Business Practices
Our cultural norms dedicate us to our values of Economic Agency, Personal Fulfillment, Relational Courage, Joy, Reciprocity, & Transparency
We practice those values by operating under Washington State LCA laws and applying for B-Corp certification. Limited Cooperative Associations are a new type of business structure that allows for memberships & dues, voting and transparent reporting. We think they’re a great alternative to the bureaucracy of nonprofits and the unequal distribution of wealth within traditional business structures.
Within our LCA, each employee is paid the same rate and are expected to work for 35 hours/week at most. A 20-35-hour workweek allows our employees to stay active in their communities so they don’t lose touch with who we’re serving. Our strategy also normalizes contributions to our team made by those who are disabled and unable to work 40 hours in a week. We also believe that 40-hour workweeks are diminishing our overall quality of life - we are meant to live our lives, not simply work for work’s sake.
Business partnerships are what keep our network healthy. To help clear and clean some toxic business environmental waters, we are very picky about who we choose to include in our productive business partnerships. Each of our business partners have shown active commitments that are in line with ALL of Defiance Exchange’s Values in order to help restore communal trust between businesses and people.