Even when I was living in a very liberal area, there were only a small handful of stores that advertised as worker co-ops. It’s funny too because those co-op stores were all incredibly popular and successful, so I don’t understand why they are so comparatively rare? The organizational structure seems simple to maintain, and has a high incentive for regular workers to go above and beyond since they directly benefit from the business being successful, so what’s the deal? I am speaking from a US centric view, so maybe things are different in Europe, but even with my limited knowledge I feel like they are relatively unpopular there too, but maybe not? I dunno.
I appreciate your practical perspective vs the armchair philosophy on the matter. My company is private for-profit, but with a very loose heirarchy and a small team. None of us except the founders even own any of the company, but we are well paid and well taken care of with generous insurance and bonuses, and regular raises. Most of us appreciate that and work hard so the company can succeed - and we all get to keep working here. However we’ve had a few people who really didn’t pull their weight, and it does indeed breed resentment and detachment which only gets worse if nothing is done to correct it. If they hadn’t been let go, the damage to our culture could have sunk us.