| Comment | I think you're wilfully misunderstanding what a co-op is.
Under a co-op, as you've already argued, the salaries of the workers aren't necessarily any different - they exist in the same competitive market with the same downward price pressures
The difference is that if the company grows and is profitable, the returns go to the employees rather than shareholders - and also permits them to make decisions for the long-term benefit of the company and future returns, rather than e.g. private equity which may prioritise short-term returns over long-term investment, or at the extreme even seek to asset strip and run down (very common in this particular area of business)
So in no way is a worker in a co-op *worse* off than in a private equity setup, and there are many ways in which they might be significantly better off. They still have their contracts, they still get their contracted pay. A co-op doesn't change the terms of employment, all legal rights to contracted pay and redundancy etc still exist.
And the risk is just the same under both scenarios - if the company does badly, they lose their jobs. |
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