Apollo Rios Lomba tells me that working at White Electric is their favorite job. “It’s truly safe here…I’m not going to come to work and feel like my coworkers are judging me.” Sunshine streams into the narrow cafe on Westminster Street, bathing the many plants by the front window in light. The walls are lined with rotating local art and a large portion of the east wall is covered in community flyers. The shop can only seat about 25 people, and tables are often full; however, the inclusive and down to earth environment lends itself to people borrowing a chair or sharing a table.
Apollo compared working at White Electric to his stints at corporate coffee chains like Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks, saying “There’s a sense of security, I think, that comes with working here. I think it’s just because we’re so connected to the community.”
Four years since its transition to a worker-owned cooperative, White Electric Coffee is only one of two worker-owned coffee shops in the state. The other is Small Format on Wickenden Street, which describes itself as a “queer-cooperatively run open-air gallery and exhibition room offering coffee, cocktails, art, and community.” Both White Electric and Small Format are members of the recently launched Rhode Island Worker Cooperative Alliance (RIWCA).
What is a Worker-Owned Business?
Although many may be familiar with what a worker-owned cooperative is, it’s unclear to most what it’s like to actually work in one. The business model can be confusing since “cooperatives” can take different forms, or be organized in different models. There are worker cooperatives like White Electric (which RIWCA specifically advocates for), social cooperatives, housing cooperatives, credit unions (cooperative banks), and multi-stakeholder cooperatives. Worker cooperatives are owned equally by the employees, who operate the business democratically, voting on decisions collectively. The Democracy at Work Institute defines the characteristics of worker cooperatives as “Worker members own the business and they participate in its financial success on the basis of their labor contribution to the cooperative. Worker members have representation on and vote for the board of directors or governing body, adhering to the principle of one worker, one vote.”
The day-to-day structure at a worker cooperative can vary depending on the cooperative’s by-laws. At White Electric, the by laws allow workers a direct say in operations, even for newcomers like Apollo, who was hired about ten months ago. He says he provides input on things like: “What are we going to serve? What are we making? That’s a whole group decision.”
Despite seeming like most coffee shops, the typical workplace dynamics are radically different. Apollo reflects that, “The part that I had to adjust to was [that] there’s no manager. I’m in control of myself, everyone takes control of themselves. Figuring that out was so against everything that we do in society that there’s not a reference point.”
Being a part of a worker cooperative does have its challenges, as does any collaborative endeavor. Many meetings are required, and can involve a lot of dialogue. Democracy slows down the decision making process, compared to top-down decision making. Arguably though, this can be a positive. Everyone gets to be heard, and more minds, viewpoints, and agency give cooperatives an advantage in terms of employee morale and overall productivity.
The Transition to Worker Ownership
White Electric didn’t begin as a worker cooperative. The business and its real estate were listed for sale in 2020 by its then owners, Tom and Heather Toupin. A group of employees had formed CUPS Cooperative (which stands for Collaborative Union of Providence Service-Workers) in 2020, first unionizing, then eventually crowdfunding, securing loans, and researching cooperative models in order to purchase the business in 2021. According to The Providence Journal, “A crowd funding effort got them more than $50,000 which helped them secure the loan,” with more than 400 individual donations.
Financing employee ownership transitions or start ups can be tricky, especially in a small state like Rhode Island. Financing can be provided through both traditional lenders and non-profits that “exist specifically to finance co-op starts and conversions.” A few examples of these organizations include Cooperative Fund of the Northeast, Shared Capital Cooperative, and The Working World.
Additionally, the public launch of the Rhode Island Worker Cooperative Alliance in November 2024 (hosted at White Electric) signaled an effort to share resources across worker-owned RI co-ops, and make these resources available to new cooperatives.
One of the fellow members in RIWCA—located about a 15 minute walk from White Electric—is Heartleaf Books. Mads Vericker, one of the store’s sibling cofounders, explained that Heartleaf is “A hybrid co-op, so we are worker-owned and consumer-owned. We have two worker-owners, Caroline Vericker and Mads Vericker, and almost 500 consumer-members. We operate with the guidance of a Board of Directors, made up of 5 consumer-owners.”
Vericker acknowledges that sustaining the business has been difficult at times, but attributes their cooperative model as an essential part of the store’s success, saying “Forming and sustaining the co-op has been a challenge at times, but those challenges stem more from the nature of the bookselling business, which has extremely tight margins and competition from big companies that use books as loss-leaders in their stores or online. In fact, the only reason we’ve been able to survive is due to our co-op model, with our members providing supplemental income that keeps the brick-and-mortar open.”
Notably, Heartleaf received financing support from Cooperative Fund of the Northeast after being denied capital through traditional financing. The formation of RIWCA will hopefully help to shed light on resources like CFNE and community knowledge so that more co-ops like these can open without having to reinvent the cooperative wheel.
Apollo’s positive personal experience at White Electric mirrors the success that the Verickers have had at Heartleaf. These few examples illuminate a broader narrative of workplace transformation. Worker cooperatives aren’t just alternative business models—they’re radical reimaginings of how work can function. By redistributing decision-making power and financial stakes, these enterprises challenge traditional hierarchical structures by making work democratic. This offers workers like Apollo not just a job, but genuine ownership and community. Whether you are looking to become a worker-owner like Apollo or a co-founder like Mads and Caroline, Vericker’s advice is clear: “Start by talking with other co-ops in Rhode Island!”
Worker-owned cooperatives
This list includes worker-owned cooperatives in Providence, RI and surrounding suburbs, compiled to the best of our current knowledge. If any listing is incorrect or incomplete, please let us know at info@pvdeye.org
3D Anatomy Studios – They create anatomy education products for universities and do not have a storefront.
Birth Workers Cooperative – A collective of doulas.
Commonplace Cooperative – A “platform cooperative” that builds cooperative digital platforms.
Doulas Conectadas – A collective of Latine doulas.
Four Buds Floral Studio – Four friends who opened a floral shop.
Heartleaf Books – An independent bookstore in Federal Hill.
Milk Thistle Kitchen – A soon to launch worker-owned bakery.
Nuts and Bolts Nursery – A permaculture nursery in Smithfield, RI.
PVD Flowers – Soon-to-open BIPOC worker-owned unionized cannabis dispensary.
Small Format – A queer-centered third space and coffeeshop: gallery and exhibition room offering coffee, cocktails, art, and community. Small Format converted to a cooperative model in November of 2024.
Sol Power – A solar installation cooperative that’s been open since 2013 based in Charlestown.
Starboard – A software development studio.
White Electric – A worker-owned coffee shop on Westminster Street.
ADVOCATES
This is a list of advocates specific to the state of Rhode Island who serve the greater Providence area:
Break the Cycle Cooperative Hub
An advocacy organization whose mission is to, “create and promote access to ownership and employment through worker-owned cooperatives for formerly incarcerated people and BIPOC communities, thereby creating avenues for economic and racial justice.
CO-OP rhody
a worker cooperative business incubator serving Rhode Island with a special focus on the union co-op model
Fuerza Laboral
a non-profit worker center out of Central Falls whose mission is to promote labor justice which also runs an incubator program.
Local Return
A non-profit organization whose mission, “is to build community wealth in Rhode Island through ownership and investment, particularly in neighborhoods that have experienced historical disinvestment.”
Rhode Island Center for Employee Ownership
A nonprofit whose mission is to educate and inform the public about worker-owned cooperatives and why they are beneficial.
Rhode Island Worker Cooperative Alliance
An organization building ties between worker-owned co-ops, democratic workplaces, and mutualists in the Ocean State.
Rhode Island Community Investment Cooperative
a public benefit corporation acting with the values and structure of a cooperative. They provide funding opportunities and give community members a chance to invest.
UFCW Local 328 a labor union and alliance member.
Samantha Garcia is a freelance writer and musician. She was the lead editor of The Rio Review, an academic literary journal based in Austin, Texas, and has dabbled in music journalism. Now, as a proud resident of Providence, she is pursuing more of what she is passionate about – namely art and social justice. With the goal of channeling her creativity into storytelling that captures the heart of local narratives, Samantha intends to keep a keen eye for compelling stories and to continue exploring the rich tapestry of Providence’s community.
Dana Schneider is a writer living in Elmwood with her one-toothed cat named Froggy. With a background in both public policy and poetry, she is nosy about people, their complexities, and how we experience daily life within and despite the structures around us. She also loves eating the “Hungry Man” special at Seaplane Diner on weekend mornings.
