Taran Ramage sits behind his desk located at the rear of the office, strategically overlooking the work benches where technicians at TechCollective — an IT support company — work diligently on componentry.
It looks like your average capitalist scene — with a boss overlooking the workers — using their labor as a commodity for profit. However, unlike most other IT support companies in the Bay Area, and around the country for that matter — there is no boss.
Ramage is the senior technician, but he is no boss, and the other employees are his equivalent. TechCollective is a worker-owned company. They sell their labor and share the profit — equally. As far as Ramage knows, there are only a dozen or so worker-owned technology support companies in the country, and only two of them are full-service: TechCollective in San Francisco, and C4 in New Orleans.
Established in 2007, TechCollective, located at 263 San Carlos St. in the Mission District, provides a full range of technology support and consulting services. They specialize in the technology needs of individuals and small to medium-sized businesses and other organizations — especially nonprofits.
TechCollective is the brainchild of Yochi Gal, an Israeli immigrant, who brought the worker-owned concept to San Francisco from his homeland. Gal and three other disgruntled “techies” — Jason Luong, Billy Fang, and Sven Maier, all foreigners — founded the company five years ago.
The founders opened TechCollective as a California Consumer Cooperative Cooperation, also known as a co-op. The organization consists of a one member, one vote structure, where each worker is an equal owner. At the end of the year, profits can be rolled into the company, and doled out to each worker-owner as a tax-free patronage — similar to corporate dividends.
Ramage joined the organization three and one-half years ago. Of the original founders, only Luong is still there, but the legacy of a social work environment continues. Currently there are six worker-owners, five men, and one woman — Sara Sakamoto. There have been as many as ten.
New worker-owners must first work as an employee for six months, and then they must be unanimously voted in by all existing worker-owners. All other decisions made within TechCollective require only a majority vote.
The worker-owners practice a collective mentality, and cooperate in a democratic setting, making sure that they treat customers right, as they each have a personal stake in the success of the company.
It is also important that they are happy, and the crew holds regular meetings to openly communicate about what works, and what can be improved. They might not make as much as the top paid technicians in the field, but they say it is worth it. After all, they are going after sustainability and democracy instead of pure cynical commerce, which they call the corporate world.
TechCollective’s company motto reads: “HERE TO FIX YOUR COMPUTER, NOT MAKE YOU FEEL STUPID.” Customers seem to like it. The organization earned a five-star rating on Yelp, with over 200 reviews. Many reviews say the worker-owners are down to earth at TechCollective.
TechCollective worker-owners also teach their clients that technology should be for everyone, and they suggest free products, such as Linux “open-source” programming when appropriate.
The company is fiscally successful. Almost all of the original funding sources are paid off, and the book is in the black, as of last year.
One of the company goals is to ensure all workers are happy, so they encourage humor on the job — “geek” humor especially, much more so than your casual office humor. They are encouraged to be themselves at work, and they do not hold anything back. “Nothing is sacred,” Ramage said.
They are there to get the job done and make some money, but in a sustainable and healthy way. This makes TechCollective an appealing place to work.
The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 2012 as the International Year of the Cooperatives, intending to raise public awareness of the invaluable contributions of cooperative enterprises toward poverty reduction, employment generation and social integration.
The year 2012 also highlights the strengths of the cooperative business model as an alternative means of doing business and furthering socioeconomic development.
The worker-owned concept is working so well for TechCollective that they are developing more sophisticated services including web-design and instructional services. They are also charting their expansion with an eye towards the East Bay.
However, they never forget their primary mission — to provide good jobs for technicians. The worker-owner cooperative model can be used for any line of work, and it is better for you — the worker.
“You can Occupy your Job,” Ramage said.
More information about TechCollective can be found at www.techcollective.com/.
