The ecosystem and policy framework of worker cooperatives in the USA

Topic 3 -Stage 1-Macro. In the USA, worker cooperatives don’t have their own specific legal forms. Therefore, differently from some European countries where worker cooperatives are well institutionalized, such as Spain,... [ view full abstract ]

Topic 3 -Stage 1-Macro. In the USA, worker cooperatives don’t have their own specific legal forms. Therefore, differently from some European countries where worker cooperatives are well institutionalized, such as Spain, France and Italy, it is difficult to analyze worker cooperatives from the legal point of view. Due to their limited numbers, it is also difficult to find policy frameworks specifically designed for worker cooperatives neither at the federal level nor at the State level. However, it should be noted that some interesting experiences at the local level are recently receiving attention. In this weak institutionalized situation, how can we examine the ecosystem and policy framework on worker cooperatives?
After illustrating a general overview on worker cooperatives in the USA, this presentation will present a mapping of the legal and policy issues concerning worker cooperatives. This analysis would be a kind of meta-analysis on the documents concerning worker cooperatives in the archive managed by the University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives. As an exploratory work for identifying main issues concerning the legal and policy aspects of worker cooperatives, this analysis would help us to understand how and through which points the American worker cooperatives have entered into the public sphere related to the legal and policy issues. This analysis will be complemented by the other qualitative analysis based on the direct observation of internal meetings in a worker cooperative. By analyzing the discourses during the meetings, we will examine what kinds of element composing the ecosystem of the cooperative are identified by their worker members. Through these two analyses, we will try to understand how the American worker cooperatives have been perceived through the legal and policy frameworks and also how these perceptions are recaptured by actors in worker cooperatives in their cooperative experiences.