A worker cooperative is a business that is owned and self managed by the people who work in it, typically through a structure where every worker owner takes part in decision making democratically or elects the management by a one member one vote system. Worker cooperatives emerged during the Industrial Revolution as part of the labour movement's response to industrial capitalism, and early groups such as the Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers established principles that still guide cooperative management today. Compared with conventional, investor owned businesses, worker cooperatives tend to have greater longevity, trust among their members and job satisfaction, though they also tend to be somewhat less competitive and profitable, with productivity research showing mixed results depending on location and industry; in general they show more volatility in wages but less wage inequality, and employment in them tends to be more stable than in conventional firms. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Core MechanismA worker cooperative operates by vesting ownership and control in the people who work in it, so that worker-owners either participate directly in decisions or elect the management, typically on a one worker, one vote basis regardless of any difference in capital contributed, and profits are distributed to worker-owners according to their labor or patronage rather than to outside shareholders. 1 Sources
1. Wikipedia, Worker Cooperative
History section, on the first English worker cooperative in 1760
worker cooperatives were originally sparked by "critical reaction to industrial capitalism and the excesses of the industrial revolution", with the first worker-owned and managed firm appearing in England in 1760.
Lead paragraph, on worker ownership and one vote control
A worker cooperative is a cooperative owned and self-managed by its workers. The meaning of this control varies by definition; it may mean a firm where every worker-owner participates in decision-making in a democratic manner, or it may refer to one in which management is elected by every worker-owner, each of whom has one vote.
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