Economic Impact

Economic Impact

State of the Sector Report 2023 Cover

2023 Worker Cooperative State of the Sector Report

Author(s) : Democracy at Work Institute and United States Federation of Worker Cooperatives

Covering two years of business progress, the 2021 Worker Cooperative State of the Sector is a report on worker-owned and democratic workplaces in the United States. This report is a co-production of Democracy at Work Institute and the US Federation of Worker Cooperatives. The report draws upon the latest developments in the field and deepens our understanding of the sector.

Seeding Equity Report Cover

Seeding Equity: A New Community-Based Model of Public Investment in Worker Cooperatives for Excluded Workers

In 2021, California launched Social Entrepreneurs for Economic Development (SEED), an innovative grant program fostering high-road business ownership opportunities for excluded workers (individuals who cannot access stable, gainful employment relationships and whose economic opportunities are severely constrained due to their immigration status or other significant barriers to employment).

How Economic Democracy Impacts Workers, Firms, and Communities

Author(s) : Laura Hanson Schlachter, Olga Prushinskaya
Year :
 

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.

Working With Small Business Cooperatives: A Guide for Public Sector, Private Sector, and Nonprofit Allies

Author(s) : Margaret Lund
Year :
 
SPACING
 
Produced for public sector, private sector, and nonprofit allies of worker cooperatives, Working With Small Business Cooperatives is a guide for the use of worker cooperatives as a proven model for equitable economic development. The resource provides in-depth answers to foundational questions of starting and operating a small business cooperative, making connections to the benefits of cooperative business in regards to economic development.

Preliminary Census of Worker Cooperatives in the United States

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

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.