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The Cooperative Economy
@cooperatives.bsky.social
Advocating for a democratic, equitable, and inclusive world through cooperatives, worker ownership, unions, mutual aid, and workplace democracy. 💜

People Above Profit ✊🏽 #EconomicDemocracy 🌲🌲

usworker.coop | ncbaclusa.coop | workers.coop | ica.coop
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In a world where exploitative billionaires and corporate interests seek to increase their authority over us, it is now more important than ever to support our community and worker-owned businesses, to build solidarity and support networks so that everyone can live fine and free.

go.bsky.app/UsAcPoV
Worker ownership is proven to create far more equitable pay ratios. The average for worker-owned cooperatives in the United States is 2-to-1.

Unfortunately, it seems like almost no one really brings this up as the alternative. That is why we must continue to talk about it so that awareness expands.
Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol made $95.8 million in 2024.

The median barista made just $14,674.

That's a 6,666-to-1 CEO-to-worker pay ratio.

The largest of all S&P 500 companies.

Every single worker should walk out.

Americans deserve a livable wage. Enough!
November 7, 2025 at 10:01 PM
𝘐𝘯 2024, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘱 10% 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘭𝘺 66% 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘰𝘮 50% 𝘩𝘢𝘥 2.5%.

𝘚𝘰, 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺? 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘭.
9 Advantages of the Cooperative Business Model | NCBA CLUS
We look at the purpose of a cooperative, how ownerships and control work within co-ops, and their advantages. To learn more, contact us!
ncbaclusa.coop
November 6, 2025 at 10:32 PM
Cooperatives are gaining momentum as communities realize their potential for economic empowerment.

The long-established Blue Heron Bakery in Washington recently transitioned into a community-owned cooperative. Since converting, the business added nearly 25% more jobs and increased its sales by 36%.
Momentum Builds: Cities Declare 2025 The Year Of Co-Ops – U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives
www.usworker.coop
November 3, 2025 at 10:16 PM
Thank you to the Fort Collins Food Co-op in Colorado for offering support to those affected by the SNAP outage. The co-op is accepting monetary and food donations to provide for those in need.

www.instagram.com/fortcollinsf...
October 31, 2025 at 8:30 PM
10,000+ social co-ops in Italy provide democratized care to children, the poor, and the disabled/elderly. Both care workers and care recipients participate in decision-making and shape the services provided.

A better kind of care is possible. One that is democratic and places people above profit.
Ownership Matters
Web site created using create-react-app
ownershipmatters.net
October 28, 2025 at 7:49 PM
Myth: Worker ownership is unstable and inefficient.

Reality: Worker-owned businesses outperform traditional companies.

employeeownership.co.uk/Site/Site/co...
October 23, 2025 at 9:46 PM
Economic democracy provides the foundation for a more equitable distribution of wealth. This directly safeguards political democracy by limiting the power of concentrated wealth.

Worker cooperatives, as one expression of economic democracy, actively support a more equitable and democratic world.
October 18, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Reposted by The Cooperative Economy
We may be D.C.’s first worker-led nonprofit newsroom. But we’re part of a larger system of cooperative organizations working to build a better world.

Last week, one of our co-founders spoke at a gathering of these businesses, from credit unions to neighborhood grocers.

What she's bringing back:
This moment isn’t normal, but here’s our glimmer of hope
Lessons from a cooperative businesses conference, and being a part of a larger movement
51st.news
October 16, 2025 at 8:33 PM
How would your life change if you made $8,241 more per year? Think about the difference it could make for working people living in poverty.

Worker cooperatives distribute thousands in patronage (profit-sharing) to their workers, which is in addition to their wages. It makes a difference.
October 13, 2025 at 8:57 PM
Reposted by The Cooperative Economy
Our team and fellow food actors traveled to Porter, Maine for our sixth Community Workday at LaFinca Cooperative! We helped the worker-owned cooperative with weeding and prepping beds while building relationships with each other and the land.
October 10, 2025 at 1:04 PM
Equal Exchange is a worker-owned cooperative that works directly with farmer cooperatives to create a more democratic and equitable supply chain.

The co-op provides an alternative to the corporate-based system and shows us that cooperative economics is viable and worker empowerment is possible.
Fairly Traded Coffee, Chocolate, Tea & Snacks
We offer a wide range of fair trade & organic coffee, chocolate, tea, cocoa and snacks direct from small-scale farmers and direct to your door.
shop.equalexchange.coop
October 7, 2025 at 9:41 PM
Reposted by The Cooperative Economy
Check out our new series of spotlights on Bay Area worker coops! In our first installment, @soleilho.com drops in on the 50-year-old Rainbow Grocery Cooperative in SF to find out what makes it work — and to hear some tasty lore (including a fistfight over what color to paint the store building! 👀)
Bay Area Co-ops: ‘A Bunch of Weirdos’ Run a Grocery Store
Staff at San Francisco’s Rainbow Grocery reflect on collectivity, retail personhood, and an aesthetic disagreement that ended in a fistfight.
www.coyotemedia.org
October 6, 2025 at 7:17 PM
Reposted by The Cooperative Economy
October is National Co-op Month AND 2025 is the UN "International Year of Cooperatives"!

Since Wraith Games is a worker co-op, we figured the best way to celebrate would be to share some info about co-ops and why they're rad!

Ya'll ready for a thread?
October 5, 2025 at 8:19 PM
Reposted by The Cooperative Economy
Our friends at Carolina Common Enterprise are transitioning from a traditional nonprofit to a worker self-managed cooperative! Pitch in to support the future of cooperative ecosystem development in the Carolinas. givebutter.com/c/CCEBetterW...
Building Cooperatives for a New World
Carolina Common Enterprise Needs You — Help Us Relaunch!
givebutter.com
October 4, 2025 at 10:01 PM
Canada (and other countries) should support employee/worker ownership.

Worker-owned businesses are more productive and resilient than traditional companies. They keep wealth local and more equitably distributed. This directly opposes the trend of economic consolidation under billionaires.
Budget 2025 should bolster employee ownership to strengthen Canada’s economy
Budget 2025 offers Canada a chance to make employee ownership permanent by extending tax incentives for employee ownership trusts and worker co-ops. Doing so would boost productivity, reduce inequalit...
canadiandimension.com
October 4, 2025 at 9:31 PM
Reposted by The Cooperative Economy
Home health aides are often low-income women of color who struggle to afford the costs of living. We must support models that provide these workers with the pay and the benefits they deserve so they can enjoy dignified lives.

We must create a more equitable distribution of wealth for all people.
Places like New York City experience significant levels of poverty, undignified jobs, and low social mobility. Worker cooperatives are a solution. By empowering disadvantaged groups, the model offers a pathway to dignified employment, wealth building, and improved standards of living for workers.
Worker Cooperatives for New York City: A Vision for Addressing Income Inequality
The Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies (FPWA) presents this report, Worker Cooperatives for New York City: A Vision for Addressing Income Inequality, as an examination of one solution for the c...
institute.coop
October 1, 2025 at 9:58 PM
Cooperative Home Care Associates is a unionized worker co-op in NYC that empowers black/brown women with a say and a stake in their workplace. The business pays their workers more than other agencies in the city.

We need more businesses like this to address inequality and empower working people!
Cooperative Home Care Associates, a NYC worker co-op, pays workers about 20% more than other agencies in NYC while providing 401(k) plans and health insurance. The co-op offers free training to hundreds of unemployed and low-income women every year, providing tools for their economic empowerment.
About CHCA
Find dedicated, invested home care services in the Bronx. As a worker-owned agency, our caregivers take client care very seriously.
www.chcany.org
October 1, 2025 at 9:34 PM
Capitalism is ultimately an authoritarian form of economics that fosters the rise of billionaires, monopolies, purchased politics, and wealth inequality. We combat authoritarianism with democracy. Economic democracy is the path forward, not more capitalism for the wealthy at the expense of the many.
What is Economic Democracy? — The Bronx Cooperative Development Initiative
bcdi.nyc
September 29, 2025 at 8:17 PM
Cooperatives are more resilient, and they are more likely to be living-wage employers. As member-owned enterprises, co-ops empower folks, no matter their background, with a say and a stake in economic life.
September 28, 2025 at 9:23 PM
Reposted by The Cooperative Economy
A study using government data finds that if all businesses became 30% employee-owned, the bottom 90% would experience significant gains in wealth, with much of the benefits going to marginalized groups.

If we're serious about addressing wealth inequality, worker ownership must be at the forefront.
Employee Ownership and Wealth Inequality: A Path to Reducing Wealth Concentration
This paper examines the impact of an economy-wide shift to broad-based employee ownership on wealth concentration in the United States. Relying on government da
papers.ssrn.com
May 10, 2025 at 11:16 PM
Starbucks continues its legacy with layoffs and closures. The CEO of the anti-union business made $97.8m in 2024, 6,666 times more than the median worker at the company.

Imagine if Starbucks were worker-owned and the profits were directed in benefit to the workers instead of overpaid CEOs.
Starbucks to close hundreds of stores, lay off 900 workers as part of turnaround plan
Starbucks said Thursday it's closing hundreds of stores in the U.S., Canada and Europe and laying off 900 nonretail employees so it can focus resources on its turnaround plan.
apnews.com
September 25, 2025 at 8:37 PM
Decades of research finds that businesses with profit-sharing and worker ownership tend to perform better.

Worker ownership can empower working people with a say in their workplaces. It also creates a more equitable distribution of wealth, something that genuine democracy requires.
Evidence: what the US research shows about worker ownership
AbstractSharing the fruits of labour with workers has led to initiatives of both profit-sharing and worker ownership. Several decades of research shows tha
academic.oup.com
September 24, 2025 at 9:41 PM
Jimmy Kimmel's show has been restored by ABC. If you have extra money from cancelled subscriptions due to the show being pulled, why not support independent and worker-owned media outlets from now on?

We need voices that aren't influenced or bought by corporate interests and the billionaire class.
September 22, 2025 at 8:01 PM
Worker ownership can turn you into a millionaire.

At WinCo Foods, since workers own a share of the company through an ESOP, they benefit from an additional source of wealth that most companies don't offer. WinCo is a direct Walmart competitor and often offers lower prices.
Millionaire Grocery Clerks: The Amazing WinCo Foods Story
In Corvallis, Oregon, a couple miles north of the Oregon State University campus, sits a WinCo Foods discount supermarket and, unless you’re in need of groceries, you might drive by without noticing i...
www.forbes.com
September 19, 2025 at 9:27 PM
Reposted by The Cooperative Economy
another reminder that we're opening a worker-owned radical bookstore & cafe in astoria! you can help by:

following our instagram: www.instagram.com/nobordersbooks

subscribing to newsletter: noborders.beehiiv.com

donating: www.gofundme.com/f/bring-a-wo...

shopping: bookshop.org/shop/NoBorders
No Borders Collective Bookshop
No Borders is a worker-owned bookstore and cafe coming soon to Astoria, Queens! Inspired by the values of mutual aid, collective liberation, and lifelong education, we'll offer:  a pay-what-you-want m...
bookshop.org
September 16, 2025 at 5:50 PM