An innovative pre-paid copy plan helped raise needed funds for equipment. Now in its third location, Collective Copies is finally in a ground-floor storefront. Every move has brought expansion. Responsibility is shared and decisions made by consensus. On the second Wednesday of every month, the worker-owners close up the shop for three hours for deliberations.
Job security is fairly high, since no one member has the power to unilaterally fire another.
If they survive the apprenticeship, they will become full members. After 15 years Roy sees only benefits and no real disadvantages to collective ownership. Some of our decisions might be made more slowly. Some Collective Copies customers are referrals from Common Wealth Printing, in business for nearly 16 years as a worker-owned enterprise. The highly competitive, technology-driven nature of the printing business has given Common Wealth a somewhat different history and structure.