Building Workplace Democracy

Co-Ops Create Worker-Driven Ownership and Leadership Structure

Mat Forth and his co-workers at the Keystone Development Center, a technical assistance provider for co-ops, had a goal - to create a democratically structured workplace where they collaborated equally in governance and decision-making and prioritized the common good.

"We really wanted to practice what we preached and live our values," Forth said.

That pursuit ultimately led them to the USW, which helped them connect the union with their co-op development work. Cooperatives, or co-ops, are member-owned or worker-owned, and KDC works to support all types of co-ops.

'Integral Parts'

Often, co-ops are formed when startups or nonprofits want to prioritize the good of the collective over the drive to maximize profits for outside investors. Other times, they are formed from family-owned companies whose owners are looking for a way to keep their legacy alive after they retire by selling it to their workers.

"Cooperatives are a form of workplace democracy," Forth said. "There are different structures and different types, and we work in many different sectors."

USW co-op members work in manufacturing, accounting, consulting, education, renewable energy and numerous other sectors of the economy.

"Unions and cooperatives don't just co-exist," said Kevin O'Brien, co-founder of Worx Printing Cooperative in Worcester, Mass. "They are integral parts of each other."

One common thread among the groups is that they follow the seven cooperative principles, which can be traced to the first modern co-op founded in England in 1844. Those principles include: membership open to all; democratic member control; member economic participation; autonomy and independence; education, training, and information; cooperation with other co-ops; and concern for their community.

Because the labor movement shares those core principles, they create a natural connection between unions and co-ops, Forth said.

"A co-op is a way for workers to have more sovereignty over the workplace," he explained. "We wanted to institutionalize that structure. Unionizing seemed like a great way to do that, so that people who come to work here in the future can benefit as well."

Growing Co-Ops

Those goals also helped to drive Mike Sandmel and his colleagues at ICA Group, a Massachusetts-based nonprofit, to join the USW. Sandmel and his fellow consultants offer support for others who are interested in creating co-ops or converting companies into worker-owned cooperatives.

Sandmel said the USW's commitment to supporting cooperative workplace structures was the most important factor that drew ICA's workers to become Steelworkers.

"We didn't really talk to any other unions," he said. "We knew if we organized, it was going to be with the Steelworkers because of their commitment to co-ops."

The ICA workers are part of Local 9007, which includes four new co-op units that have become part of the USW over the past year, including KDC.

Long History

Unions and co-ops have been partners in worker empowerment since long before the United Steelworkers began to take shape in the 1930s. One of the USW's predecessor unions, the Iron Molders, formed cooperative foundries in the mid-19^th century. The Knights of Labor at one time had nearly 200 co-ops in its membership.

"Labor unions and cooperatives come from the same seed," O'Brien said.

In the 1970s, as the North American steel industry struggled in the face of low-cost imports and aging facilities, employee stock ownership plans, or ESOPs, helped to sustain workers at numerous companies. In 1994, under the leadership of then-President Lynn Williams, the USW established the Worker Ownership Institute non-profit to promote worker ownership.

Although Williams retired that same year, he remained engaged in worker ownership and supported the formation of the Western Labour-Worker Co-operative Council, now part of the Canadian Worker Co-operative Federation (CWCF), to build bridges between worker cooperatives and unions.

In 2009, then-President Leo Gerard announced a partnership with Mondragon International to advance union co-ops. That initiative led to the creation of the nonprofit 1worker1vote to advocate for more worker-owned arrangements.

In 2024, as the movement was growing, the USW created the union's Co-ops Council. Under the leadership of Rob Witherell, the council includes, among others, members at Co-op Cincy, Sustainergy, Worx Printing, and Action OSH, and provides members with an avenue to better communicate among themselves and advocate for union co-ops.

USW members at Worx produce custom shirts, hats, bags and other branded items for nonprofits, grassroots campaigns and unions, including the USW. In addition, the workers make one-of-a-kind items that customers can order from a variety of online sites.

Building Connections

Last fall, more than 20 members from across the union participated in Co-op Cincy's 7th Union Co-op Symposium, which brought together worker-owners and union members from around the country to share knowledge and deepen solidarity between the labor and co-op movements. The USW was the primary sponsor of the two-day event.

For Sandmel, O'Brien and others, building close connections with other workers in similar situations has been one of the most important advantages of joining the USW.

Other benefits include the affordable health care that workers can access through the Steelworkers Health and Welfare Fund, which provides coverage to nearly 60,000 members. That coverage is more affordable than workers could get on the open market because of the union's collective buying power. In addition, the USW offers access to the Steelworkers Pension Trust and a 401(k) plan with affordable administrative fees.

"This is what the movement is striving for," said O'Brien, who has been involved in union co-op initiatives for more than 20 years. "We're succeeding because there is infrastructure, because of the involvement of the USW."

Information Sharing

Another factor that makes the connection between the union and co-ops successful is transparency, members say. At ICA, while the executive director and human resources director are not part of the union, they provide details about the organization's income, expenses and other data to members.

In other cases, a board of directors sets long-term strategy and provides financial oversight while sharing information and collaborating with worker-owners.

"Having that transparency really helps," especially during contract bargaining, Sandmel said. "We know we aren't coming in with proposals that are unreasonable."

Like traditional union contracts, co-op agreements spell out the rules of the workplace, protect the rights of worker-owners, and outline procedures for resolving disputes, among other components.

The relatively flat leadership structure provides workers with a sense of freedom and a feeling of community, Forth said. He and his co-workers at Pennsylvania's Keystone Development Center provide support to start-up and established cooperatives throughout the Northeast.

"We're still figuring out the structure," Forth said. "But the goal is to work toward a structure where we're all co-directors."

Khalif Nunnally-Rivera, a consultant who serves as unit president for Local 9007 at ICA, said that he got involved with the co-op movement as a way to promote social and economic justice through his day-to-day work.

"The mission of ICA really spoke to me, in terms of empowering workers," he said. "We function very democratically. We saw this as a way to really embody those practices and enshrine a lot of the rights we have."

Talking to more workers about the labor movement through their work with co-ops is another benefit of the affiliation with the USW, Nunnally-Rivera said.

"Being able to speak to that, not just as a third party, will bring more people into the union," he said.