Guest Blog: Baltimore Co-op Bike Tour Reflection by Daniel Levine

By Daniel Levine of Baltimore Bicycle Works

If there's one thing that I care more about than bikes, it's economic justice and worker cooperatives. It's why I've been a worker at Baltimore Bicycle Works since 2022, and why when I saw photos the Baltimore Roundtable for Economic Democracy shared of a co-op bike ride in Buffalo, NY, I was inspired to try to organize one here in Baltimore. Baltimore is fortunate to have a long-standing and expanding ecosystem of worker cooperatives - Bicycle Works has been around since 2008, just after I moved to the city, and Red Emma's is celebrating twenty years this year. So, I proposed the idea at a co-op meeting (cooperatives love nothing more than a good meeting!), reached out to an experienced ride leader from the shop's racing team, and started talking to potential partner sites, including Water Bottle.

One thing that I knew I wanted to do as part of the tour was showcase some of the cooperatives in Baltimore that were less well-known. Many worker cooperatives are concentrated in the service sector, like Bicycle Works, and so lots of people in Baltimore know about us, or about the city's cooperatively-owned coffee shops and restaurants. But worker cooperatives operate in all sorts of industries. I was excited to help people learn about a construction and property management cooperative like Water Bottle, to expand people's ideas about what a worker cooperative could be. And I was not disappointed! About twenty riders made it out to two active work sites in West Baltimore with us, and the Water Bottle stops got some of the most engagement on the tour from our participants. I found the discussion of how David's work on foreclosed homes informed his political analysis of development in Baltimore - and ultimately led to him abandoning that work and turning ownership over to the workers. Several riders were so excited to talk about neighborhood rehabilitation with workers that I was worried we'd have to leave them behind!

In all, I wanted to help educate people about cooperatives in Baltimore, and the ride was tremendously successful in that respect. We're already planning the next one.

Looking to shop for bikes, bike parts, or cool bike merch? Support a local co-op Baltimore Bike Works in person at 1813 Falls Road, Baltimore, MD, 21201 or online at baltimorebicycleworks.com