Seattle Business: Where's the Democracy?

Seattle has appeared on the lists of the greenest, safest, most educated, most literate, and healthiest cities in the US. We've been named one of the best places for seniors, gamers, and dogs.

So, it comes as some surprise that not a single Seattle business made WorldBlu's 2007 list of the most democratic workplaces.

"The WorldBlu Scorecard evaluates an organization based on ten principles of organizational democracy such as the level of transparency, accountability, decentralization, and choice practiced throughout the organization."

San Francisco, Boston, New York, Vancouver, and Los Angeles have businesses on the list. Even St. Petersburg, Russia, has one. Yes, the Russell Family Foundation, is on the list. But they are in Gig Harbor. And it's the only one in our whole state--Massachusetts has five.

This has to be an oversight. Seattle cannot scratch its bum without a public referendum. We can't believe that our collective penchant for running the circus from the monkey-cage disappears on the way to work each morning. So, Seattle business, get going on your application for the 2008 list.

Photo courtesy Ville Miettinen.