News

Every year Democracy At Work Institute and the US Federation of Worker Cooperatives conduct the Annual Economic Census to study the economic and social benefits of worker cooperatives. We want to invite your workplace to participate. This is an opportunity to contribute to major, ongoing research that will not only help shape the future for worker cooperatives in the US, but it also helps us show off just the strong, meaningful, and rapid growth of our sector. Every year we publish a State of the Sector report that helps inform our strategies for growth, advocacy and to support each other… more

Our School of Democratic Management is evolving and growing! DAWI is thrilled to partner with Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations to offer this Certificate Program in Participatory Management. This partnership helps us increase our reach and better share the knowledge to make all values-driven businesses stronger. The New Jersey/New York Center for Employee Ownership at the Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations (SMLR) and the Democracy at Work Institute today announced a new program to help organizations increase engagement and productivity by giving a voice to rank-and-file workers. Modeled on the successful strategies used by many employee-owned… more

Celebrate Giving Tuesday by supporting worker entrepreneurship! At DAWI, we are expanding the worker cooperative model to reach workers who have been locked out of good jobs and business ownership opportunities. We work at multiple levels to foster a just, participatory economy. In 2018, we: Trained hundreds of worker-owners at our School for Democratic Management and conference events. Helped develop new shared ownership models for hundreds and eventually thousands of farmworkers in California. Helped write and pass the Main Street Employee Ownership Act, the first federal legislation ever to mention worker cooperatives by name. Changed the conversation about local economic… more

The US Federation of Worker Cooperatives and Democracy at Work Institute are thrilled to announce that the Main Street Employee Ownership Act was signed into law on August 13, 2018. Please join us in celebrating the first legislation in support of employee ownership in over two decades, and the first to explicitly name worker cooperatives as a priority for the SBA. This is a huge step forward for worker cooperatives, and we are proud to have played a role in making it. Along with many allies in the field, our organizations worked in depth with the bill's author and sponsor… more

The Democracy and Work Institute and the U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives are pleased to release this State of the Sector report, covering research on worker-owned enterprises through 2016. Four years into surveying worker cooperatives on a national scale, we are able to track over time how worker cooperatives are a stable, growing solution for communities of color, offering equitable wages and a pay ratios that prioritize the reduction of internal inequality. Download the report here more

“While it’s wonderful to think that family members will take over the business – this doesn’t always happen,” said Small Business House Committee Ranking Member Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez. "It is anticipated that many of these businesses will be bought by a rival, while others will be forced to close altogether, leaving empty Main Streets and hard-hit local economies. I am pleased that the bill we passed will help empower employees to become owners in their companies.” At DAWI, we know that employee ownership offers a vital solution for small business owners across the U.S., and we believe the SBA… more

Worker cooperators, unions, developers, allies, funders, investors, and visionaries — join us this September 14-16! This moment in U.S. history is pivotal — we are taking this opportunity to catalyze workers across the country, joining with the larger cooperative and economic justice movements to create and maintain stable, empowering jobs through employee ownership. This three day conference in Los Angeles, California will make space for connection, education, skill-building, and sharing, for worker-owners and allied leaders who work to improve the lives of workers and their families. Stay tuned for more information about sessions and registration, coming in January 2018 to… more

The Inclusive Enterprise: Giving Employees the Keys to the Business Entrepreneurship can be a powerful force for prosperity. Business ownership gives entrepreneurs the opportunity to earn more money and create jobs. But this pathway to self-made success is mostly an option for the wealthy and for white households with access to capital and connections. Latino or African American households are historically less likely to start a business than white households, contributing to a persistent racial wealth gap. The business asset gap has notable impacts for women—in fact, women of all ethnic backgrounds and races: women business owners have household incomes… more

The development of worker cooperative child care providers, from centers to in-home providers to nannies, should be included as part of a long-term strategy to address affordable childcare in New York City. This report, co-authored by DAWI and FPWA, spells out key recommendations that the Mayor’s office and City Council could implement to increase access to child care while increasing the quality of child care jobs. Quality child care is increasingly out of reach for most New Yorkers, with commercial rents rising, government support stagnating, and high child care worker turnover. Young families struggle to afford raising children in the… more