Evergreen Cooperative Laundry to manage second plant

Evergreen Cooperative Laundry to manage second plant (USA)

Cleveland’s Evergreen Cooperative Laundry will triple its workforce after taking over management of the Cleveland Clinic’s laundry facility. The new plant will bring more than 100 new employees into the company, alongside the 50 workers at its original laundry in Glenville. The collaboration between the co-op and Cleveland Clinic is based on a model developed by the Democracy Collaborative. Known as the Cleveland model, the approach focuses on getting local anchor institutions such as hospitals, universities, local councils or schools to change their procurement policies to work with co-ops.

Cleveland Evergreen Cooperative Laundry is part of the Evergreen Cooperatives, a network of co-op businesses located in disinvested areas, which create jobs and benefit the local community. Currently owned by Cleveland Clinic, the Collinwood laundry facility services the health system. The partnership will see the clinic shift the contract for the operations of the laundry to the Evergreen Cooperative Laundry, contributing to the local economy.

With the co-op taking over laundry, the employees of the Collinwood plant will be offered an accelerated path to worker-ownership. The Evergreen Cooperatives employ a total of 220 workers. The Cleveland model has been adopted by other communities across the US, as well as in Preston, UK.