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.

 

Creating Better Jobs and a Fairer Economy with Worker Cooperatives

Author(s): 
Democracy at Work Institute
Year: 
2014

Worker cooperatives are a powerful tool for economic and community development. This resource describes their role in creating a more just economy. It provides an overview of the benefits of the cooperative form, with examples of existing cooperatives and quotes from worker-owners. The resource also describes current initiatives to develop cooperatives by nonprofits, as well as government initiatives to spur the growth of the sector. 

Choosing a Business Entity: A Guide for Worker Cooperatives

Author(s): 
Camille Kerr
Year: 
2014

When forming, worker cooperatives have an important choice to make regarding their legal entity. Each entity type has implications on important issues including taxation, employment law, and access to capital. This resource is intended to give a brief overview of the entity types and lay out the issues worker cooperatives may want to consider when choosing which is the best fit for the business at whatever stage it is currently in.

Preliminary Census of Worker Cooperatives in the United States

Author(s): 
Melissa Hoover, with support from Logan Harris and Amy Johnson
Year: 
2012

The purpose of this study is to get as current and accurate a count as possible of the worker cooperatives and democratic workplaces in the United States. Some previous counts were done in the 2000s, and most recently the University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives' study of the economic impact of cooperatives included worker cooperatives. But there were issues with all of these studies, and moreover none of them gathered data on longevity.