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Comment by TulliusCicero | Hacker News Reader

> all workers are owners with equal share.

How common is this in worker co-operatives? My guess is "doesn't exist anywhere" -- I'm guessing there's always some correlation between seniority and ownership share, even if it's just "you have to pass a short probationary period before you're an owner".

It sounds like they haven't really thought this through. Besides seniority -- does someone who's worked there for twenty years really deserve the same share of ownership that someone who started last week does? -- there's also hours to consider: does someone who works ten or twenty hours a week deserve the same share as someone who works forty hours a week? I think most would agree that doesn't really make sense, but the current wording of the license mandates it.

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In most co-ops, the term "owner" has explicit meaning that is usually very clearly laid out in the bylaws of the organization.

The Three Rivers Co-op (a consumer co-op) publishes their bylaws and explains how it works. Worker co-ops are similarly verbose on this as well. https://www.threeriversmarket.coop/co-op-membership/

> I'm guessing there's always some correlation between seniority and ownership share

If not then you could trivially fleece them by joining then immediately leaving with your share.

Usually in a co-op your shareholding only lasts as long as you are a member

I agree that it doesn't seem to have been completely thought through, but I still like the idea, I think.

Hours are also not necessarily a good measure of contribution. A good developer can put in 1 hour of work and produce more value than a bad developer in 2, 5, or even 10 hours.

Which is an argument for unequal pay, yes?

I think it depends on which camp you're in:

- the camp that believes pay should be proportional to the value produced;

- the camp that believes pay should be proportional to the effort put in.

> the camp that believes pay should be proportional to the value produced

The problem is that no one knows, how to evaluate this proportion. Assuming LTV makes sense, how to evaluate who contributes more: a designer or a programmer.

Don't guess if you don't know anything about any real life co-ops. Not trying to be mean, but co-ops with equal share ownership do exists - so your post is close to make believe.

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