Publications

The Democracy at Work Institute publishing program was created to develop practical resources, conduct research, and promote the thinking of cooperative developers and worker-owners. We will develop tools and resources to promote best practices for worker cooperatives, developers, and those interested in worker cooperatives as a tool for economic and community development. Our foundational research program will cover everything from a census of the number and type of worker cooperatives and cooperative development efforts, to research on access to capital for worker cooperatives. We will investigate barriers to cooperative development, and economic impacts of shared ownership. Our publications will also be a forum for cooperative developers and members to share their wisdom - and their opinions - about worker cooperative development and functioning. Topics are as broad as proposals for new anchor institution strategies and as specific as a thought piece on founders' credits and incentives for growth.

 

2017 Worker Cooperative State of the Sector Report

Author(s): 
Tim Palmer
Year: 
2018

Covering five years of business progress, the 2017 Worker Cooperative State of the Sector is a report on worker-owned business in the United States. This report is a co-production of Democracy at Work Institute and U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives, drawing upon the latest developments in the field, and deepens our understanding of the sector.

El Estado del Sector de Cooperativas de Trabajo de 2017

Author(s): 
Tim Palmer
Year: 
2018

Cubriendo cinco años del progreso empresarial, El Estado del Sector de Cooperativas de Trabajo de 2017 es un informe sobre las empresas que son propiedad de los trabajadores en los Estados Unidos. Este informe es una coproducción entre el Instituto de Democracia en el Trabajo y la Federación de Cooperativas de Trabajadores de los Estados Unidos, basándonos en los últimos desarrollos en el campo y profundizando nuestra comprensión del sector.

2016 Worker Cooperative State of the Sector Report

Author(s): 
Democracy at Work Institute
Year: 
2018

The 2016 State of the Sector report, a co-production of  the Democracy at Work Institute and U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives covers research on worker-owned enterprises through 2016.

Becoming Employee Owned: A Small Business Toolkit for Transitioning to Employee Ownership

Author(s): 
Democracy at Work Institute
Year: 
2018

Transitioning your small business to employee ownership can have positive impacts on employee engagement, productivity, and retention; anchor a lasting legacy for your efforts building the business; and offer a financially rewarding exit path that can be supported by experienced professional assistance.

Employee Ownership: A Triple Win Solution

Author(s): 
Democracy at Work Institute
Year: 
2018

We all have a stake in cultivating and preserving a vibrant small business community. Thriving small businesses promote job stability for local residents and anchor neighborhoods that help driving local economies.

Legacy Business: Our opportunity to build wealth, economy, and culture

Author(s): 
Democracy at Work Institute
Year: 
2017

Together with Citi Community Development, Democracy at Work Institute (DAWI) is collaborating with National Urban League and key local leaders to enable more people to share in business assets in their communities– not through creating new businesses, but through leveraging and preserving assets already invested in communities, specifically by promoting shared ownership of existing businesses.

Raising Our Future Together: How Cooperatives Can Create Better, More Affordable Child Care in NYC

Author(s): 
Anh-Thu Nguyen, Tim Palmer, Osman Ahmed
Year: 
2017

The development of worker cooperative child care providers, from centers to in-home providers to nannies, should be included as part of a long-term strategy to address affordable childcare in New York City. This report, co-authored by DAWI and FPWA, spells out key recommendations that the Mayor’s office and City Council could implement to increase access to child care while increasing the quality of child care jobs.

2017 Workers to Owners Annual Impact Report

Author(s): 
Democracy at Work Institute
Year: 
2017

The Workers to Owners 2017 Annual Impact Report, produced by the Democracy at Work Institute, introduces the Workers to Owners Collaborative catalyzing a wave of business conversions to employee ownership at a moment of generational opportunity.  Led by a core practitioners group and convening the business, cooperative, community development, finance, and nonprofit sectors, the Collaborative advances worker cooperative conversions as a strategy for good jobs and equitable economic development.

2015 State of the Sector Report

Author(s): 
Democracy at Work Institute
Year: 
2017

The latest State of the Sector report by the Democracy at Work Institute and U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives covers research on worker-owned enterprises through 2015. Three years into surveying worker cooperatives on a national scale, we are positioned to analyze stability and change—demographically, and in terms of business performance, wages, and benefits.

Taking Employee Ownership To Scale

Author(s): 
Camille Kerr, Marjorie Kelly, Jessica Bonanno
Year: 
2016

On June 13 and 14 in Washington, DC, many of the nation’s leading experts in employee ownership, sustainable business and finance, community and economic development, and philanthropy came together in a Learning + Design session. Co-hosts for the meeting were Marjorie Kelly and Jessica Bonanno of The Democracy Collaborative and Camille Kerr of Democracy at Work Institute. The purpose of the session was to discuss how to achieve unprecedented scale of employee ownership by focusing on achieving an audacious goal: 50 million U.S. employee-owners by 2050. If achieved, it would make the U.S.