INSIDE DOUGLAS COLLEGE / SEPTEMBER 4, 1990

 

 

New Centre promotes worker-owned business

 

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 grow-
ing trend towards
worker-owned
businesses, this is

 

 

management and
financial aspects of
the venture.
Worker ownership,
like all small busi-
nesses, is a tough
road in current
economic times.
The owners need
to be both in-
formed and busi-
ness smart to

 

 

becoming a com- succeed.”
mon scenario, ac- Simpson says
cording to Shane there are ap-
Simpson, director proximately 400
of B.C."s | first worker-owned
Worker Ownership businesses across
Resource Centre. Canada with 15 -
Democratic 20,000 worker-
worker-owned owners.
businesses are Staff at the new Worker Ownership Resource Centre provide Throughout
often co-operatives Europe, Britain and

which are owned
and controlled by
their employees,
says Simpson.
Decision making,
including 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 Toronto or Tokyo. Rather, it is
meeting the needs of the worker-owner and the sus-
tainability of the enterprise.”

The Worker Ownership Resource Centre, based
in New Westminster, is sponsored by Douglas Col-
lege and funded through the Innovations Program of
the Federal Government. The Centre has been estab-
lished to assist the growth of worker-owned busi-
nesses 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
feasibility analysis, and communication skills are key
areas where emerging businesses need help.

“Many working people are very skilled and
knowledgeable about the product or service they
deliver,” he adds. “But they need training on the

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.

the United States
there are

thousands of
worker-owned
businesses, he says.
But with only 25 to
30 worker-owned businesses in B.C. — and a dozen

in the Lower Mainland — the sector is still in its infan-
cy stage.

Worker controlled businesses differ dramatically
from other forms of employee shared ownership
plans, says Simpson, where workers have very little
influence on corporate decisions. Worker-owned busi-
nesses range in size from small firms with a few
employees to large industrial businesses with
hundreds of employees.

The benefits of worker ownership, says Simpson,
include higher productivity, local investment and job
protection. The potential benefits to smaller com-
munities and local economies has also been recog-
nized.

“Worker ownership keeps the company’s assets
in the community,” Simpson says. “This can be a
strategy to combat plant closures, and to ensure that
profits and jobs remain local.”

“In a changing economy, this option cannot be
discarded,” he says. “While not a panacea, worker
ownership can be an important tool for job creation
and retention.”

For more information about the Worker
Ownership Resource Centre contact Shane Simpson
at 520-3341. m

 

cae Bae