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zoom_zip wrote

i tried to start a worker co-op in an industry that i do a small amount of work in, and--in my inexperience--i figured it would be simple enough to just say "however much money the co-op earns will be split equally among all employees".

it wasn't long before i had people coming to me saying "i do more work than him, why does he get the same pay!" -- "my work is more valuable than hers but we're compensated equally?"

i tried all sorts of ways to bargain with these kinds of arguments. "you are doing more work than him right now, but maybe at another time you will be doing less work and he will be doing more." -- "you recognise that both yours and her work is necessary, so there is no such thing as value."

it was like talking to a brick wall.

unless you luck into a scenario where everybody is clearly on the same page, it's going to be a constant battle against this view of everything having to have value, and that being measured against the value of everyone and everything else.

even having done that though; i can't help feel that it was just a case of having the wrong people, and that if i am in a situation where i have to work to survive, i'd still rather do it in a worker co-op than my current situation.

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skyfaller wrote (edited )

It sounds like rather than building a co-op where everyone is on the same page, the authors want you to organize at corporations run by capitalists who will never, ever agree with you or have the same interests. You will always be at war with them, either a hot war or a cold war.

It is true that we need to overthrow capitalism, but do we have to have internal struggles within our workplaces every day? Or is it OK to have a "safe space" where you can relax a little and focus on external struggles? Do you have to marry a capitalist so you can strike against them in the bedroom?

I do agree that worker's co-ops by themselves don't help much, but I think when they are combined with unionizing across an industry or an entire economy, worker co-ops can strike in solidarity with workers elsewhere and help in other ways. If the co-op members are also union members, that means they are also somewhat protected against their co-op turning evil, which certainly can happen (and has).

EDIT: To be 100% clear, co-ops and unionizing should not be mutually exclusive, and I think it is good and desirable to do both. Your co-op should be unionized.

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