Adria Scharf

Aug 9, 2023 | nonprofitquarterly.org | Esteban Kelly |Mo Manklang |Isaiah Thompson |Adria Scharf

In August 2018, the first legislation explicitly naming worker-owned cooperatives—the Main Street Employee Ownership Act—became United States federal law. Up to this point, legislation for most worker co-ops was not a priority; federal policy wasn’t even a pipe dream. Most worker co-ops saw and still see themselves as embedded within a broader movement for economic justice. Public policy wasn’t really a part of our culture. Until it was.