Employee ownership, participation and workplace safety: A response

This article questions assumptions from a 1996 article in Economic and Industrial Democracy on employee ownership and workplace safety and reviews findings about the safety performance of firms in Washington state and Canada. There is also discussion about the economic performance of employee-owned companies in relation to their competitors. Researchers are cautioned not to assume an equation between employee ownership and high levels of worker participation. The article concludes with a discussion of what might be required to successfully change company practices so that safer workplaces can be created.