We at the Groundwork Books Collective are a leftist, non-hierarchical, non-profit, workers’ cooperative that works to aid our community and sell leftist literature. That’s a lot of jargon so what does it mean:

Leftist

At Groundwork we proudly espouse radical left-wing values. This means that we strive to create a safe space of people of all identities while striving towards the dismantling of capitalism. We aim to incorporate people with a broad range of values but will not tolerate those espousing hateful values such as racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, etc.

Non-hierarchical

Groundwork Books is not owned by anyone but those working to maintain the space. There are no managers or bosses and every worker, no matter their level of engagement is treated with equal footing in the store. This means that anyone looking to volunteer can choose how they may want to work in the space.

Non-profit

We do not take profits at Groundwork. All of our sales go towards replenishing the stock that we sell and projects centered around building community. These projects include our Books Through Bars program which aims to send books to incarcerated peoples.

Workers Cooperative

This means that the ownership of Groundworks is not held by anyone but instead spread across everyone working in the store. Now this does not mean that each member owns a percentage of the books or items in the store commensurate with the total number of workers. It simply means the direction of the store is decided amongst the totality of the store.

Ultimately, we strive to maintain these Four core pillars so that we can generate the best possible experience for us the workers and you the customer. Furthermore, this allows us to work towards bettering the community around us and laying the groundwork for radical action.