Goals of Worker-Owned Companies is to Rebuild Community
The worker-owned companies in Cleveland (like the Evergreen Cooperatives) are linked to a nonprofit, community-benefiting corporation. The co-ops return 10 percent of their profits to a revolving fund, part of which is used for the community; otherwise, they are independently run, worker-owned companies—except that they can't be sold without the agreement of the community organization. The goal is to rebuild community, not simply benefit a small group of workers who may sell the company and run off to the suburbs as soon as they make substantial money—after being financed and developed by the basic complex.
Source: Gar Alperovitz (author of America Beyond Capitalism, Lionel R. Bauman Professor of Political Economy at the University of Maryland and co-founder of the Democracy Collaborative) From interview/article: The Mayday Books and Hub Bike Co-ops in Minneapolis, MN by Neal Gorenflo published 4-9-2012 http://www.shareable.net/blog/co-op-nation-interview-with-gar-alperovitz Neal Gorenflo, "Co-Op Nation: Interview with Gar Alpertovitz," Shareable, Apr. 9, 2012. http://www.shareable.net/blog/co-op-nation-interview-with-gar-alperovitz [verified 4/25/14]