APIRG Research Committee

Alberta Workers' Health Centre

Workers / Labour / Injured and/or disabled workers

AWHC is a registered charity with a mandate to help improve the health and safety of Alberta’s workplaces and to help those who have suffered from workplace injuries and illness. Since the founding of the Centre in 1983 most of the provinces labour unions have made this financially possible.

The Alberta Workers’ Health Centre is a registered charity and non-profit organization.

Producer Co-ops: Investigating the Feasibility of an Alternative for Injured/Disabled Workers

A feasibility study of some questions related to the establishment of “worker co-ops” as an alternative to returning to the job or forming small business using individual entrepreneurial models.

This project would take the form of a research paper.

Injured and permanently partially disabled workers often follow one of two paths:

1) return to work in a modified capacity (relatively rare for permanently disabled) or struggle to maintain or regain employment while enduring pain, disability and extreme pressure from employers and co-workers.

Alternately, they 2) are ‘encouraged’ to pursue training and incentives to form small businesses along the models of the (able-bodied) individual entrepreneur. Even for workers with full physical abilities this approach is fraught with a high failure rate. Workers with disabilities usually face even greater obstacles.

We are interested in exploring the possibilities, barriers, or steps in the formation of worker co-ops comprised entirely or mostly of disabled workers who might be better able to support each other as co-owners and co-workers.

While we estimate that this paper would be 10-15 pages in length, overall quality and substance in writing is more important than the length.

Because the student would likely only have time in one semester to cover a few angles related to the feasibility of worker co-ops in Alberta, this paper would be used for synthesis into a larger study. We would use the student’s results to determine the feasibility of worker co-op projects in Alberta and if an organization like the AWHC might have a role to play in facilitating them.

Part of fairly serving workers in Alberta (particularly injured or disabled workers) involves exploration of workplace choices and alternative means to finding job satisfaction. Worker co-ops, if they are feasible, present one possibility for workers to take control over their economic circumstances, share knowledge and work in co-operation.

The student should pick no more than 2 aspects of worker co-op feasibility to study, which should relate to the student’s own interests:

• Legislative framework / barriers
• Financial (start-up) barriers or incentives
• Organizational skills / supports required / available
• Existing frameworks / programs elsewhere, if any (might want to locate and pick 2 as a comparison)
• Possible successful models / templates
• Cultural impediments to realizing this model (ghettoization of workers with disabilities?)

- Writing a coherent paper that synthesizes and evaluates these aspects
- Optional qualitative component: talking to injured workers or reps from their organizations

- within one semester
- 3-4 hrs/week for one semester should be plenty of time.

1-2 hours is available with the liaison. This time would be set aside for questions, discussion, and guidance; it would not be mandatory to use all that time.

I would prefer to meet in person to discuss the project rather than by email, but I am reachable by email. The liaison will be gone the last week of March but should be around at all other times in the semester.

The liason can provide starting points for the student and point them to studies and organizations where they might want to begin their search, and be available for discussion and feedback of the student’s approaches and ideas. Budget for phone, faxing, travel will also be provided.

Upper level of undergraduate programme or graduate programme.

Good time management skills; critical perspective; good communication and technical writing skills; critical perspective on one’s own work experience.

This project would complement any student’s interest in sociology (work/health/illness), disability studies, social psychology, (micro-)economics, social work, business or law.