Anti-Oppression

PDF of RESOURCES FOR SUPPORT in Olympia, updated July 2019

Because oppression exists in our society, the Olympia Food Co-op is dedicated to working with anti-oppression practices throughout our organization. From hiring to product selection, conflict resolution to ongoing staff training, our goal is to bring an awareness of systems of oppression and a commitment to working towards ending them to all that we do. Read on for some examples of the way this work is woven into our practices at the Co-op (Titles in bold indicate document names).

Olympia Food Co-op Accountability Creation Document
Consensus is the belief that majority is not always right, and in order to hold this value we have to understand how majorities happen, how marginalization happens, and the things that encourage some to speak and limit others.

Anti-Oppression Committee Workplan
We value the struggle and discomfort that anti-oppression work creates. We value self-awareness and the progress that can be achieved with this subject when done on a self-determined basis. We value the importance of empowerment and anti-oppression work in achieving true consensus.

Staff Vision and Values
We embrace our work against oppression within ourselves, our collective, and our world.

Hiring Handbook
One of the ways the Co-op participates in restoring justice is by implementing hiring practices which resist bias and put social justice into practice. Through this practice we will strive to maintain a collective make-up of staff which includes people from groups that are historically and currently identified as targets of genocide and oppression. The hiring process will incorporate procedures and practices that attempt to remove barriers to classes of people who are oppressed or are denied power and privilege in society generally. These classes of people include (but may not be limited to) people who are discriminated against based on race, sex, religious creed, age, disability, size, sexual orientation, gender orientation, marital status, and economic status or history.

Packaging Guidelines
The Co-op will not carry products whose retail packaging is deemed exploitive or oppressive. Such determination may be made by the department manager, the merchandising team, or the staff as a whole.

For further research into anti-oppression:

AORTA Collective
Beyond Inclusion, Beyond Empowerment, by Leticia Nieto
Part 1  &  Part 2  &  Part 3
Shira Hassan