Worker Cooperatives: Expanding Democracy In The Workplace

this episode is made possible by curiositystream a few weeks ago i announced that i'd be putting an exclusive series about fascism on a new platform i got a lot of comments on that video from people saying they were disappointed that the series wouldn't be on nebula i've heard you guys loud and clear from now on any exclusive content i make will be exclusive to nebula that includes a new and revamped series on the resurgence of fascism around the world which will premiere in the coming weeks you can get free access to my content and the rest of nebula absolutely free when you sign up for curiosity stream at the link below [Music] if you've been following this channel for a little while you are probably aware of my perspective on capitalism in the united states with effectively unchecked power corporations have reached their insidious tentacles into each and every corner of society choking out competition from family enterprise buying politicians and amassing obscene wealth for their owners and investors trying to push back against such forces by creating more just systems can seem like a daunting prospect especially when it comes to operating within this existing predatory structure the modern corporation offers its workers absolutely zero say in how the company is run beholden instead to wealthy investors and shareholders most jobs are democracy-free zones you do what you're told you accept what you're given and you don't speak up when something could be done better the ideal solution would be to dismantle this oppressive and exploitative system and build a more democratic nation instead but for the moment that seems unlikely without tearing everything down and replacing the capitalist economic framework entirely with a more humane and egalitarian one is it even possible to efficiently produce and distribute goods or services in a way that's fair to the people on the payroll the workers putting in their time and energy from nine to five is it possible to have a democratic workplace that puts real power in the hands of those who provide the labor as it turns out yes there is a setup that can not only compete but offer exceptional service and democratic working conditions it's called a worker co-op as the name suggests a worker cooperative is a type of autonomous business model that puts its workers and the communities they live in before anything else to make this happen rather than being run by a single owner or ceo co-ops are controlled democratically each member gets a vote either for the explicit determination of operational structures and how they are treated or for the election of a board of directors to do the same what's more the workers themselves collectively own the company this system is very flexible and can be used for any type of business from taxi drivers to web developers they are the quintessential social enterprise putting collective good above personal gains often operating as non-profits to guarantee near absolute freedom from executive greed co-op members often find themselves possessing a level of dignity and quality of life unattainable by traditional employees along with high job stability and opportunities to develop new skills and membership is open to anyone willing to accept certain responsibilities regardless of discrimination they may face elsewhere on top of all this worker co-ops can be more stable than profit-driven corporations reliably staying afloat in times of economic turmoil which have become worryingly common in recent years you never see a cooperative bank needing to be bailed out with taxpayer money because they don't have to undertake risky financial endeavors in a never-ending quest to maximize profit instead they simply exist as a safety net for normal people providing loans and credit at reasonable rates so those with savings can indirectly help their neighbors without thus addressing economic inequality in poor neighborhoods while the estimated number of currently existing co-ops in the us is fairly small the democratic workplace model has been continually rising in popularity over the decades especially in recent years as traditional employment has become less stable financially feasible and pleasant by pooling people's expertise starting a worker co-op can be easier than starting a typical business and they've been pretty successful too more than just staying out of the red the average american cooperative makes a 6.4 profit without sacrificing sustainability as you might expect these co-ops are far more commonplace outside the states most notably in italy and spain in fact the seventh largest company in spain is a worker cooperative let's put things into perspective with a specific example ocean spray if you've ever shopped for groceries at a supermarket in the u.s odds are you've seen their products sitting on store shelves in the juice or canned fruit aisles they're arguably the most recognizable cranberry brand in the country and they were the very first to produce cranberry juice commercially back in the 1930s it's somewhat ironic that the biggest name in cranberries a quintessentially american fruit native to the continent and a mainstay of the traditional thanksgiving dinner foregoes participation in the equally american practice of employee exploitation but just how well have they managed far from being unable to grow big enough to stand against the corporate competition ocean spray has flourished today they're the largest producer of cranberries in the world with over a billion dollars in annual sales yet all this financial success has not compromised their commitment to fair compensation the full 100 of all profits the business generates are distributed right back to the farmers no shareholder dividends necessary and cranberry farmers especially deserve the metaphorical fruits of their labors given that the wolf spiders often used as natural pest control end up crawling all over their bodies whenever they flood the bog for harvesting let's take another example when my wife and i moved to our current home we were surprised to see that we could get our electricity through a worker cooperative we're always excited to support democratic operations so we signed up united cooperative services founded in 1938 has been serving texans for decades and now represents over 62 000 people in 14 counties as a worker co-op united is not a privately owned company it doesn't have wealthy shareholders or investors to placate instead it's a non-profit and owned by the workers and consumers it serves that means there's no predatory profit motive workers get paid fairly and any profits get reimbursed to consumers or are spent on projects to improve the lives of everyone involved with the company for example instead of lining the pockets of some billionaire executive united spent excess money to build a network of solar panels so they could offer renewable energy to consumers at a lower price than traditional energy companies but the benefits don't stop there every united co-op employee is entitled to a vote in board of directors elections as are all of the consumers who get their electricity from united leadership is democratically elected and held accountable to ensure that both workers and customers enjoy the benefits of a more representative operation that's the thing that really stands out about worker co-ops the fact that they're not driven by a profit motive but simply by the goal to provide their workers and customers with the service their business offers united cooperative provides electricity ocean spray provides cranberries this is in stark contrast to typical corporations whose primary goal is to make money and whose second or third consideration is to provide a good service and it's not like worker co-ops are seen less favorably by their consumers than traditional companies in fact co-ops are often much more highly rated than their profit driven counterparts it's almost as if simply providing a service without trying to exploit your workers and squeeze as much money as you can out of each customer is a good business model who would have thought so few american workers have any idea what non-exploitative work looks like we're so conditioned by the terrible options we're given that we can't fathom a system in which we actually have a voice or a say in how things are done imagine being able to vote for your managers imagine being paid a fair wage and knowing the company you work for isn't exploiting you your co-workers or the community you serve that's what every company in america should look like the sad truth is that it's about as far away from our reality as it could possibly be it's encouraging to see a high-profile worker co-op like ocean spray flourishing even in today's hyper-capitalist economy as more and more workers become disaffected by the soul-crushing grind of the corporate treadmill hopefully the cooperative model can gain a greater foothold on the economic world stage no system is perfect but co-ops put power and progress back into the hands of the many and that's certainly better than the system we have now where the gulf between wage slaves and their corporate overlords grows ever wider the pockets of the wealthy growing deeper and deeper workplace democracy is a tool which can help people overcome this seemingly insurmountable obstacle on the path to health happiness and job satisfaction and putting this tool to widespread use could lead to deeply beneficial change in the lives of millions of hard-working people throughout america and around the world if you've been watching my videos for a while now you'll have noticed that youtube has been demonetizing a lot of them that's why some of my creator friends and i teamed up to build nebula a streaming platform built by and for youtubers like me so we don't have to worry about demonetization since nebula is all about creating thoughtful content we've partnered with curiositystream an established streaming platform with a solid track record of caring about great educational content and the financial security of those who produce it curiosity stream is an online streaming service with thousands of non-fiction titles from some of the best filmmakers in the game you can find tons of great episodes like the future of work which offers a fascinating look at what our jobs could be like in the decades to come as educational creators ourselves we love curiositystream so we've worked out a deal where if you sign up for curiositystream at the link below you'll also get access to nebula 100 free for a limited time curiosity stream is offering 26 off their annual plan that's less than 15 bucks a year for both curiosity stream and nebula which in my humble opinion is a pretty great deal since we're all stuck inside anyway why not spend some time learning about fascinating topics on curiositystream or check out nebula's exclusive content including my upcoming series on the resurgence of fascism you can also watch all my videos as they were intended ad free there really is something for everyone and by signing up at the link below you're helping us produce more content without the fear of demonetization give curiosity stream a shot and get free access to nebula when you sign up using the link below it really does help support my channel and educational creators all across youtube if you enjoyed this video and you'd like to see more like it consider subscribing to stay up to date with my latest episodes if you hated it go ahead and drop a thumbs down you can check out my previous episodes by clicking the links on your screen thanks for watching and i'll see you next week you

Channel: Second Thought

Views: 72,139

Rating: 4.9212742 out of 5

Keywords: Second thought, second thought channel, facts about, facts you didn’t know, things you didn’t know, education, learning, educational videos, social sciences, workplace democracy, worker co-ops, worker cooperatives, co-op, cooperative, democracy in the workplace, expanding democracy in the workplace

Id: QG0FhpGdFwc

Length: 10min 2sec (602 seconds)

Published: Fri Oct 02 2020

Reddit Comments

[u/GallusAA]

That was a good video. Cleanly produced and narrated. Concisely explains basics of our normal business structure and how co-ops are different. A few notable examples to show their success. Listed off some advantages they have over normal capitalist corporate structures. Short. Simple. To the point. Very nice.

Left-tube needs more content like it.

[u/Niqq33]

Love second Thought

[u/[deleted]]

I think Second Thought knows this, but I would like to point out that this isn't technically socialism. It's better. Worker Cooperatives are still a form of private ownership, and that's actually a good thing because it means there can be multiple competing organizations. Say what you will about Capitalism and its for-profit motive, but the market economy is a damn good idea. While I'm not personally a fan of worker cooperatives, I've advocated for a regulated market of competitive non-profits / social-enterprises for ages. While I'm fine with socializing natural monopolies and maybe some forms of social safety nets (let's be real, UBI and heavy regulation is better than socialization), I think the idea of socializing things like cranberries, car mechanics, or photography is extraordinarily stupid -- have you had to pay a student activity fee at university? You remember thinking why do I have to pay this I don't do activities? Yeah, that having to pay for other people's parties is why Americans hate socialism. And of course we're all living the nearly identical failed results of capitalism.

I think this is a good conversation to have about the middle ground that exist, and I think it would be really cool if someone (Economics Explained, idk?) could show how these arguments are actually economically more efficient. I mean it doesn't take much to see that this middle ground is the most efficient option, so I'm not sure what would go in the video, but I would love to see the conversation expand in that direction.