Portside

A former shipfitter at the Fore River Shipyard in Quincy and a longtime labor union activist, Mr. Richardson cofounded Military Families Speak Out, an organization that mushroomed to include more than 4,000 families, along with chapters in 18 states. Mr. Richardson, who directed the Labor Extension Program at the University of Massachusetts Lowell and trained union leaders around the world, died May 4 in his Jamaica Plain home. He was 60.

A cooperative model places union members firmly in the role of being innovators. It allows the labor movement not only to promote a positive vision of members realizing their best selves in the workplace, but also to provide the skills that will enable people to do that.