Worker Co-operatives and Trade Unions Bob Cannell

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Business Success £35 million sales (2013) £1 million profit Leading independent brands (Suma & Ecoleaf) ROCE > Apple Inc. Exports to 40 countries 1000s of customers from supermarket chains to student food buying co-ops 37 years of innovation in services and products Double market rate wages Two month bonus

Sumawww.suma.coop Employee buyout % employee owned and controlled Multi-skilling and job variety Equal wage rates for all Democratic management Management by consensus no Managing Director, no Chief Exec, no Executive management

BFAWU branch Suma The Suma TU story – How we found our Union 80% of Suma members are Union members

20 year badges

How we work with our Union We use them for: Legal advice Terms and Conditions benchmarks Mediation and Conciliation Defending individual workers Workplace education Political campaigns

How our union uses Suma As an example of: Good workplace health and safety Good employment terms and conditions Worker controlled employment

TUs and worker co-ops in the UK Historical disagreements from 19 th century Political differences (collective bargaining vs. worker control) Resort to worker co-ops if no alternative (Tower Colliery, Remploy, Wales Co-op Centre) ‘Unused potential for recruiting TU members in the private sector’ David Jenkins, Wales TUC Employee buyouts of private SMEs assisted by unions and recruitment of worker owners – as in France

Worker Co-operatives in the UK Like USA large employee ownership sector – John Lewis 80,000 partners not employee controlled small worker cooperative sector largest 450 members, worker owned and controlled International Cooperative Alliance standards

SUMA is, at heart, a political statement that workers can successfully manage their own businesses without an owner/executive elite.