The Great Recession fueled new interest in worker-owned cooperatives, in which employees double as business owners. Though rare, worker-owned co-ops are on the rise. Advocates say when employees are in control, workers benefit and businesses are more stable. But worker co-ops have to function in a capitalist world. Can they really compete? We’ll talk with Melissa Young, co-producer of "Shift Change," a documentary that goes behind the scenes at several worker-owned cooperatives. And we’ll talk with John Duda, communications coordinator for the Democracy Collaborative, a policy research institute that has helped launch several large co-ops. Duda is also co-founder of Red Emma’s, a worker-owned coffee shop in Baltimore.
Can Worker-Owned Cooperatives Compete?
![](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/df48600/2147483647/strip/true/crop/640x960+0+0/resize/880x1320!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fwyprmain%2Ffiles%2F201603%2F1426581_599060176808875_1853885222_n.jpg)
Courtesy of Red Emma's Facebook page