Voters Strongly Support Worker Cooperatives
By Devi Ruia and Prerna Jagadeesh
If you’ve tried to take an Uber or Lyft lately, you’ve probably remarked on the higher prices and significantly reduced availability of rides — a dearth caused by drivers being unwilling to risk their lives and well-being in a pandemic for the crumbs that rideshare companies like Uber and Lyft provide them. In order to change this, some drivers are founding a more equitable type of business that is established in Europe and increasingly in the United States: a worker-owned cooperative. Worker cooperatives, which are owned by their workers instead of shareholders, have workers collaborate to make managerial decisions instead of having a board of directors make decisions for them, and share the profits of the company.
Research has found that worker cooperatives result in higher productivity levels from employees, lower employee turnover, and fewer business closures. Data for Progress polling shows that worker cooperatives have an additional benefit: they are strongly supported by voters.
First, voters were asked about small businesses transitioning to worker cooperatives. We found that voters support small businesses transitioning to worker cooperatives by a +60-point margin. This includes Democrats by a +71-point margin, Independents by a +60-point margin, and Republicans by a +47-point margin.
Data for Progress also asked voters if they would support the creation of a bill proposed by Senator Bernie Sanders in 2017, which has since stalled in committee: the WORK Act. This bill would create a $45 million grant program to support states in establishing or expanding worker cooperatives by providing funds and support to encourage employee ownership and decision-making in businesses. Voters support this proposal by a +46-point margin, including Democrats by a +66-point margin, Independents by a +42-point margin, and Republicans by a +24-point margin.
Finally, voters were asked about creating a U.S. Employee Ownership Bank under the Department of the Treasury to provide funds to help businesses transition to being worker cooperatives, where employees would own their company. Voters support this proposal by a +43-point margin, including Democrats by a margin of +65 points, Independents by a +29-point margin, and Republicans by a +22-point margin.
The coronavirus pandemic has sent shockwaves across our economy, changing the relationship workers have to their companies and labor itself. Worker cooperatives could be a way to ensure workers are treated with the dignity they deserve while also creating more successful businesses. As more small businesses transition into worker-owned cooperatives, policymakers should note that voters are in favor of measures the federal government can take to encourage and support the establishment of these cooperatives.
Devi Ruia (@DeviRuia) is a press assistant at Data for Progress.
Prerna Jagadeesh (@PrernaJagadeesh) is a writer at Data for Progress.
Methodology
From June 11 to 14, 2021, Data for Progress conducted a survey of 1,175 likely voters nationally using web panel respondents. The sample was weighted to be representative of likely voters by age, gender, education, race, and voting history. The survey was conducted in English. The margin of error is ±3 percentage points. N=1175 unless otherwise specified. Some values may not add up to 100 due to rounding.