggers or Dunkin Donuts won the bid but been required to pay the LWO, they could have backed out entirely or applied for an exemption as we did. Neither business pays the livable wage currently."

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  Nonprofits & Activism

[Benjamin Adler]

Matt: nice video. Two quick clarifications:

1.There is a major misconception repeated there that shows how misleading the BFP article was: we offered a LWO proposal just like the other bidders. Had Breuggers or Dunkin Donuts won the bid but been required to pay the LWO, they could have backed out entirely or applied for an exemption as did we.

2. I did not 'affirm my intention' to transition the Skinny to employee ownership. I stated that it is intriguing...big difference!

[CoopVermont]

Thanks for your clarifications Ben. I've added a link to the Skinny Pancake's statement on the crepegate issue and changed the wording related to #2 in the video description. It's probably clear I'm a big fan of employee ownership, and my enthusiasm definitely colored my interpretation of the strength of your statement... ;)

[mungojelly]

I like the friendly congenial tone you're trying to strike here, but it should be stated (if our bourgeois friend has not yet made it clear) that such a transformation will not occur in the absence of significant, sustained political pressure. This disorganized bit of public displeasure was enough to receive a vague and distant unpromise; fair like for like, I'd say. Firm serious repeated ACTION will result in true concessions; action for action, like for like. Let's act to expropriate capital!