WORKER OWNED CO-OPS

Worker cooperatives vary in ownership and governance but an overriding principle is that the workers in the enterprise have a significant input into decision making and the economic gain. The number of worker cooperatives in the United States grew more than 30 percent since 2019, an astonishing figure when you consider the obstacles to new businesses during the pandemic.

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    Through its bi-annual economic census completed in 2021, the Democracy at Work Institute (DAWI) verified 612 worker cooperatives employing 5,966 workers.


    In 2019, DAWI identified 465 worker co-ops employing 6,454 workers. The worker co-ops verified in the census must have at least three workers and 50 percent ownership of the business. DAWI estimates that there are closer to 1,000 worker co-ops operating in the U.S., with 10,000 workers.


    Perhaps the most extensive network of worker cooperatives is centered in Mondragon, the Basque region of Spain. It is the seventh-largest Spanish company in terms of asset turnover. At the end of 2016, it employed 74,117 people in 257 companies and organizations in four areas of activity: finance, industry, retail and knowledge. By 2019, 81,507 people were employed.


    Mondragon cooperatives operate in accordance with the Statement on the Co-operative Identity maintained by the International Co-operative Alliance.

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Welcome to the Worker Owned Co-ops Activity category

Welcome to the Worker Owned Co-ops category

May 15, 2023
Worker cooperatives vary in ownership and governance but an overriding principle is that the workers in the enterprise have a significant input into decision making and the economic gain. The number of worker cooperatives in the United States grew more than 30 percent since 2019, an astonishing figure when you consider the obstacles to new businesses during the pandemic. Read more