When Ahmed picked up his first passenger, he almost cried. As an immigrant from Morocco and a rideshare driver for almost ten years, Ahmed was overrun with emotion as the first rider buckled up in his backseat and he realized that the Drivers Cooperative Colorado had become a dream come true.
Ahmed, as a driver for the Drivers Cooperative Colorado, is employed under a democratic system to the rideshare experience, where drivers are given more governing power over their employee status and their opportunities. Unlike competing platforms like Uber and Lyft where a majority of the profits go directly to the corporations, not the drivers, the Drivers Co-Op Colorado prioritizes drivers’ profits along with their power. Employee-owned businesses like the Co-Op work to generate an alternative capitalistic community, where employees are not controlled by corporate America; instead, they have the power to control their own livelihoods, while also contributing to the livelihoods of their communities.
The Drivers Co-Op emerged as a branch of the Rocky Mountain Employee Ownership Center (RMEOC), an organization dedicated to transforming businesses into employee-owned enterprises, promoting wealth creation for workers and race and gender equality along the way. The Co-Op is spearheaded by Minsun Ji, who is considered by many in the community to be a “bright spot” with an “unwavering belief in a more just and equitable society.” Ji is the Executive Director of the Rocky Mountain Employee Ownership Center, whose background is built on community organizing, labor activism, and education.
“This Drivers Cooperative Colorado’s app launch is not just another business. It is a story of hard-working rideshare drivers who feel so much hope for the locally-owned businesses that they themselves have created,” said Ji.
According to the Center for Community Wealth Buildings, there are more than 500 worker cooperatives across the US, with more than thirty located in Colorado. The average membership of these cooperatives are seven members, so the Drivers Co-Op, with a staggering membership of over 500 individuals, is one of the largest cooperatives in the US—and it’s just getting started.
The Co-Op officially launched on Sept. 25 at a gathering on the west steps of the Denver Capitol building. With a turnout of around 50 individuals, ranging from drivers to riders and supporters from the community and the legislature, the launch event was the peak of emotion and pride for how far the organization has come.
One of the drivers, Raymond, began to choke up as he took hold of the mic at the top of the Capitol steps. “This is what we all dreamed of,” he cheered; “This is all about drivers, about Colorado, and keeping it all local.” As a rideshare driver for the past decade, Raymond was beaming with pride to finally be part of an organization that prioritizes its drivers, advocating for its growth across Colorado so more drivers and riders alike can have access to the equity and justice that the Co-Op represents.
Another driver who has been instrumental to the growth of the Co-Op, Ahmed, commented about the importance of the Drivers Co-Op for immigrants such as himself. “For me, the American Dream is to share, not to keep to yourself,” Ahmed said. “The American Dream, for me, is to help the driver that’s suffering…” by paying them higher and more equitable wages, just as the Co-Op aims to do.
Drivers like Raymond and Ahmed are among the 500 plus members of the Co-Op who are working to better support their lives, as well as those in their community. Rides through the Co-Op are much more cost-efficient than from competing companies like Uber and Lyft, and they’re much more personal as well. A dedicated rider at the launch event expressed his deep gratitude for the Co-Op drivers, saying that “They sincerely care about me.” As a rider who needs accommodations for his wheelchair, he stressed how easy, convenient, and comfortable riding with the Co-Op drivers was, and that “without them, I’d probably be stuck home doing nothing.”
Alece Montez, the co-executive director of the AJL Foundation—an organization dedicated to investing in people, programs, and movements that benefit Colorado families—emphasized the importance of employee-owned businesses for not only the surrounding communities, but for the direction of worker’s rights in an ever-changing capitalist economy. “You are the giants we read about in history books,” she said in a nod to the historic presence of the Drivers Co-Op as the first rideshare cooperative initiative in the country.
She praised the Co-Op for its “work that empowers and inspires, liberates and transforms, restores and softens,” and continued to stress that “your efforts to establish the Drivers Cooperative does just that, but your efforts also call for justice. They demand a change where people are valued as human beings and not a mere line item in corporate America’s budgets. Your work advocates for a more just and sustainable economy, one where the people and planet are prioritized over endless profit and growth.”
Sen. Faith Winter and Rep. Steph Vigil were also present at the launch event, as they have been influential figures in passing groundbreaking legislation that protects gig workers like rideshare drivers. Just a few days after the launch event on Sept. 30, Denver City Council joined in their support of the Co-Op by signing a proclamation that recognizes and supports the Co-Op for providing invaluable rideshare services to the community, and for contributing to just wages and better working conditions for the people of Denver.
The Co-Op’s growth is rapidly increasing, but drivers are still needed across the state. Michael Ford, a volunteer for the Co-Op, says the process to becoming a driver is simple: just start by downloading the app. After drivers familiarize themselves with the app, they have to attend an orientation session, either on Zoom or in-person at the office (located at 1562 S Parker Road, Room 228), sign a membership agreement form, then pass the background check. A process this accessible calls for a wide variety of Coloradans, no matter how long they’ve been in the rideshare industry, and promises for the prioritization of drivers across the state.
As the Co-Op continues to expand, its impact will not only be felt by those behind the wheel but by everyone who gets in the car, from riders to supporters, in the journey toward a more equitable future. Download the app, called “Drivers Co-Op Colorado,” and follow them on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and TikTok @driverscoopcolorado for more updates and to show your support.
Photos from Chloe Ragsdale and Minsun Ji.
