1. Build Majority Support Workers must voluntarily agree to collective ownership. Conduct structured meetings, not spontaneous votes. Consensus is more durable than a bare majority.

2. Create Legal Vehicle Form a cooperative, trust, or employee-owned corporation. This entity holds the assets and defines voting, membership, and profit distribution rights.

3. Acquire or Control the Enterprise Purchase, lease, or assume control with the owner’s consent or through bankruptcy transfer. Without ownership or legal control, collectivization is symbolic.

4. Finance the Transition Use worker contributions, cooperative funds, or ethical lenders. External capital must accept collective governance to avoid re-creating hierarchical control.

5. Implement Governance Draft bylaws specifying democratic decision processes and transparent accounting. Create recallable managers if needed.

6. Adjust Labor Relations

   • If unionized: the union can educate members, coordinate negotiations, and supply legal support. It may also help convert the collective agreement into a founding document of the cooperative.
   • If non-unionized: workers must self-organize without formal bargaining protections. There is less structure but fewer legal constraints.

Result: Unionization accelerates collectivization by providing organizing capacity, but it also binds actions to labor law. Collectivization requires a separate ownership transition beyond union recognition.