Introduction to Platform Cooperatives Through Up and Go Case Study

• Esmeralda Flores: home cleaner in NYC using tech platform app
• Earns $25/hour (2x previous company wage) - living wage
• No algorithmic boss changing pay/hours - provides stability
• Weekly worker meetings decide company operations
• Receives training in finance, management, conflict resolution
• Up and Go = platform cooperative where workers share governance and ownership
• Workers decide wages, benefits, customer charges
• Truly democratic workplace

Traditional Tech Platform Problems vs Platform Co-op Solutions

• Tech platforms deny living wages, organizing rights
• Expand economic inequality
• Traditional platforms take 25-50% commission (exorbitant for immigrants who make up majority of gig workforce)
• Up and Go workers decided 5% commission for platform operations/credit card bills
• 95% goes directly to workers
• No fiduciary duty to shareholders to maximize profit

Cooperative Model Foundation and History

• Co-ops = group with shared need coming together to address it
• Shared ownership and democratic governance
• Consumer co-ops exist since 1844 (textile weavers in north England)
  • Pay cut in half, families starving
  • Sold oatmeal, sugar, flour through cooperative store
• Modern examples: Land O'Lakes, Ocean Spray
• Platform co-ops combine 200-year-old cooperative model with digital platform model

Platform Cooperative Characteristics

• Equal vote in decision-making for all members
• Shared decision process on:
  • Customer charges
  • Worker pay
  • Data collection and sales
• Scaling equality approach
• Cleaning industry has 75% annual turnover
• Esmeralda with Up and Go 3 years (almost since beginning)
• Shared ownership includes intellectual property of software
• Can create social franchise networks to compete against large tech companies

Diversity and Access Benefits

• Up and Go mostly Latin American immigrants
• Traditional VC funding for minority-women-led founder teams: single percentile success rate
• Platform co-ops enable diversity in tech founders that wouldn't otherwise access funding

Global Platform Cooperative Movement

• Hundreds of platform co-ops worldwide
• More resilient in crisis, more productive, retain workers longer, often pay better
• Platform Cooperativism Consortium at The New School NYC
• Supporting 500 projects/businesses in 30+ countries

Specific Examples

Co-op Ride

• Driver-owned taxi platform with 3,500 drivers
• Drivers make 10-30% more than large ride-hailing platforms
• Passengers pay 5% less
• Already one of largest worker cooperatives in US

Fairbnb

• Community-focused short-term rental alternative
• Available in 120 cities/villages with 4,500+ hosts
• Half commission goes to community projects
• Example: food-distribution center in Genoa, Italy

Operational Structure

• Hire management and tech workers like traditional companies
• Key difference: operational rules decided by all members
• Management executes collectively-decided rules

Sector Applications Beyond Labor

• Transportation, mobility, short-term rental
• Care sector, culture/arts, higher education, data economy
• Cooperative data trusts concept
• Social media cooperative where users own platform and decide data usage
• No fiduciary duty to maximize profits allows privacy/transparency focus

Scaling Model Differences

• Up and Go sales increased 97% from 2018-2019
• Don't scale like traditional Silicon Valley companies
• Not about going public or maximizing profits
• Scale by creating networks of companies competing against large corporations
• Scale more quickly through global co-op networks
• Scale democracy through decentralized crypto networks/blockchain

Call to Action

• Teach model in law schools and business schools
• Entrepreneurs start platform co-ops instead of traditional tech platforms
• Incubators include this model
• Unions start platform cooperatives
• Ethical social impact investors consider for equality legacy

Economic Diversity Conclusion

• Not claiming to eradicate economic inequality forever
• Need more variety in economy: small unionized private businesses, employee ownership
• When markets fail and government safety nets break down, people cooperate
• Examples: food cooperatives during crisis, platform co-ops for living wages
• Historical examples addressing structural racism/inequality: Black Panthers Free Breakfast Program, AFL-CIO
• Democracy spreading from countries to workplace