The Importance of Doing Business
Differently with Worker Cooperatives
Building an Economy
that Works for All
“A cooperative is an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and/or cultural needs and/ or aspirations through a jointly-owned and democratically-controlled enterprise.”
- According to the International
Cooperative Alliance’s definition
Fact #1
Cooperatives are principles-based businesses with a multiple bottom line:
people, planet, profit, community.
More specific, worker co-ops are businesses democratically-owned and -controlled by the people who work there. The members benefit equitably. Employee-owned cooperative enterprises can help create an economy for all by creating good jobs, building community wealth, and bringing democracy to the workplace.
Two pine trees make up the logo adopted in 1922 by the Cooperative League of the USA. It is used around the world, but is not well known in the US.
Historically cooperatives (or co-ops for short) have been founded in greater numbers as a reaction to economic downturns and crises. Currently, we are experiencing many disruptions: the COVID pandemic, climate change, racial injustices. The Impact of these disruptions have made evident the cracks and fissures of our crumbling economic system, capitalism, in a deep crisis of growing inequality, low-wage jobs, skyrocketing rents and housing prices, and a growing racial wealth gap.
Worker co-ops are a counter force as they anchor production and services to community needs, save livelihoods and jobs, and build wealth for individuals and the community.
Fact #2
According to the US Federation of Worker Co-ops’ 2019 survey, the majority of worker co-ops are owned by POC & Women
RACE
The racial demographics of workers owners continue to show a majority of people of color, with a concentration of Latinx Workers.
GENDER
People identifying as female continue to make up the majority of the workforce at worker cooperatives.
(Graphs from US Federation of Worker Cooperatives “State of Sector report”)
Fact #3
Worker Co-ops Bring Many Benefits to Workers & the Community
Benefits of a Worker-Owned Cooperative:
Control over the way their work is organized, performed, and managed
Employment security
Financial and ownership stake in the business in which they work
Opportunity to practice democracy in the workplace
Community benefits are increased local spending and social benefits, increased voting levels
Understanding Worker Cooperatives
In December of 2019 SEC4CD invited community members to a conference on worker cooperatives at TSU, a local HBCU. Co-op development experts from across the US gave presentations. The following videos collect the shared voices of these speakers who were interviewed before the conference.
(Interviews and recording by Quentin Cox, video editing by Sam Morehead)
A. What are cooperatives? What are the different types of co-ops?
B. What are the benefits and challenges of worker cooperatives?
C. What are the steps to starting a worker cooperative?
hear from worker owners
as they talk about faith community support
for worker cooperatives:
Stephanie Frame & Walter Sawyers
3rd Eye Trucking Cooperative
Resources
We believe that worker cooperatives can be an approach to build power for economic structural change for churches and for the community at large.
Join us in exploring this concept by diving deeper into the resources we have collected below.
