7.7 KiB
Background
Many software opportunites today are focused on building companies or products focused on short-term stock-market gains or raising venture funding rounds. This, along with other factors, has lead to precarious employment opportunities focused on a person's existing skills, with little-to-no emphasis on long term stability and individual growth, and long hours and stressful working conditions.
I desire to work somewhere that focuses more on providing a high-quality, stable environment where everyone is able to learn and grow and earn an income over the long term. I would also like to work somewhere that emphasizes collaboration over command-and-control structures.
My ideal workplace would be one where, eventually, members only need to work 3-4 days per week and are able to earn a living wage with a stable income over many years and where responsibilities are shared across all members equally. This would be somewhere that people learn and grow and strives to create a more equal workplace without discrimination.
I have worked at many different companies and held many different positions over the years and based on that experience, and the people I have worked with along the way, I am convinced that this vision is possible. Individually, I have experience in all of skills needed for building companies, products, and managing teams, which also gives me confidence in this vision and also inspires me to share what I have learned with others.
The realization of this goal is to create a worker owned software product cooperative. What follows are my working ideas on how this cooperative would be built and function, although I plan to get as much feedback on these ideas as possible from potential members!
Structure
- Worker control: 1 worker = 1 vote
This means that every member of the co-op has equal say in the major decisions affecting the co-op. There can be no "bosses" except those voted for by the members themselves (who can then also be removed by those members). This also means that regardless of how much capital a member invests, they will have equal say to all other members.
Decision Making
I envision all major decisions being made by consensus of all members, falling back to majority vote only if absolutely needed. The goal would be create an environment in which all members are empowered to have equal control over their own working environment and the future outcomes of the co-op.
Capital Investments
The co-op may opt to correlate end-of-year profits to amount of capital investment. The idea is that all members get paid a living-wage and provided good benefits via standard W2 employment, but any additional money beyond that required to pay its member's salaries and run the operations of the company, and that is not elected to be re-invested back into the company, would be distributed back to members on an annual basis based on their capital investments. Effectively, this means that early co-op members, or members that invest more direct capital, would be eligible to receive a larger proportion of any potential profits under the assumption that they may have take on more risk.
Formation
The legal vehicle by which the co-op operates is yet to be determined. Likely a lawyer will need to be consulted before any decision is made. Possible options:
- California provides a legal framework for creating, running, and operating worker-owned co-operatives.
This appears to be a decent option with many advantages including it is very cost-effective both in terms of corporate fees and tax-pass through schemes. The likely big downside is that few companies use this structure so the legal environment is less defined. This may not matter if outside investment is never considered/desired.
More resources here
- Standard Delaware Corp or LLC
It sounds like some co-ops have been able to form under more standard business vehicles. This would provide the advantage of a much more developed legal framework and services but may not provide the same level of protections for members as a legal regime created specifically for co-ops.
Positions
Ideally, members can freely rotate between skilled, unskilled, professional, administrative, and managerial roles as desired. My experience is that siloing individuals into very specific roles often leads to unequal work environments as people are not able to gain the experience they need to make good decisions in all areas and people can then use their knowledge over people. One option would be to have a program that helps all members spend some amount of their time involved in all roles at some point, not just solely focused on their primary skill.
Membership
As per existing corporation and co-op law: membership would be accomplished by buying at least one share in the company. The cost of a share would be set by the members. A member could buy more than one share but that does not entitle them to any benefits outside of potential extra profit earnings. When a member leaves the company, the company must reimburse the member for all of the shares they own. Shares therefore act as a means of documenting ownership and as a vehicle for members to invest capital into the company.
What should the process be for accepting new members? I think a good starting place would be to initially hire people "on probation" for a set period of time, maybe 6 months. After the probationary period, the members can vote on whether or not to extend a membership offer. During the probationary period the person would not be eligible to vote with the members but they may be allowed to participate in discussions around decisions made by members.
Workplace
Product
I strongly believe in the value of all people and in this context that includes the co-ops members but also potential users and customers. I would want the co-op to always choose to empower its users vs attempt to exploit them. This likely means things like:
- providing high-quality and easy data export options to prevent vendor lock-in
- providing program source to customers (likely under an AGPL license)
General Goals
- worker control: 1 worker = 1 vote
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long-term, stable sustainable job's for members
- prioritize less work hours over growth/profit
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voluntary and open membership
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no discrimination including:
- gender
- social
- sexuality
- racial
- political
- religious
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provide a safe and inclusive work environment
- members must feel safe to make mistakes and voice different opinions
- communication should be direct and specific
- expectations must be explicitly communicated
- boundaries must be listened to and respected
- members must not speak to or cooperate with law enforcement
- provide opportunities for members to learn and grow
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remain independent and autonomous
- outside capital, if any, may not have control
- cooperate with other cooperatives
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concern for community
- actively engage with local communities
- actively manage environmental impacts
- seek out, involve, and learn from diverse groups
Bylaws
- Impactful decisions and bylaws can only be made by a vote of all members (consensus)
- Hiring and firing of a member can only be made by a consensus vote of all members
- The co-op and its members may not enter into any agreements that would cause the change of worker control