The Democratic Corporation: The New Worker Cooperative Statute in Massachusetts

32 Pages Posted: 27 Dec 2017 Last revised: 19 Sep 2019

See all articles by Peter Pitegoff

Peter Pitegoff

University of Maine School of Law

David Ellerman

Independent

Date Written: 1983

Abstract

The worker cooperative corporation law recently enacted in Massachusetts presents a democratic corporate form new to American law. On a practical level, the law adopts the legal structure of the successful industrial cooperatives of Mondragon, Spain and adapts it to the American context. On a theoretical level, the law brings into the workplace two related normative principles which are absent in the conventional corporate form: the democratic principle of self-government and the principle of basing property acquisition on the fruits of one's labor.

Keywords: Massachusetts, worker cooperative, union

Suggested Citation

Pitegoff, Peter R. and Ellerman, David, The Democratic Corporation: The New Worker Cooperative Statute in Massachusetts (1983). New York University Review of Law & Social Change, Vol. 111, No. 441, 1983, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3091289

Peter R. Pitegoff (Contact Author)

University of Maine School of Law ( email )

246 Deering Avenue
Portland, ME 04102
United States
207-780-4362 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://mainelaw.maine.edu/faculty/profile/pitegoff-peter/

David Ellerman

Independent

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