Food cooperative programs that allow members to scoop rice, sort organic vegetables and ring up sales in return for grocery discounts are fading fast.
The "member labor" programs are tightly linked to the idealism that launched a wave of co-ops in the '70s. But they have become rarer amid fears of violating labor laws and a changing marketplace. At Albany, New York's, Honest Weight Food Co-Op, an effort to drop their program has riled members. Supporters say the involvement of members differentiates co-ops in an age where even strip-mall supermarkets sell local arugula.
An issue at Honest Weight and other co-ops is the fear that labor officials could classify their working members as employees rather than volunteers, leaving them open to charges they're violating minimum wage rules.
©2016 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
