Publications

The Democracy at Work Institute and the National League of Cities have developed The Municipal Playbook for Employee Ownership to assist with integrating employee ownership into municipal economic and workforce development strategies. It offers three approaches that address specific pain points faced by many municipalities:

How Economic Democracy Impacts Workers, Firms, and Communities  presents findings from a national survey of 1,147 workers in 82 worker cooperatives and follow-up interviews with 15 participants—the first national survey of its kind. This novel data, collected in 2017, allows us to explore the impact of workplace democracy on individuals, firms, and communities across the United States. It also provides important opportunities for future research about how worker cooperatives can promote resilience and racial equity in this moment.

Democratic Management: A Practical Guide for Managers and Others  is a best-of collection of democratic practices used by worker cooperative managers and taught by some of the leading consultants to democratic companies. The guide has been created to fill the void of materials available that take readers beyond the start-up or transition phase of democratic business operation to what actually needs to be done to ensure workplace democracy takes hold.