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. Weekly meetings of the 10 worker-owners tackle business questions, investment decisions or personnel matters. Decisions are made by majority vote, not consensus.
New hires have a year-long apprenticeship before they are asked to join the cooperative.
Ed Rayher, printer, is a worker-owner at Common Wealth Printing. It's a highly competitive, risky kind of business. Some people work better in a highly structured environment where you have a boss telling you what to do. If the company goes under, maybe it goes under because of bad decision-making, but at least they were our decisions. I enjoy the ability to have input into the company.