A worker-owned co-op is a business owned and controlled by its workers. Worker cooperatives are values-driven businesses that put worker and community benefit at the core of their purpose. In contrast to traditional companies, worker members at worker cooperatives participate in the profits, oversight, and often management of the enterprise using democratic practices.
Just some of the reasons that Co-op Cincy, a co-op developer, has identified for bringing unions and cooperatives together:
- Helps co-ops scale with their values intact
- Collective bargaining leads to clear expectations, clear human resource policies
- Balance out the democratic work environment
- Access to improved and affordable benefits
- Direct connection to a movement of workers in the same industry pushing for working conditions industry-wide.
- Connects the co-op to a platform for acting in solidarity with other workers.
- Policy advocacy opportunities
Find resources below to learn more about union, worker-owned cooperatives as a strategy for building worker power.