Summary
How does a business go about transitioning —“converting”— to a worker-owned cooperative? This report provides illustrations with case studies of businesses that have converted and highlights key lessons from those companies’ experiences.
The report categorizes conversions into four types:
- Type I: Owner sells to existing employees with the intention of remaining with the company;
- Type II: Owner sells to existing employees with the intention of leaving the company;
- Type III: Owner decides to convert to a coop, then brings in new people to be founding worker-owners;
- Type IV: Employees leave and start a coop together, or re-start a failed business as a worker cooperative.
The case studies illustrate the range of approaches to business conversion.