If your non-profit is working to address racial and economic disparities in Madison, we want to talk with you about developing worker cooperatives. Businesses that are worker-owned and operated are a powerful tool to address poverty and serve the needs of your constituency, for a number of reasons.
Worker co-ops pay above-median salaries in any given sector, because the workers decide their own pay democratically. Worker co-op jobs are also stable. The owners aren’t going to leave the community in search of a cheaper labor force, because the owners are the labor force. Next, worker co-ops are transparent and do not commit wage theft or otherwise cheat or abuse the workers. Worker co-ops can have flexible scheduling policies but strict health and safety standards. And finally, worker co-ops behave responsibly towards the larger community, because they are grounded in the community.
Co-ops can be created from scratch, or an existing business can convert to a co-op through a buyout. Please contact us to discuss any of this in greater detail. Then consider integrating co-op education and development into your existing programming. You do not need any prior experience. We can help in any or all of the following ways…
- We can train and support your staff to assist co-op start-ups.
- We can help you do community organizing and outreach to identify potential new co-ops or convert existing businesses to co-ops.
- We will provide targeted workshops for your community, or support workshops you already present.
- You can sign up for our newsletter to get updates about our educational events, which you can attend or suggest to potential worker-owners in your community.
You can learn more about the nonprofits that have received funding from MCDC on our Allies page.
And if you’re not sure what kinds of businesses could be run as a co-op, check out the co-ops that have already launched and our ideas page. For even more possibilities, see becomingemployeeowned.org.
English 
Español de México