I think this might just be a US thing. Worker co-ops employ tens of millions of people (probably more than a 100 million, though it’s hard to count) and they’re dirt common in countries like France and Italy. I haven’t looked into why the US is so resistant to co-ops but if I had to hazard a guess I’d say it’s probably a more hostile legal environment (plus half a century of anti-socialism/collectivization & pro-capitalism/privatization propaganda). There’s also an element of self-reinforcement. Capitalist firms do better when there are more capitalist firms around, co-ops do better with more co-ops around.
This legal-loophole-story is also news to me (probably also a US thing?), though I am familiar with a similar dynamic. From what I read coops do tend to include new workers into the fold, but they don’t do this with contract workers. This would mean co-ops are an excellent way to improve upon traditional firms, but not a way to get rid of this new gig-economy. In any case, giving some workers a say is still an improvement over the status-quo.
I think this might just be a US thing. Worker co-ops employ tens of millions of people (probably more than a 100 million, though it’s hard to count) and they’re dirt common in countries like France and Italy.
I haven’t looked into why the US is so resistant to co-ops but if I had to hazard a guess I’d say it’s probably a more hostile legal environment (plus half a century of anti-socialism/collectivization & pro-capitalism/privatization propaganda).
There’s also an element of self-reinforcement. Capitalist firms do better when there are more capitalist firms around, co-ops do better with more co-ops around.
This legal-loophole-story is also news to me (probably also a US thing?), though I am familiar with a similar dynamic. From what I read coops do tend to include new workers into the fold, but they don’t do this with contract workers. This would mean co-ops are an excellent way to improve upon traditional firms, but not a way to get rid of this new gig-economy. In any case, giving some workers a say is still an improvement over the status-quo.