Calling All Co-ops: Pledge your commitment to Labor Neutrality
In 2025, the U.S. Federation of worker Cooperatives membership voted unanimously to endorse labor neutrality as a standard for the cooperative sector.
(Read the resolution here.) Unions and co-ops are building solidarity: starting unionized worker-owned companies, organizing member support for workers at co-ops like REI, advocating for common policies that deliver raises and better working conditions, and leading by example to show what democracy looks like in the workplace.
However, many cooperators are unfamiliar with how unions work in practice, and many union members don’t yet see co-ops as aligned partners. Despite the historic gains of the labor movement over the past century, union membership in the US is at a historic low. While membership in agricultural, electric, food, and financial co-ops is ubiquitous in the US, the transformative potential of collective ownership is not widely felt today. Cooperative management can feel confusing to match with collective bargaining since unions and co-ops tend to use different systems, practices, and norms, especially in worker co-ops where worker-owners “wear both hats” of worker and owner simultaneously.
What us labor Neutrality?
“Labor neutrality” is a widely recognized standard by unions for employers to respect their workers’ rights. It means they stay neutral when their workers organize for better working conditions, taking no position (for or against) if they decide to form a labor union and voluntarily recognize and bargain with them if they do so.
Why should cooperative organizations commit to labor neutrality…?
… Especially a worker co-op where the worker-members already own and control the company?
Not all workers in a co-op are owners. Member-owners have a responsibility to treat all their employees with respect, especially if non-supervisory workers decide a labor union is the best way to make their voice heard about wages, hours, and working conditions.
A union can offer external support to individual workers navigating their rights and benefits provided by the co-op (e.g., shop steward representation), even in the rare case where all the workers are owners. A union can also help differentiate the decision-making process about business strategy versus working conditions.
For nonprofits, business developers, and networks, labor neutrality will make their program work more effective as their staff become more familiar with the practical dynamics of working with labor unions to advance worker and cooperative ownership.
The cooperative and labor movements’ futures are tied together. As co-ops navigate the coming decades of political and economic turmoil, we must consider what coalitions we are building to keep our communities safe and resilient. Making labor neutrality a standard in the co-op sector will make clear the authenticity of the cooperative difference to labor leaders, policymakers, and media, opening doors for new shared strategies for funding, benefits, and policy change.
We are now calling on USFWC members…
…and the broader cooperative sector to take the next step and make a public commitment to labor neutrality in their organization. This is a call to action for all types of co-op businesses, nonprofits, support organizations, and networks alike. Pledges will be made publicly and listed on the USFWC's website. By publicly committing to respect workers' rights, we are proudly demonstrating the cooperative difference to workers and leaders across the US.