Worker-owned collectives are a specific type of worker cooperatives, which are business entities that are owned and controlled by their members, the people who work in them. The two central characteristics of worker cooperatives are: (1) workers invest in and own the business and (2) decision-making is democratic, generally adhering to the principle of one worker-one vote. Worker-owned collectives in particular use consensus decision making practices to manage the company. The international worker cooperative federation CICOPA established some basic standards for worker cooperatives in the World Declaration on Cooperative Worker Ownership (also known as the Oslo Declaration) at a meeting in Oslo, Norway in 2003.
Why be part of a worker-owned collective?
In a worker-owned collective, workers own their jobs, and thus have not only a direct stake in the local environment but the power to decide to do business in a way that is sustainable for us all. The worker-ownership movement is increasingly recognized as part of the larger movement for sustainability. Worker-owned collectives tend to create long-term stable jobs, sustainable business practices, and linkages among different parts of the social economy.
In addition to providing meaningful jobs and asset-building opportunities for workers of all income levels, worker-owned collectives can play an important role in building movements for economic justice and social change: as institutions where real democracy is practiced on a day to day basis, they are a model for the empowerment we will need to create the change we envision.
Who’s the manager in a collective?
A collective doesn’t really have a ‘boss’ — it runs counter to the collective philosophy. In some collectives, there may be a member whose task it is to act as office manager, another who does bookkeeping, another who purchases inventory…each of which in a traditional business might be regarded as a managerial position but, in a collective, these tasks are usually distributed among numerous members, based on skill and inclination and in such a way as to avoid a power imbalance.
How does anything get done if there’s no boss?
Don’t you find that you pretty much already know your own job? Most people, when they go to work, have a pretty good idea what needs to be done and how to proceed without being told. The day-to-day stuff is easy because we are all experienced and know our jobs. Each collective has its own approach, but when making decisions that affect the business, consensus is always key. For major decisions, like services to offer, pricing, major equipment purchases, we involve all the members. Yes, we may defer to the recommendations of individual members with special expertise, or committees tasked with researching the question, but we have equal say in determining the outcome.
How do you decide what to pay yourselves?
We’re the owners as well as the workers; while this presents sometimes competing instincts, our decisions are ultimately based on what we’d like, what’s fair, and what’s good and reasonable for the business. One of the incentives to be responsible in this area is the year-end distribution of profit shares; if spending has been high, we have little to distribute at year’s end. If investment in the business has been too low, profits will diminish over time. We have a long view.
Who pays the bills?
Again, each collective will approach this in their own way. In our case, in addition to our usual daily work, each of us takes on administrative tasks on the basis of skill or inclination. We break down the administrative areas as follows: Accounts payable, accounts receivable, financial, sales, marketing/promotion, accounts development, payroll/vacation, new technology research.
How does hiring and firing work?
There’s no special trick to getting hired at a collective. When we hire, we naturally look for the usual qualifications (related work experience) but we’re also looking for the qualities we’ll need in an owner — intelligence, initiative, imagination, and a good fit with the personality and culture of the collective itself. A new hire begins with a period of apprenticeship. During this time, as a non-member, s/he may not vote, but as a worker, does earn a share of the profits. After successfully completing the apprenticeship, the new hire is offered membership. Our job security is pretty high — In keeping with our statement of purpose, firing is regulated by a system of checks and balances, formal reprimands and a probationary period — no one member has the power to unilaterally dismiss another.
But don’t you have to buy-in to get hired?
When an apprentice is offered membership, s/he is expected to buy in. The buy-in amount is deducted from their paycheck one small increment at a time (it’s refunded when a member leaves the collective). This way, the collective only has to worry about hiring the best people — not just the ‘best-people-who-happen-to-have-the-money-to-invest’ — and no qualified applicant gets sent away because of a stupid financial barrier.
So what happens when you leave?
Nope. We’re worker-owned, which means only those actively working here can be owners and we all know this when we sign on. A departing member is reimbursed the buy-in amount and is paid her/his usual share of the profits for the part of the year s/he worked.
About Worker-Owned Collectives
Worker-owned collectives are a specific type of worker cooperatives, which are business entities that are owned and controlled by their members, the people who work in them. The two central characteristics of worker cooperatives are: (1) workers invest in and own the business and (2) decision-making is democratic, generally adhering to the principle of one worker-one vote. Worker-owned collectives in particular use consensus decision making practices to manage the company. The international worker cooperative federation CICOPA established some basic standards for worker cooperatives in the World Declaration on Cooperative Worker Ownership (also known as the Oslo Declaration) at a meeting in Oslo, Norway in 2003.
Why be part of a worker-owned collective?
In a worker-owned collective, workers own their jobs, and thus have not only a direct stake in the local environment but the power to decide to do business in a way that is sustainable for us all. The worker-ownership movement is increasingly recognized as part of the larger movement for sustainability. Worker-owned collectives tend to create long-term stable jobs, sustainable business practices, and linkages among different parts of the social economy.
In addition to providing meaningful jobs and asset-building opportunities for workers of all income levels, worker-owned collectives can play an important role in building movements for economic justice and social change: as institutions where real democracy is practiced on a day to day basis, they are a model for the empowerment we will need to create the change we envision.
Who’s the manager in a collective?
A collective doesn’t really have a ‘boss’ — it runs counter to the collective philosophy. In some collectives, there may be a member whose task it is to act as office manager, another who does bookkeeping, another who purchases inventory…each of which in a traditional business might be regarded as a managerial position but, in a collective, these tasks are usually distributed among numerous members, based on skill and inclination and in such a way as to avoid a power imbalance.
How does anything get done if there’s no boss?
Don’t you find that you pretty much already know your own job? Most people, when they go to work, have a pretty good idea what needs to be done and how to proceed without being told. The day-to-day stuff is easy because we are all experienced and know our jobs. Each collective has its own approach, but when making decisions that affect the business, consensus is always key. For major decisions, like services to offer, pricing, major equipment purchases, we involve all the members. Yes, we may defer to the recommendations of individual members with special expertise, or committees tasked with researching the question, but we have equal say in determining the outcome.
How do you decide what to pay yourselves?
We’re the owners as well as the workers; while this presents sometimes competing instincts, our decisions are ultimately based on what we’d like, what’s fair, and what’s good and reasonable for the business. One of the incentives to be responsible in this area is the year-end distribution of profit shares; if spending has been high, we have little to distribute at year’s end. If investment in the business has been too low, profits will diminish over time. We have a long view.
Who pays the bills?
Again, each collective will approach this in their own way. In our case, in addition to our usual daily work, each of us takes on administrative tasks on the basis of skill or inclination. We break down the administrative areas as follows: Accounts payable, accounts receivable, financial, sales, marketing/promotion, accounts development, payroll/vacation, new technology research.
How does hiring and firing work?
There’s no special trick to getting hired at a collective. When we hire, we naturally look for the usual qualifications (related work experience) but we’re also looking for the qualities we’ll need in an owner — intelligence, initiative, imagination, and a good fit with the personality and culture of the collective itself. A new hire begins with a period of apprenticeship. During this time, as a non-member, s/he may not vote, but as a worker, does earn a share of the profits. After successfully completing the apprenticeship, the new hire is offered membership. Our job security is pretty high — In keeping with our statement of purpose, firing is regulated by a system of checks and balances, formal reprimands and a probationary period — no one member has the power to unilaterally dismiss another.
But don’t you have to buy-in to get hired?
When an apprentice is offered membership, s/he is expected to buy in. The buy-in amount is deducted from their paycheck one small increment at a time (it’s refunded when a member leaves the collective). This way, the collective only has to worry about hiring the best people — not just the ‘best-people-who-happen-to-have-the-money-to-invest’ — and no qualified applicant gets sent away because of a stupid financial barrier.
So what happens when you leave?
Nope. We’re worker-owned, which means only those actively working here can be owners and we all know this when we sign on. A departing member is reimbursed the buy-in amount and is paid her/his usual share of the profits for the part of the year s/he worked.