Comment by herrherrmann
10 hours ago
“Drivers often need firing.” – is that a given fact or would a small coop perhaps do better selection and/or training of drivers to create a high retention? This is a recurring scheme of cooperatives as well: longevity and people-centric thinking. While the standard business might toss out people without thinking twice, coops might approach these kinds of issues with more creativity and resourcefulness.
> would a small coop perhaps do better selection and/or training of drivers to create a high retention?
This is wishful thinking. They might reduce the amount of firings needed, but you can't spot in advance all the people who will slack off or cause problems given the chance. Not unless you're a literal god.
It’s not just about hiring people who care to begin with, but caring for the business is much more natural if you’re a co-owner and can directly benefit from the organization’s success. Compare that to the gig economy where workers are worn down, paid as little as possible, and thrown out at a whim. In worker-owned businesses, workers are more motivated and more retained (there are also studies around this, afaik).
That "caring" a coop member has gets prioritized after addiction, health issues, family obligations, and so on.
You still need a mechanism for dealing with workers that e.g. just don't show up. You also need that mechanism for co-owners of an LLC, and so on.
That literally does not address my point at all. By including words like "more" rather than "always" you're basically admitting that there are non-zero circumstances where workers don't care or don't stay, which is all the point I made. You could justifiably quibble with "often", but you absolutely will not get away without a firing process.
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If you don't have a large pool, you can't provide convenience.
When I order an Uber, I want it now. I won't be waiting 1hr for it.
As a counterpoint, living in a remote area, scheduling a ride 1h in advance is a lot better than not having a ride at all; that would be plenty to e.g. drop my car off at a mechanic / pick it up, without begging for rides.