TY  - BOOK
AU  - Thomas Isaac
AU  - Michelle Williams
TI  - Building alternatives : the story of India's oldest construction workers' cooperative
SN  - 9789380118468
U1  - 331.7624095483 
PY  - 2017///
CY  - New Delhi
PB  - Leftword
KW  - India--Kerala
KW  - Construction workers
KW  - Labour contract
N2  - The Uralungal Labour Contract Cooperative Society (ULCCS) in northern Kerala is a remarkable institution, founded as part of the early 20th century anti-caste movement. The Cooperative's raison d'être - as enshrined in its bylaws - is to 'promote the economic interests of the labourers of the Society'. Despite ups and downs over its 90-year history, the ULCCS is a highly successful cooperative, both in terms of its profitability and in its enhancing the lives of its worker-owners. This, despite the neoliberal policies that have suffocated much economic activity that lies outside of monopoly capitalism's interests. Building Alternatives provides an honest appraisal of a heroic venture of a cooperative enterprise, demonstrating that cooperatives are not only able to survive in a small niche, but are able to grow into substantial institutions within the social life of a region. The book does not gloss over the problems that come with this history, providing a rich empirical account that helps us learn from the challenges and successes. The story of ULCCS is not merely an inspiration to the world, but a guidebook to the resilience of cooperatives as alternatives within capitalism
ER  -