Below is just a small sampling of the messages and comments people have sent us in response to the preview, which you can watch here. Would you like to add your thoughts or remarks? Please do so in the comments below. Thank you, and if you like what you see and read about Shift Change, please consider making a contribution to help us finish the film.

“This is a timely, informative and inspiring project! I’ve been fortunate to follow the work of Moving Images since the inception of Shift Change. Melissa, Mark and Tony’s work is inventive and thorough. The film will be a rich resource for academic courses, public discussions, and for people who are tired of old ways of doing business but who can’t quite visualize a different–and better–way to go. This is the documentary many of us have been waiting for. Shift Change will help to propel a much-needed national conversation about workplace democracy, local ownership, and sustainable community economic development. This practical vision can bridge economic and political divides in our country. The values of democracy, equality and solidarity are not new but they need renewal. Mondragon and other cases profiled in the film are real, and they can point the way to a much broader movement. Support this effort; tell your friends; be a part of the change.”  -George Cheney

“I work in a worker co-op, and whenever I tell people about it they love the idea and wonder why they had never heard of such a business model before. Well, this documentary can be a good step towards fixing that.” -Rodney North

“Gorgeous! Simply beautiful! I love what I see so far. The U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives strongly supports this project.” -Melissa Hoover, Executive Director, U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives

“What an important film at such a key moment on this planet. I can’t wait to see the whole film. Mark and Melissa: you are a give to us all!” -Susan Partnow

“Shift Change is a film for our times! Check it out and spread the word! Kickstart this film to reach all who have lost jobs and inspiration!” -Christie Houston

“Perhaps this is our hope for jobs in the UK, as well as around the world…watch and be inspired.” -Claire Hilary Morris

“Thrilled to see that you landed an interview with Jose Maria Ormaechea, the most accomplished worker cooperator alive (arguably ever). I eagerly await the film!” -Tim Huet

“When my students and I are discussing different types of business organizations, we address organizational mission, structure and function, ownership, and outcomes to various stakeholders. This film promises to be a resource for me in the classroom as students hear about business organizations in which employee ownership, workers’ knowledge of the business and participation in decision making about their jobs are the norm. I look forward to seeing the completed product.” -Daphne Berry

“I was moved to pledge because I am very excited about the idea of cooperatives and promoting this form of business as an important building block of the New Economy we must build. I can’t wait to see the movie and encourage others to see it as well. Also, I appreciate and am grateful for your wonderful work for social and economic justice and want to support its continuation.” -Orna Locker

“I have worked at a 100% employee-owned company for over 15 years and saw what good things employee ownership could do for people on a personal, professional and financial basis. For the last 10 years, I’ve worked at a non-profit outreach center whose mission is to expand employee ownership, because it truly is a better way of doing business – better for workers, better for the company, better for the customers, and better for the community. Shift Change helps spread the word by telling worker-owners’ stories in their own words. With widespread distribution, it will make a difference. I enthusiastically support the film and willingly made a pledge. Please make a pledge and help Mark, Melissa and Tony complete this very worthwhile project.” -Bill McIntyre

Shift Change Producer Melissa Young

Dear friends, cooperators, and supporters,

Maybe you, like me, have felt discouraged about the state of our economy, and the imbalance of political and economic power in the U.S. today. It was this feeling of discouragement and frustration that initially set me on a path to look for concrete, accessible alternatives.

A friend suggested that my partner Mark Dworkin and I learn more about the Mondragon cooperatives, in the Basque country of Spain; when we did, we were moved and inspired. We knew we wanted to do something to spread the word about this successful model of worker-ownership and its potential to change the culture of work—not just in Spain but around the world. We learned that there are hundreds of thriving cooperatives and worker-owned enterprises right here in North America, but that their stories are seldom told. Because Mark and I are filmmakers by profession, we felt that we could help tell those stories, and in doing so help others envision and implement a new economic democracy. We decided to make a film about it.

We are now in the final phases of completing that film, Shift Change: Putting Democracy to Work. It is a project that has been equally grueling and exhilarating; sobering and uplifting; exhausting and encouraging. I’ve been very impressed by the examples I’ve seen of democratically run enterprises in Mondragon and in the U.S. These organizations operate in all sectors—engineering, baking, green house-cleaning, fair-trade food, home healthcare, pharmacies, cab companies, breweries…. They paint a new picture of “work,” creatively and equitably re-imagined.

I know that these stories will change the way that many people think. I believe that the visions of success we are presenting in Shift Change will mobilize people to seek new possibilities in their own workplaces, businesses, communities, and lives.

Like so many of the stories featured in the film, Shift Change itself is a cooperative effort. With your help, we’ll finish the project and show that it is possible to have a successful business where employees have a stake and a say; where decisions are made in a way that benefits local communities and without huge hierarchies and disparities of salary. Employee owned and managed enterprises are not the only solution to many of the difficulties we face, but they demonstrate that it is possible to make a difference, and to contribute toward a society with more equality and fairness—a society of which I will be proud to be a part.

We hope you will let us know about your work and your dreams, and that you’ll help us bring this film to light. Please take a look at our online funding campaign on the website Kickstarter to learn more, leave a comment, and make a contribution: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1287935035/shift-change-putting-democracy-to-work.

Thanks for your help,

Melissa Young