Worker-Owned Cooperatives

A worker-owned cooperative or “worker co-op” is a business owned and managed democratically by the workers.



A worker co-op can be formed as a start-up in which the founders establish a shared ownership structure among worker-owners and a pathway to ownership for future employees, or as a conversion in which a conventional business converts to employee ownership through a partial or outright sale to the workers.

Ownership: A worker becomes a worker-owner by buying a membership stake. A membership stake can be purchased after a worker has been employed at the co-op for a certain amount of time determined by the co-op’s by-laws (usually 6-months to a year) and is invited in by the existing worker-owners. The buy-in tends to be around $2,000 and can either be paid upfront, or can be paid in increments over time.

Management: Worker co-ops are democratic workplaces governed either by a board elected by the members, or through a directly democratic assembly of worker-owner members. While the day-to-day tasks of running the co-op are delegated to relevant departments and don’t require democratic oversight, bigger decisions such as hiring and firing, revising company policy, and appointing managers involves the democratic participation from membership.