Metis Construction is a 36-employee worker cooperative that contracts to do residential and commercial building in Seattle, Washington. The business was founded in 2007 by a sole-proprietor who has always identified as an artisan builder, more than an owner, and who previously worked alongside his employees as an independent contractor. Believing that the pride of ownership aligned the sense of craft and shared responsibility exhibited in the workers, he sold the business to an employee ownership trust in 2015 and continued working for it. Legal support was provided by the ICA Group. The structure should allow the business to scale up with new owners and maintain accountability to those workers in perpetuity.
Industry: Construction
Location: Seattle, Washington
Number of employees: 36
Became employee owned: 2016
Assistance: ICA Group
Learn more
- DAWI – Workers to Owners: The Story of Metis Construction (video) (2018)
- Economic Update: Seattle Firm Converts to Worker Co-Op (video) (2018)
- Fast Company – More U.S. businesses are becoming worker co-ops: Here’s why (2018)
- LEAF – METIS Construction Inc a Worker-Owned Business (video) (2016)
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