Dozens of residents press Baltimore council to fund worker cooperative development

Multiple worker-owners and cooperative advocates urged the council to allocate city funds to support the Baltimore Roundtable for Economic Democracy and citywide cooperative development.

"We are asking Baltimore City to invest in our area cooperatives," Krista Kilduff, executive director of the Baltimore Roundtable for Economic Democracy, told the council, describing loans and technical assistance the group has provided and arguing public funding would expand worker-owned businesses.

Speakers from worker cooperatives across the city — including Baltimore Bicycle Works, Common Ground Cafe, Mira Kitchen Collective and other co-ops — described conversions and new worker-owned startups, saying city support would sustain jobs, keep businesses locally owned and stabilize neighborhoods. Bernardo Vigil, a worker-owner at Baltimore Bicycle Works, urged the council to "fund citywide cooperative development so that more of Baltimore City's economy can be rooted in the people who actually live and work here."

Advocates described cooperatives as a strategy to retain local wealth and create family-sustaining jobs across sectors (retail, food service, construction, arts). Several speakers said the cooperative ecosystem in Baltimore is already strong and should receive municipal investment for technical assistance, startup capital and capacity building.

Council members did not act on funding tonight; staff directed residents to submit written testimony and participate in upcoming agency hearings where budget allocations will be considered.