Worker-Owned Cooperatives

Fundamentally, worker-owned cooperatives are about extending democracy into the workplace. In an age of globalization geared to benefit multinational corporations, worker-owned cooperatives can potentially serve as a countervailing force offsetting some of the more destructive aspects of global corporate dominance.

Worker-owned cooperatives are business entities that are owned and controlled by their members, the people who work in them. The two central characteristics of worker-owned cooperatives are:

1. workers invest in and own the business and
2. decision-making is democratic, generally adhering to the principle of one worker-one vote.

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At a time when many are disillusioned with big banks and big business, the economic crisis and growing inequality in our country, employee ownership offers a real solution for workers and communities. Shift Change: Putting Democracy to Work is a new documentary (scheduled for release in fall 2012) that highlights worker-owned enterprises in North America and in Mondragon, Spain. The film couldn’t be more timely, as 2012 has been declared by the U.N. as the International Year of the Cooperative.

Worker-owned and/or worker-managed cooperatives in Portland

• Citybikes
• Free Geek
• KBOO Radio (Collectively managed by "collective management body" comprised of staff, volunteers, board members and dues-paying members.)
• People's Coop
• Red and Black Cafe

The Mondragon Model

• The Mondragon Model: A New Pathway for the Twenty-First Century

Excerpt from Chapter 11 from, “The Organization of the Future,” published by the Peter F. Drucker Foundation.

• The Mondragon Model (LA Transition Enterprise)

• The Mondragón Cooperative Corporation (MCC): An Introduction

The Mondragón Cooperative Corporation, or MCC, is often considered the most successful example of worker-owned enterprise in the world. Taking its name from the small town in the Basque Country of Spain where it was founded, the MCC’s reach now extends across Spain, Europe and the globe. Its highly integrated network of cooperative businesses competes successfully with conventional corporate rivals both locally and worldwide.

Videos

• Mondragón and Worker Cooperatives (Third Coast Workers For Cooperation)

UT professor George Cheney presents “Practical Lessons for a New Economy from the 55-year History of the Mondragón Cooperatives in Basque Country, Spain.”

• The Mondragon Experiment - Corporate Cooperativism (1980) FULL (BBC Documentary)

The MONDRAGON Corporation is a corporation and federation of worker cooperatives based in the Euskadi. Founded in the town of Mondragón in 1956, its origin is linked to the activity of a modest technical college and a small workshop producing paraffin heaters. Currently it is the seventh largest Spanish company in terms of asset turnover and the leading business group in the Basque Country. At the end of 2010 it was providing employment for 83,859 people working in 256 companies in four areas of activity: Finance, Industry, Retail and Knowledge. The MONDRAGON Co-operatives operate in accordance with a business model based on People and the Sovereignty of Labour, which has made it possible to develop highly participative companies rooted in solidarity, with a strong social dimension but without neglecting business excellence. The Co-operatives are owned by their worker-members and power is based on the principle of one person, one vote.

• The Mondragón Cooperatives as a Model of Collaborative Business for the 21st Century

Praxis Peace Institute Founding Director, Georgia Kelly, discusses the unique collaborative business model of the Mondragon Cooperatives located in the Basque country of Spain. Founded in 1955, Mondragon now encompasses 264 businesses and employs more than 100,000 worker-owners. It is a highly successful cooperative model with over 50 years of proven success. They have established research centers, bank and credit unions, a university, youth cooperatives, and small to large businesses. This presentation will cover the ethics and vision of Mondragón as well as unique success stories that are an inspiration to those seeking alternatives to business-as-usual. The goal of the Mondragón Cooperatives is to create community through economic relationships and to transform society through conscious economic practices.

Reports

• Mondragón Worker-Cooperatives Decide How to Ride Out a Downturn (Yes! Magazine)

• Yes, there is an alternative to capitalism: Mondragon shows the way (Guardian)

Why are we told a broken system that creates vast inequality is the only choice? Spain's amazing co-op is living proof otherwise

The Evergreen Cooperatives

• The Cleveland Model

The Evergreen Cooperatives are a connected group of worker-owned cooperatives in Cleveland, Ohio. They are committed to local, worker-owned job creation; sustainable, green and democratic workplaces; and community economic development.