Like many co-ops arriving on the market, the Drivers Cooperative is pitched as a more equitable antidote to the notoriously exploitative practices of its competitors, chiefly Uber and Lyft. The Drivers Cooperative’s members are paid a significantly larger commission on each ride, and any profits go straight to the drivers. With 2,500 drivers, the new co-op has already established itself as a force to be reckoned with.
The idea of a cooperative business, or co-op, sounds almost utopian: a shared-ownership model where profits are distributed to various stakeholders as opposed to shareholders only. Instead of an oligarchy—as is the case with Bezosworld, for instance—cooperatives are democratic. The collective group of owners—the workers, consumers, or small-business owners—share the profits and often have a say in the company’s governance.
Read the rest at The American Prospect
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