how would a cooperative company work?

[newspeak]

After watching Moore's movie, I'm interested in the concept of cooperative companies. Any ideas of a good business to start-something that would be in demand. Would you put in money initially and be paid back through the company once it starts making a profit (initial backing)?

[nightrain]

1. check out a functioning food co-op...

[Rosa Luxemburg]

2. Seems like a good idea?

http://nz.coop/docs/0403_MED_co-operative-organisations.pdf

[newspeak]

4. I'm really interested

as people are losing their jobs, and if a business is successful and the workers all gain by that success-it seems that co-ops might be a way to go for helping main street get on its feet. We have some money that might be better invested in some form of business. Thanks for the website.

[newspeak]

5. thanks Rosa

that has very informative information on that website.

[prairierose]

3. Thom Hartmann had a rep from Mondragon Cooperative...

Corporations on last week. The interview is available on his youtube channel.

I do not really like wikipedia much but this page seems to have pretty objective information about them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mondrag%C3%B3n_Cooperative_Corporation

I thought it was very interesting and something to be researched and discussed.

[Selatius]

6. Typically, a co-op starts off much like a partnership.

The members put their own money in to start up the enterprise, and they all get hourly wages typically. At the end of the year, if the company has a profit, they can vote on whether to reinvest it back into the enterprise or declare it as a bonus that is then split among the invested members. To work in a typical co-op is much like working for any employer, but once you are hired, you may have to wait a certain period of time before you are allowed to buy your share or invest into to the co-op and become a full partner.

Larger co-ops are generally arranged as corporations for limited liability purposes, except the shareholders are the employees at the company, and typically, each invested employee gets one vote.

[newspeak]

7. okay, the bakery in California

in Moore's movie-all of the employee's including the so-called CEO makes approximately 60,000 dollars annually. All of the employees have input in the company. He mentioned that all of the employees owned the company, that it wasn't like stock shares. Is there a way that the initial investors get their money back through the company if it succeeds and after a time period those employees hired become part owners of the company?

Ah--I'll read the cooperative website.

[Selatius]

8. Most labor co-ops have a way that hired employees become employee-owners.

Typically, it includes a "buy-in" or lump sum cash payment to demonstrate that you are serious about being a full partner or employee-owner and can be several thousand dollars but not in all cases, and there is usually a period of time one must wait from the date the person is hired to the date the person is allowed to buy-in. For example, you could have to work two years on just wages or more before they even offer you the opportunity to buy-in and thus be entitled to bonuses and other benefits full partners get. Others, you become a full partner when they vote to make you one, which could be any time. It really depends on which co-op you are working for because there are really no set rules on how co-ops work. Large co-ops usually have a well-defined process, such as the Mondragon Cooperative Corporation found in Spain. Smaller co-ops may have a more ad hoc way towards making employees into employee-owners.

As far as making back your investment, you really have to work and hope the company does well and is led well, so it's important to put your best effort into making it work and be aware of what's happening, and a lot of them only allow you to be a full partner as long as you are an employee of that company. If you leave, you lose benefits; it's all determined by the co-ops workers. You almost have to approach it the same way you would when finding a life-long career or at least a semi-permanent career.

As far as that bakery giving 60,000/year to all its employee-owners, well, I say more power to them. The ones I've heard about have pay grades for executive and front-line positions, but all of it is ultimately decided by the employees, but that's the ultimate point of a co-op: Workers get to decide. This is something traditional employers don't do because it's capitalist ownership, not collective.

[Confusious]

9. What happens if an employee leaves or is "fired"

Can you be "fired" in a co-op?

[Selatius]

11. If you invested in and got terminated, you get your buy-in back and a hearty good-bye.

I assume divesting is the opposite of investing for most co-ops.

[optimator]

10. NPO's are better solution to healthcare than Co-ops

an NPO uses any surplus in its goals, whereas a co-op is still based on profit making and greed.
In my opinion health-care should not be profit based.

[newspeak]

13. thinking more in line of services or manufacturing

even though, I remember the ambulance companies, I believe, it was in NY, did a cooperative on their insurance, since the insurance corps. started charging them an obscene fee. That happened years ago.

I'm just thinking that since our manufacturing base has been basically decimated-why not start smaller companies as cooperatives, where all of the workers share in the profits (of course, they may share in the losses, also).

Lincoln Electric is not a cooperative, but it is family owned and at the end of the year the workers share in the prosperity of the company.

It's just a thought that maybe we may need to get ourselves out of a financial bind as a main street community-because I don't believe Wall street nor the the government may be much help. I may be wrong, but it seems that the interest lies in how Wall Street is doing not how Main Street is doing.

Some of us have small monies to invest that were previously 401ks, and I think I'd rather take a chance on starting something that helps others, especially when so many are losing their jobs.

Need to study on what would be a successful business in this economic climate. Any good ideas let me know.

[SoCalDem]

12. In Kansas, when I was a kid, there were many co-ops

There were the obvious agricultural ones, but individual communities also OWNED their power generating facilities, water treatment-delivery facilities & their gas companies.

The cost of building/maintaining the facilities were spread out over the whole community, people were HIRED to operate them, and the costs were kept low because of it.

[permaculturecoop]

14. Mondragon Cooperative, Permaculture worker cooperatives and state capitalism - Mondragon Business Pr

Mondragon Cooperative, Permaculture worker cooperatives and state capitalism - Mondragon Business Professor Interviewed - Fred Freundlich

http://permaculture.tv/?p=1015
http://permaculture.tv/?p=56

Fred Freundlich teaches at Mondragon Universtiy in Spain. He is a doctoral candidate at the Graduate School of Education, Harvard University, where his dissertation research is a new university initiative affiliated with the Mondragn Cooperative Corporation. Freundlich is a senior principal of Ownership Associates.

On Friday we (Kirstie & Nicholas) had an informal discussion with Professor Fred Freundlich of Mondragon University about the history and state of the worker-cooperative movement, and Mondragon in particular, in reference to our establishing a global permaculture worker cooperative.

We came away from the meeting optimistic that our dreams of developing sustainability projects in a worker-cooperative framework can be realized. The two systems have the potential to be mutually beneficial: permaculture can contribute to the environmental sustainability aspects of Mondragon, and the economic and social sustainability aspects of the Mondragon cooperative can stabilize permaculture in the world (Gaia Permaculture). A permaculture worker-cooperative could research, develop and replicate the permaculture worker cooperative complex and create a truly sustainable future. A Gaia Permaculture Mondragon Cooperative Complex.


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