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Legal and financeIntermediate

Forming a Worker Coop: LLC or Cooperative Corporation?

A SELC article explaining key tradeoffs between forming a worker cooperative as an LLC or as a cooperative corporation.

Source: Sustainable Economies Law CenterAdded June 12, 2026Published 2016
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Why it matters

Entity choice shapes how democratic governance is protected, how member rights are documented, and how the co-op may be taxed.

Best for

Founder teams comparing legal structures before drafting governance documents.

This article is a clear, accessible entry into one of the first legal governance decisions a worker co-op has to make. Because entity law and tax treatment vary across states and can change over time, it should be treated as orientation rather than legal advice.

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Heirloom Library entries are summaries and wayfinding notes. The original source is the best place to read the full resource.

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Equal Exchange Bylaws

A real-world example of articles of incorporation and bylaws from Equal Exchange, one of the better-known U.S. worker cooperatives.

Equal Exchange
Worker cooperativesLegal and finance+3 categoriesWorker co-opCooperative+1 model