Labor History Archives

Producer Co-operatives of the Knights of Labor: Seeking Worker Independence

Richard C. Hoffman | August, 2022

Currently, there is renewed interest in organizations providing greater economic benefits to its members given the widening divide among social classes. A major source of alternatives to capitalist organizations in the U.S. was the co-operative movement sponsored by the Knights of Labor during 1870–1889. This study examines cases of the Knights’ producer cooperatives to understand … Read More

Employee Ownership and Union Labor: the Case of United Steel Workers of America

Marvin O. Brown, Richard C. Hoffman | January, 2017

Union–management relations in the U.S. are best described as adversarial. However, under certain circumstances, they can become cooperative. One example of the latter was the role of trade unions in the conversion of firms to employee ownership. Firm ownership (entrepreneurship, capitalism) by employees has increased in recent years. Specifically, we focus on the use of … Read More

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Labor History