50 by 50: an initiative to make worker cooperatives major part of the U.S economy

15 November 2016

What if that number employee owners in the U.S grew to 50 million by 2050? What kind of impact could that have on individual lives, local communities and the national economy? One project aims to find out. 50 by 50 is an initiative designed to make worker ownership mainly through worker cooperatives a “major part of the U.S. economy.”

Launched in early-2016, 50 by 50 is a project of The Democracy Collaborative, in partnership with the Democracy at Work Institute and the National Center for Employee Ownership. The initiative is driven by a goal to create a five-fold increase in the number of worker owners through a number of interventions including the creation of a 50 by 50 network of leaders committed to a common strategy, growing the number of state and local worker ownership centers and creating new financing options that make it easier for business owners to transition to employee ownership.

Reaching the ambitious goal of 50 million employee owners in the U.S. by 2050 will require new strategies, but the 50 by 50 vision to “begin to bend the curve of history toward an inclusive, community-based economy is one worth pursuing”, say the organisations behind this project.

Though there isn’t yet comprehensive data on the nature and scope of worker cooperatives in the U.S., researchers and practitioners conservatively estimate that there are over 300 democratic workplaces in the United States, employing approximately 7,000 people and generating over $400 million in annual revenues.

Mor information here