Episode 3: New Era

Makia Martin (00:04):

Welcome to The Light Ahead, a fiction podcast that investigates the question, "What would 2030 look like if the U.S. had an economy that truly worked and cared for everyone?"

Speaker 2 (00:16):

Keep on pushing for a better future. Pushing for a better future.

Makia Martin (00:22):

The U.S. has an imagination gap when it comes to the economy. We generally think that we have to choose one -ism or another, like capitalism or socialism, but the reality is our options are as diverse as those who can dream them because we continually create the economy every single day with our actions and choices. This podcast is designed to help us all practice expanding our economic imaginations, to take us out of the "what is" and help us dream "what could be." A production of Avalon Story and Beloved Economies. Each episode was co-created by a Hollywood screenwriter and a change maker at the cutting edge of transforming our economy. For this project, we didn't ask them to tackle the question of how, but rather to dream using the magic of storytelling to help us all imagine possible futures.

Speaker 2 (01:18):

Keep on pushing for a better future. Pushing for a better future.

Makia Martin (01:25):

I'm Makia, your guide as we venture into future timelines filled with possibility. We'll hear the story of a son trying to convince his mom that his new job at a worker owned collective is not communism, but is in fact a really great job at a company that is innovating new forms of democracy and voice for all its workers. This episode is about the misconceptions people in the U.S. may have about cooperative companies and some of the possibilities of what they can really be. Throughout this family comedy, we'll take a peek behind the curtain to hear from the two collaborators responsible for this visionary tale, Jacqueline Pereda, this episode's writer and director, and Armando Robles, a worker owner of New Era Windows Cooperative, the real life window building collective that inspired this episode. For now, make sure your preconceptions are powered down, and your mind is unlocked in the expansive position. This is New Era.

Frankie (02:44):

Ma? Mom? Home. Mommy, I have good news. Wait, why is the flat screen TV still here? The Congo Cloud tech didn't come?

Anna Ramirez (02:57):

I didn't open the door. I told them we weren't home.

Frankie (03:01):

Ma, we're like the last ones in the U.S. that don't have augmented reality.

Anna Ramirez (03:05):

I'm not letting a robot from the future invade my house. Neither is your Henry. Right, Henry?

Frankie (03:13):

You're stuck in 2020, Ma. We need to transfer all of our data to the house cloud by the end of this year.

Anna Ramirez (03:19):

I'm not putting my data in a cloud. Clouds are for the sky and for abuelita to sleep in in Heaven, not for my social security number and grocery list we need for dinner.

Frankie (03:30):

I know change is hard, Ma, but I promise you that our personal data is secure, and this is meant to help us. We should still do it, okay?

Anna Ramirez (03:40):

Whatever. Are you hungry?

Frankie (03:43):

No, they fed me at the interview.

Anna Ramirez (03:45):

Fed you? Oh, you made friends with someone in the lobby, and they shared their lunch? How nice.

Frankie (03:51):

No, Ma, my interview was scheduled right before their lunch, and they invited me to stay. They eat lunch together every day, and everyone brings in food to share.

Anna Ramirez (03:59):

Wait, you got the job?

Frankie (04:02):

I sure did.

Anna Ramirez (04:02):

Yes. Oh my God. My baby. I'm so proud of you. [foreign language 00:04:09] Let's do a toast.

Frankie (04:12):

Ma, save that for Christmas.

Anna Ramirez (04:14):

No, today we are celebrating you. Salud.

Frankie (04:21):

Salud.

Anna Ramirez (04:23):

I am so, so proud of you, Papa. When do you start?

Frankie (04:29):

I start next Monday at the New Era windows Cooperative.

Anna Ramirez (04:34):

You what?

Frankie (04:37):

Let me help, Ma.

Anna Ramirez (04:38):

No, no, don't touch anything. I got it. You took a job with those communists? How dare you? Does my pain of fleeing Cuba mean anything to you?

Frankie (04:51):

Mommy, they're not communists.

Anna Ramirez (04:54):

You might as well go to Cuba and serve in the army. I see what you're doing. You're getting a job with a communist company in exchange for service to the government.

Frankie (05:04):

Service? Ma, you have no idea what you're talking about. This isn't the 1960s.

Anna Ramirez (05:09):

So they can brainwash you with their communist lies. Everything me and your father sacrificed for you, and you decide to work for a communist company.

Frankie (05:18):

They're not communist. They are cooperative.

Anna Ramirez (05:21):

Oh, we cooperated with Fidel in Cuba all right.

Frankie (05:25):

Ma, stop it.

Anna Ramirez (05:29):

How can you not take the other job?

Frankie (05:33):

New Era Windows offered me more money.

Anna Ramirez (05:35):

You're lying. They don't make money. New Era Windows is a not-profit or whatever you call it.

Frankie (05:41):

You're wrong, Ma. It's a for-profit company that distributes its profits amongst its workers. It's like a corporation, but we're the shareholders. But once I get settled, I'm bringing you by the office, so you can see where I work.

Anna Ramirez (05:55):

I don't care. I'm not going. I'm not supporting that.

Frankie (05:58):

I promise you, it's not what you think. Ma, this is the first time I have a say in a company I've worked for. They've been so financially successful, and they want us all to have a say and share a piece of the pie. And in four months, if everything goes well, I have the option of joining as a worker owner, which means I get to vote on our hours. I get a say on who gets promoted. I get a say on company decisions and share the profits. Oh, and not to mention, the salary is amazing.

Anna Ramirez (06:31):

Everyone knows how much you make?

Frankie (06:33):

Yes, we all vote on it.

Anna Ramirez (06:35):

Frankie, how can you work at a place where everyone knows your business? You have no privacy.

Frankie (06:41):

Ma, how can you work at a place where your hard work is overlooked constantly? You've worked at that grocery store for 20 years, and no one listens to you.

Anna Ramirez (06:50):

Ah, please, everyone listens to me.

Frankie (06:52):

I'll actually have a voice here. Imagine if the grocery store split the profits with you and the other workers, instead of them keeping it all for themselves. You'd be able to have a savings account.

Anna Ramirez (07:02):

Aye, she's doing it again.

Frankie (07:05):

Who's doing what?

Anna Ramirez (07:07):

That woman across the street is jumping in front of her window again. Is she waving at us?

Frankie (07:12):

No, Ma, she's exercising. That's a workout window. There's a chip in the glass that connects to your internet and streams a workout to your window. It's solar powered. That's actually one of the windows we manufacture at New Era. That's cool, right?

Anna Ramirez (07:28):

It looks like she's waving for help, like a hostage.

Makia Martin (07:44):

Let's pause and take a moment to learn about the making of this episode from Jacqueline Pereda, the episode's writer and director. We'll also hear from Armando Robles of the real New Era Windows Cooperative that inspired the creation of this episode.

Makia Martin (08:02):

Jackie, like for many of us, the concept of a cooperative was new for you when you started working on this episode. What were some of the most striking things that you learned about co-ops in your initial conversations with Armando?

Jacqueline Pereda (08:18):

That's such a great question. I think just how the co-op works. I'll admit it, too, I kind of always thought co-op... I'm always like it's a little communist or socialism and everyone has to make the same salary, and everyone thinks they're equal, but no one's equal, but I was just really amazed at the model they had. Speaking with Armando and learning more about New Era Windows, how much to take care of each other and also how they are really business owners. It's just like a business, but instead of the shareholders, just the people that work at the company. I was kind of, not upset, I was like, man, I wish we learned this earlier. Or we can kind of like break the stigma as a society because this could help more people, because it definitely helped break mine, writing it and learning about it. I was even a little more hesitant because, again, my family came from a communist country.

Makia Martin (09:02):

We see in this episode that Frankie's mother has a lot of misconceptions about what New Era is and is pretty vocal in her criticism at first. Armando, what kind of misconceptions do you hear people making about New Era, and what were you and Jackie hoping to show by including this in the episode?

Armando Robles (09:23):

Well, so much of misconceptions have the people in the beginning of when we were planning the New Era. It wasn't 2008 when we have the closing of the factory, we're trying to organize ourselves to buy the factory. We hear from people around the city that they think it was like socialist idea or communist idea, but no, it's just people organizing themselves and try to make their own business. It's another way to survive and run a business. As a worker on, it's one of the biggest experience for me and my coworkers because we take our own decisions. We make our own plans, how to work in a factory, and reality, it's not hard. It's kind of like how to organize ourselves. Against all the predictions of the people that they feel like workers can do running a business. At this point, we are almost 31 people working from 17 that when we start, and we're still surviving. We're still working, and we got a lot of work right now. We got almost 10 years as a co-op, and we're still working.

Frankie (10:47):

Clarissa, drive to work.

Clarissa (10:49):

Calculating route. Seatbelt engaged. Seat belt disengaged.

Frankie (10:57):

Ma, leave the seatbelt alone. It's automatic. The car doesn't move unless we're strapped in.

Clarissa (11:02):

Seatbelt disengage.

Anna Ramirez (11:05):

Aye, I feel like I'm strapped into a roller coaster. I'm claustrophobic. Your other car was so much better.

Frankie (11:12):

Well, this one runs on half of electricity, which means half the gas and more money in my bank account.

Anna Ramirez (11:18):

Your generation is so weird.

Frankie (11:22):

Are you excited to meet my coworkers?

Anna Ramirez (11:24):

Yes, I'm thrilled to meet the dictators.

Frankie (11:28):

They're really excited to meet you, Mama.

Clarissa (11:30):

On-route to your destination.

Makia Martin (11:43):

Jackie, this episode exudes such a warm and strong family dynamic. How did your own upbringing, your own family and community, inform what you brought to this script?

Jacqueline Pereda (11:57):

I think the growing up with immigrant parents or just Latino culture in general, just how much family matters to us and how much rising to our parents' expectation, meeting their expectations and making them proud for everything that they sacrifice to come to this country. Everything they sacrificed for me to be here. That's why for Frankie, it's so important for his mom to accept this. He's not like, "Mom, doing this" and that's it. For him, he wants his mom to approve and accept kind of what this new reality... The family dynamic is so important to us in our culture.

Jacqueline Pereda (12:29):

I feel like the Western culture is very independent, and I'm going to chase my dreams and do this on my own, no matter what anyone says, but with us, for Frankie, he's born here, his mom's born in Cuba. For him, it's very important for his mom to get on board with New Era and explain to her how important this is to him. It was so important to capture that and also the most fun, because when you're close with your parents... Then you have generation differences. It lent itself to comedy very well. It was always super important to capture that.

Clarissa (12:58):

You have arrived at your destination.

Jacqueline Pereda (13:10):

Aye, thank God. I couldn't wait for her to shut up. Who's that guy?

Frankie (13:18):

That's Brendan. He helps charge the car for an hour every morning. Let's go. Morning, Brendan. This is my mom, Anna. I'm showing her around today.

Brandon (13:34):

So nice to have you here, Mr. Ramirez. If anyone gives you a hard time, you let me know, okay?

Anna Ramirez (13:42):

Is he the Fidel?

Frankie (13:43):

Ma, behave. Welcome to my office.

Anna Ramirez (14:02):

Wow. This is big.

Emilio (14:06):

Hey, Frankie.

Frankie (14:09):

What's up Emilio?

Emilio (14:10):

Hey, is this the lovely Ms. Ramirez?

Frankie (14:15):

It sure is. Ma, this is Emilio. Emilio, this is my mom, Anna.

Anna Ramirez (14:20):

It's so nice to meet you. This place is very big.

Emilio (14:25):

It's impressive, right Ms. Ramirez?

Anna Ramirez (14:26):

It is.

Emilio (14:28):

What's even more impressive is that this factory is a full-blown cooperative.

Anna Ramirez (14:32):

Aye, cooperatives ruined our lives in Cuba.

Frankie (14:38):

Ma. Emilio, I'm sorry, man. My mom is still a little skeptical of how things operate around here.

Emilio (14:46):

It's all right, Frankie. Ms. Ramirez, I hear your concerns and know the pain that the Cuban government caused your family, but you are very mistaken of what a cooperative is, and I would love to tell you about what we've created here at New Era Windows. Have you heard of Congo?

Anna Ramirez (15:03):

No.

Emilio (15:05):

The e-commerce company that's installing clouds into our homes as we speak.

Anna Ramirez (15:10):

Yes, I hate them.

Frankie (15:12):

Easy, Emilio, the cloud is a touchy subject for her.

Emilio (15:18):

That company is not a cooperative.

Anna Ramirez (15:21):

Thank goodness. No offense. Frankie's cousin, Paulina, works for them. She doesn't like it, but it's a big company and we're relieved. She'll always have a job.

Emilio (15:31):

Well, we have job security here too, Ms. Ramirez, and business is booming. Does Paulina own a part of Congo?

Anna Ramirez (15:40):

Of course not. That guy owns it. The cloud guy. Frankie, what's his name?

Frankie (15:47):

Ben Jezos.

Emilio (15:50):

Okay. Well, does she help Ben Jezos with the company decision making or hiring? What about voting on the bonuses?

Anna Ramirez (15:59):

Aye no, but one can dream, maybe in 10 or 20 years.

Emilio (16:05):

Exactly. In a non-operative like Congo, Ben Jezos makes all of the decisions along with wealthy shareholders, and the workers like us, the ones who really understand the everyday realities of the job, do not have a say. But at New Era, we're all worker owners, and we've learned how to successfully run a factory ourselves.

Everyone (16:32):

Anthony.

Emilio (16:34):

You all right? What's going on over there? Excuse me, guys. I got to check on that.

Anna Ramirez (16:42):

You own the company?

Frankie (16:44):

I'm a partial owner.

Anna Ramirez (16:46):

Not the government?

Frankie (16:48):

Ma, no. The government is not involved in our business at all. We are privately owned. See everyone working in the office and on the floor? They're all owners. We own this together.

Anna Ramirez (17:01):

Aye, Frankie. Why didn't you tell me?

Frankie (17:04):

That's all I've been telling you, but you call them communists.

Anna Ramirez (17:08):

That's not true. I said the government owns everything in Cuba.

Frankie (17:14):

I'm officially a business owner, Ma.

Anna Ramirez (17:17):

Seriously, Frankie?

Frankie (17:19):

Yes, Ma. That's why I chose this job.

Anna Ramirez (17:22):

That was your abuelita's dream. She always wanted to buy the perfume factory she worked at but wasn't allowed to. She talked about it all of the time.

Frankie (17:34):

Now I can live that dream, Ma. We can live the American dream for her.

Anna Ramirez (17:41):

Aye, Frankie, go back to work. I don't want you to get in trouble with your boss.

Frankie (17:46):

I don't have a boss.

Anna Ramirez (17:47):

What do you mean? You don't have a boss? Everyone has a boss.

Frankie (17:52):

Emilio is one of the supervisors.

Anna Ramirez (17:53):

Thank you, Lord. See, of course you have a boss.

Frankie (17:57):

Ma, let me finish. He was voted in as a supervisor by all of us.

Anna Ramirez (18:02):

So you can never get promoted? That scares me. See, this is why it reminded me of Cuba.

Frankie (18:10):

No, Ma, listen. I can get promoted, but all of the workers have a vote on my promotion. If they think I've earned it, they vote yes.

Anna Ramirez (18:19):

But Frankie, how about if someone doesn't like you?

Frankie (18:22):

Ma, you know that woman you work with, the one who's always late and doesn't stock the shelves?

Anna Ramirez (18:27):

Aye, Lisa. Yes, I can't stand her.

Frankie (18:31):

Doesn't she keep getting promoted over you because her aunt is the manager, even though you complain that she doesn't do any work?

Anna Ramirez (18:39):

Yes. She's always Facebooking.

Frankie (18:41):

We try not to let that happen here.

Emilio (18:45):

Frankie. We're ready for you. Ms. Ramirez, you too. We wanted to show you Frankie's latest project. He was the lead designer of this window. This is our 2030 series slider. It self-shades based on the weather. You don't even need curtains. It's his first window to be featured on the company website. Ms. Ramirez, come give it a try.

Anna Ramirez (19:19):

Frankie, it's so beautiful. I want one for the apartment. How can I find it on the website? I want to order it online. Be your first customer.

Frankie (19:31):

Type in "the Aurelia," Ma.

Anna Ramirez (19:34):

You named it after abuelita?

Frankie (19:37):

I did.

Emilio (19:38):

We did. We all voted on the name too, Ms. Ramirez. We think it's going to be our top seller.

Anna Ramirez (19:45):

I want a picture of it, in front of it, with all of your coworkers.

Frankie (19:52):

Aye, New Era group. My mom wants a picture with everyone in front of the Aurelia.

Emilio (19:58):

Here. I'll take it, Ms. Ramirez.

Anna Ramirez (19:59):

No, I got it. This phone always falls to the bottom of my purse. Ah, I found it here. My passcode is 1, 3, 7, 8.

Emilio (20:10):

Ms. Ramirez, just get your retina scan. It's so much easier than punching in numbers. Wow. This thing is ancient. It still has a selfie button.

Frankie (20:23):

Don't get me started, Emilio.

Emilio (20:25):

Okay. Are we ready? On the count of three, everyone say cooperative. 1, 2, 3.

Everyone (20:36):

Cooperative.

Frankie (20:36):

Oh, I'm so glad you came by and got to meet everyone.

Anna Ramirez (20:44):

I'm really proud of you, Papa, and your coworkers are so nice. The Aurelia window is so beautiful. I'm ordering five of them.

Frankie (20:55):

We can't fit five windows in the apartment, Ma. Let me grab Brendan to tell him that you're leaving. Ma, what are you doing?

Anna Ramirez (21:04):

I'm grabbing a brochure for Paulina. I think she should apply for a job here. Emilio can put in a good word for her.

Frankie (21:13):

Oh, so now you like this place?

Anna Ramirez (21:15):

What? Everyone looks so happy and rested and so confident, like you own the place.

Frankie (21:24):

Because we do, Ma.

Makia Martin (21:36):

To end this episode, let's hear from our collaborators one last time. Jackie, what are things that you see in the world right now that show you we are starting to move towards there being more options available to all of us in how we work, like possibilities we see in this episode?

Jacqueline Pereda (21:56):

Yeah. I think people are, with the pandemic especially, working from home, people are thinking about how we work more. I know because of the pandemic, a lot of people don't want to go back to work or they rather quit, and I think because of the office culture. But if you build a culture like New Era, if you empower workers and if you give them a stake in the company and you empower them to want to work, they will want to come to work and they want to come to an office and grow a culture together. You see a lot of burnout, and a lot of the happiness in America, and a lot of that stems from their job, and not because people have to work, but they don't feel powered. We're a society that has the resources to empower its workers. I just think that's really important. I think New Era does a really good job of highlighting that.

Makia Martin (22:41):

Armando, what is one element of how New Era Windows Cooperative got to where it is today that people should know about?

Brandon (22:49):

One of the most important things is since 2008, we got a lot of support from the people because they start seeing workers fighting for their rights, being respected. In 2012, when the company closed again, we sent a petition on Change.org where we asked the community from around the world, if they could sign the petition, demanding the owner of the factory sell the company to the workers. One of the good things, it was... I remember it was 2012. It was July 4th when we signed the petition, and we sent the petition to the world by the internet. In less than 12 hours, we reached almost 75,000 signatures from around the whole world.

Brandon (23:39):

We presented to the owner of the factory and also the bank, who's been part of the project of the [cereal 00:23:48] materials. We forced the factory from [B 00:23:51], for the factory and the people from the bank that we been nobody. We turned to be the first potential buyers of the factory. That happened in July 4th, July 5th, around. By October 9th, we was moving our equipment from the original factory to south Chicago, and since that, we are running. We got almost eight years running the factory as owners and workers, and we still surviving.

Makia Martin (24:20):

Thanks for listening. I hope you enjoyed your trip into the future and can now see the light ahead a little more clearly. The Light Ahead is a production of Avalon Story and Beloved Economies. Based on six years of research in collaboration with over 100 groups across the U.S., the Beloved Economies campaign is sharing stories, practices, tools, and tips to expand imaginations of what is possible for our economy. Avalon Story is a center of practice based in Ketchum, Idaho, to help birth the future of story by investigating two questions. What does Story need to be to build us a bridge to more beautiful future? And what does the business of Story need to be to serve as a vehicle for the same? The Light Ahead is a Beloved Economies, an Avalon Story production, made in partnership with Frequency Media. I'm your host, Makia Martin. The Light Ahead was co-created by Jess Remington and Naomi McDougal Jones, who is also our show runner.

Makia Martin (25:32):

It is executive produced by Naomi McDougal Jones of Avalon Story, Joanna Saya and Jess Remington of Beloved Economies, Lila Yonto and Michelle Corey of Frequency Media. It is produced by Heidi Rudevose and Jordan Rizzieri, and co-produced by Lauren Ressler and Sonia Sarkar of Beloved Economies. The fictional portion of this episode was produced by Avalon Story, written by Jacqueline Pereda, based on conversations with and the ideas of Armando Robles of New Era Windows Cooperative, and directed by Garrett Press. Featuring performances by Garrett Press, Lina Sarrapochiello, Manny Urena, and Sawandi Wilson. Production coordinated by Marley Newman. Sound designed by Alan Lindsay. Sound mix by Rick Schunk. The non-fiction portion of this episode was produced by Frequency Media, with dialogue editing by Sydney Evans and mixing by Matthew Ernest-Filler. Our theme music was written and performed by Alicia Kay Hall, Jeffrey Archie, and B.I.G. Patty. This podcast is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and wherever podcasts are found.