The Cleaning Co-op

The British Columbia Co-operative Association calls The Cleaning Co-op “a fresh alternative offering ethical and professional cleaning services.”

It also describes The Vancouver Empowerment Cleaning Co-op (the Association) as a worker co-op that aims:

• To disrupt the cleaning industry through providing high quality professional cleaning
  services, fair income distribution, and ethical employment,
• To be a leader in creating an equitable, profitable and sustainable worker co-operative that respects the voices, rights and responsibilities of all members, customers and communities,
• To serve as a platform for individuals, particularly racialized individuals, to receive training and opportunity for employment, while paying living wages and investing in building our team’s confidence through knowledge and empowerment
• To empower women, and adhere to a higher ethical standard, and
• To be a platform that allows racialized women to take control of their lives through our connections, resources, and non-exploitative employment

Hayley Postlethwaite is one of the co-op’s founders along with Paulina Mendoza and Lulu Hernandez. She shares how the three of them collaborated to bring their vision to life and who provided support along the way. Have a listen.