UC Davis

The worker-owned cooperative business model is one that can take many forms, but across all forms there is an embedded democratic component. This research seeks to better understand the implications of democratic participation in the worker co-op model, including how it shapes participants’ perspectives on their work and their role within the workplace, their own sense of agency and empowerment, and their inclination toward civic engagement in their communities. Literature suggests that worker cooperatives offer more empowering opportunities in the workplace and help create workers who are more civically active, but that the democratic process may over time become more symbolic than authentic and can still be subject to imbalances of power, which may decrease its influence on an individual's sense of agency. This study attempts to confirm these findings within the specific geographic context of Northern California. It does so through a survey that asks questions pertaining to the participants’ backgrounds, cooperative workplace experiences, and perspectives on voting in the workplace, in addition to follow up interviews that explore these topics in more depth. The data reflects a few major themes including improved opportunities for and understanding of discourse in the decision-making process, feelings of empowerment and agency, and active participation in the cooperative movement which includes support for fellow cooperatives and community-focused decision-making. These themes reflect important elements that are fostered in the cooperative workplace which may be drawn upon to foster stronger, more equitable communities.