The Philadelphia Association for Cooperative Enterprises ("PACE"), is a
non-profit, tax-exempt organization that provides technical assistance on a re
gional level to employee-owned enierprises.' Incorporated in 1976, PACE is
the oldest organization of its kind in the United States.2 Like many other such
organizations,3 PACE began by reacting to the need for effective conversions
in the face of plant shutdowns. The benefits of PACE included both the posi
tive publicity given to employee ownership when jobs were being saved and
the opportunity to cultivate union interest in developing worker-owned com
panies. As major collaborators, unions have contributed their ability to organ
ize workers, their access to financial resources, and their expertise in
developing political and economic support. With union support,4 PACE can
provide the necessary legal, business, organizational and educational capabil
ity to make worker-owned businesses successful.
PACE'S technical assistance is no longer provided