Worker Cooperative Case Studies
Worker co-ops are owned by their employees.
There are roughly 300 of them in business today, providing everything
from home health care to taxi service. As with other types of co-ops,
worker co-ops add significantly to the economies of their communities
both employment and payrolls. They are also involved in their communities
in other ways, contributing to charities and working to better the
environment. Here are just some of the things they are doing.
Caring for the Community
Collective Copies, Amherst,
Massachusetts. Community reinvestment has been a policy at this
printing and duplicating co-op since its founding in 1983. Ten percent
of its pre-tax profits are donated to student groups, community
organizations and individuals. The contributions go to causes including
labor and human rights, the environment, child development and homelessness.
A bulletin board at one of the co-op’s two locations is dedicated
to non-violent action for peace.
Cooperative Home Care Associates,
Bronx, New York. When this co-op was launched in 1985, the goal
was not simply to provide employment for its worker-members. The
co-op intended to offer a model for how the entire home health care
industry could be improved. It has continued to pursue this goal,
creating a non-profit home health care training organization called
the Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute. As both the co-op and
the training organization continue to expand, more low-income home
care providers are finding quality jobs.
Citybikes Worker Owned Cooperative,
Portland, Oregon. The co-op makes contributions to bicycle advocacy
groups, progressive media, local schools and others from a social
investment fund made up of approximately 10 percent of net yearly
profits. A committee meets once a month to decide how to distribute
the funds. Citybikes has also worked closely with the Building Convergence
project to promote environmentally preferred building materials.
Every Thursday morning, the co-op also allows a health clinic to
use the store’s parking lot and back room to serve day laborers
and other low-income neighborhood people.
Rainbow Grocery, San Francisco,
California. The co-op hosts community-oriented special events, contributes
to community groups, and maintains a commitment to environmental
awareness as part of its mission. Last year, more than 80 community
groups received contributions from the co-op, including a community
economic development organization serving a low-income area near
the store, and WAGES, or Women’s Action to Gain Economic Security,
a non-profit organization that develops worker-owned residential
cleaning services for immigrants. The co-op’s environmental
mission is partially fulfilled through an extensive in-store recycling
program and an ecological education program for workers and customers.
The co-op also made a significant investment in energy-efficient
lighting for the store.
Equal Exchange, Canton, Massachusetts.
The co-op has developed its Interfaith Coffee Program to connect
religious organizations with poor farmers in the developing world.
Under partnerships established with churches, fair trade coffee
is sold to numerous congregations. Fair trade coffee guarantees
that farmers receive an income adequate to feed their families and
allow their children to go to school rather than work the fields.
Community Pharmacy, Madison,
Wisconsin. Within its mission of providing comprehensive health
care options, Community Pharmacy organizes public workshops on pharmaceutical
and alternative health subjects. The co-op’s Outreach Team
promotes consumer education in the Madison area while a community
donation program supports local agencies that promote health. Community
Pharmacy also publishes pamphlets and a bi-monthly newsletter.
Union Cab, Madison, Wisconsin.
The co-op offers taxi service to people in wheelchairs at no additional
cost in the evening and on weekends, when few special transportation
services are available. The co-op bears the additional expense for
the special vehicles at a loss to make sure people in wheelchairs
are not stranded.
Caring for the Environment
Red Sun Press, Boston, Massachusetts.
The co-op is a recognized leader in the printing industry for its
use of environmentally preferred products. It uses paper with a
high post-consumer waste content, tree-free alternatives, and vegetable-based
inks. Red Sun recently received the Massachusetts “Buy Recycled
and Environmentally Preferred Products” Business Award for
its pioneering role in promoting recycled paper for printing. The
co-op also has a donation program that supports community and grassroots
organizations.
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