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(604) 520-5400 700 Royal Avenue, New Westminster, B.C.
Mailing Address: P.0. Box 2503, New Westminster, B.C. V3L 5B2

 

   
     
  

       

 

 

 

 

magine working a shift on the shop

floor during the day, and then making
policy decisions at the company board
table at night.

With a growing trend towards
worker-owned businesses, this is becom-
ing a common scenario, according to
Shane Simpson, director of B.C.’s first
Worker Ownership Resource Centre.

Democratic worker-owned busi-
nesses are often co-operatives which are
owned and controlled by their employees,
says Simpson. Decision making, includ-
ing electing directors, hiring management
and setting key policy initiatives is done
democratically. The rule is one worker,
one vote, regardless of the investment.

“Worker-owned businesses consider
the well-being of their employee owners
first,” says Simpson. “While these
enterprises must stay viable in business
terms, the priority is not satisfying profit
projections of a corporate office in Toron-
to or Tokyo. Rather, it is meeting the
needs of the worker-owner and the sus-
tainability of the enterprise.”

The Worker Ownership Resource

New Centre promotes worker-owned business

 

 

 

 

 

Staff at the new Worker Ownership Resource Centre provide
support to community groups, unions, local communities and
individuals who are considering the worker ownership
alternative. From left to right are Melanie Conn, Karen
Buchanan and Shane Simpson.

 

SEPTEMBER 18, 1990

Remembering Jack

Fifty Years of Art

Good Planning Beats Registration Blues

Liaison Newsletter

 

wsipe INSIDE

Centre, based in New Westminster, is sponsored by
Douglas College and funded through the Innova-
tions Program of the Federal Government. The
Centre has been established to assist the growth of
worker-owned businesses in B.C,

“Our mandate is to provide promotional, educa-
tional and developmental support to community
groups, unions, local communities and individuals
who are considering the worker ownership alterna-
tive,” says Simpson.

Capital acquisition, management skills, business

oO im |W IN

 

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