University Honors

This paper examines worker-ownersí experiences with and perspectives on worker cooperatives in California. A worker cooperative is a business model where the workers within the business also collectively own and operate it. Lacking a traditional business owner, worker-owners usually practice a form of workplace democracy, whereby workers elect management or hold votes via direct democracy to make business decisions. Prior research on worker cooperatives focuses mainly on examples found outside of the United States or in previous decades. This paper compares worker-ownersí experiences in California to those found in traditional businesses in terms of individual structures, day-to-day operations, economic performance, workersí beliefs and perspectives, and interactions with other groups. My research is based on in-depth interviews with worker-owners and experts on worker cooperatives in California. The workers interviewed greatly prefer worker-owned cooperatives over traditional businesses because they allow a greater sense of ownership and control over their labor and day-to-day operations. Interviewees claim that the agency and power they are given within cooperatives helps to also make them more efficient at work. In comparison to their previous employment experiences, interviewees feel a greater sense of respect and dignity in the workplace in worker cooperatives. Worker-owners also emphasize that they experience a greater connection with their communities and the wider labor movement within cooperatives compared to more traditional businesses. Overall, my findings suggest that the worker cooperative model has great potential in terms of both personal and economic empowerment of worker-owners by giving them direct control of their labor, personal lives, and futures.