Holiday party at a worker coop

This is the first year I have attended a holiday work party as part of a worker coop. From the perspective of someone who has attended a few corporate holiday parties, words cannot fully describe how different your relationship is with the organization. It is one of those moments where the full impact of what you are a part of and how amazingly humane it is really hits you. 

Although not part of the definition of a worker coop, we operate collectively as many others do. When you don't have managers laying off your co-workers or climbing up the ranks to be executives, it completely changes the equation of trust and motivation. During a period of reflection like the holidays, you really start to realize the net effect of being in a worker coop has had on you. Of course, you still have to build trust amongst each other to overcome basic interpersonal differences, but you don't have artificial hierarchies interfering. You trust your coop and you respect your co-workers, deeply. You feel proud to attend the holiday work party!

I have not come to a complete grasp of what the words social justice mean to me, but I do know that worker coops, and Data Systems as one member within that movement, are certainly a part of what I consider working towards social justice.