<
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2021/09/worker-co-ops-photos-labor-democracy-communitarian-no-boss/>
"At worker cooperatives, workers both own and run the business. Sometimes they
must buy in to become owners, and they may also have representation on a board
of directors. Worker-owners tend to benefit far more directly from their
co-op’s economic success, as the proceeds and the control stay with them. While
co-ops make up a small portion of US small businesses, the pandemic and its
aftermath have helped popularize the model. According to Mo Manklang, policy
director of the nonprofit US Federation of Worker Cooperatives, there are now
465 verified worker-owned co-ops in the country, up 36 percent since 2013. And
about 450 more are in their start-up phase.
Given today’s epic income inequality and tremendous corporate consolidation and
union-busting—with the work that is actually available increasingly unstable
and episodic—it’s no wonder that the people are drawn to a model that gives
them back some power. The interest in co-ops marks a return to what Emily
Kawano, the co-director of the co-op development organization Wellspring
Cooperative Corporation, calls making a “livelihood” rather than just earning a
paycheck."
Via
Reasons to be Cheerful:
<
https://reasonstobecheerful.world/co-op-businesses-worker-power-pandemic/>
Share and enjoy,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
