What is a worker-owned cooperative?
Renegade Commons isn't a traditional consulting firm. We're a worker-owned cooperative — which means the people doing the work are the same people who own the business, and who therefore enjoy the full fruits of their labor.
The short version
A worker cooperative, or a co-op, is a business governed by the people who work in it. Instead of the top-down hierarchy of a traditional corporation — or the demands of outside investors — every worker-owner gets a democratic vote in how the business runs: who we recruit, what services we offer, which clients we take on and how we split up our profits.
There's no CEO collecting a seven-figure salary while the people at the bottom doing the work scrape by, and there's no contradiction between capital and labor when capital is labor — just us: a small team of seasoned organizers and tech pros who decided to build a company we'd actually want to work for.
The seven cooperative principles
Co-ops around the world are guided by a shared set of principles. Here's how they show up in our day-to-day work:
1 Voluntary & Open Membership
Anyone who shares our values and does the work can become a worker-owner. No buy-in from a venture capitalist.
2 Democratic Member Control
One worker-owner, one vote. Every major decision — from our budget to our client list — gets put to a vote.
3 Member Economic Participation
Profits go back to the worker-owners who earned them, and to the work we believe in — not to absentee shareholders.
4 Autonomy & Independence
We don't take orders from outside investors, and we don't trade our values for a bigger contract.
5 Education, Training & Information
We invest in each other — teaching campaign strategy, tech skills, and co-op management so everyone levels up.
6 Cooperation among Cooperatives
We partner with other co-ops, unions, and community organizations whenever we can. Solidarity over competition.
7 Concern for Community
Our work is rooted in the communities we serve — North Carolina progressive campaigns first, always.
Democracy belongs in every area of life — especially the one where we spend most of our time: the workplace.