I drink your milkshake! a metaphor for capitalism

[1989]

And he wanted to—first of all, before to create the cooperative, he went to the biggest company in Mondragon to—with the directors, telling to give the possibility to all the workers to be part in management, in profits and being ownership. That was 1955. They didn’t assent him, and for that reason he pushed to some workers to set up their own cooperatives where everybody can participate in management, in profits and being ownership.

...The idea was—and it is—that the workers, everybody, has to be the director or has to be the entrepreneur or has to be the person who makes the decision and not to work for anyone. So we have to part—we have to have parts in management, in profit and being ownership. That is the most essential idea. Before, there were a lot of ideas of the Catholic Church innovate to humanize the factories, to humanize the industrialization at that times. But Father Arizmendiarrieta was—went more than only humanizing. So he wanted to give the power to decide the future each one, not depending from another manager or another capitalist."

Sounds like a lot of Jim Casey quotes. Call it what you want, mondrangon is still a corporation.

What is their pay/benefit structure?

Is it the same pay in all their businesses?

How much do they pay to buy in?

You should work there and get yourself on the board.

 

[rickyb]

the people who make medicine at pharmacies earn near minimum wage in canada. this is a free market disaster. reminds me of michael moores movie capitalism a love story where pilots make less money than mcdonalds managers :S

oh what a web we weave

 

[rickyb]

from that mondragon worker coop democracy now interview. you can see that they make stuff...something which america used to do in its heyday.

IKEL LEZAMIZ: Yes. After three years—that was in 1959—so, they started the first cooperatives in 1956, and after, they create another three cooperatives. And Father Arizmendiarrieta had the idea that we have to set up the cooperative bank in order to create new cooperatives and to support the cooperatives with financial support. But not only with the financial, most very clever, creating the entrepreneurial division inside that cooperative bank in order to research the market and to decide, OK, which kind of jobs we can create, which kind of product we can produce. And after that, from this entrepreneurial division, we help—or, they help to create new cooperatives. And after the bank, the entrepreneurial—no, the bank division support financially, but it was a very good idea to create the bank with this entrepreneurial division to create new cooperatives.

AMY GOODMAN: Now explain, in these first years, what were the Mondragon cooperatives? What were they making? What were the products they were coming out with?

MIKEL LEZAMIZ: Yes, in Fagor, domestic appliances, they produced domestic appliances. But the first one was a cook. And—

AMY GOODMAN: A stove?

MIKEL LEZAMIZ: A stove, a stove. And after that, they start producing the refrigerator, the washing machine and water central heatings.

....
amy goodman:You are making products. Can you talk about how you came to be on the cutting edge of technology? It wasn’t just people working in a good-natured way, in a cooperative way together.

MIKEL LEZAMIZ: Yes. In fact, we have at this moment 14 research and development centers, in order to help to the different sectors that we are producing different goods or our products. Innovation was a very important value for us, and today it is. And today maybe it’s more than before also, in order to be profitable and [inaudible]. But always we have this idea that, OK, education is very important for people, and as [inaudible] for enterprise and for the community. But after the education, innovation is very important. Social responsibility is another value. And cooperation and solidarity with the community is very, very important. But innovation, it’s a very important feature inside Mondragon.

 

[rickyb]

MIKEL LEZAMIZ: Yes, in Mondragon cooperative groups, we have 83,000—83,000 workers, full time. And after, we have another 15,000 or 20,000 working part time, mostly in the supermarket. So, we are close to 100,000 workers altogether, full time and part time. And we have 120 cooperatives. So, cooperatives are not very big. But working together and with the close inter-cooperation that we have, we are now the best, the best now, the biggest, the biggest company in the Basque Country. And speaking about jobs and employment, we are the fourth biggest in Spain and among the seven biggest in sales.

AMY GOODMAN: And the largest cooperative in the world.

MIKEL LEZAMIZ: OK, well, there are—well, but, for example, in U.K., they design a cooperative that the name is the Co-operative Group, that is a supermarket. And after that, they have some bank services and a funeral services. And they are, for example, 110,000 workers. In that case, it’s a consumer cooperative, so the consumers or the clients are their members. In our case is that we are the workers, and we are the members.

 

[rickyb]

MIKEL LEZAMIZ: But I think that the other companies feel or think that, OK, we are working well, because we are working all together, because the most important feature or characteristic of Mondragon is that these 120 cooperatives, that are big and small cooperatives, are working together, and we set up one group, one corporation, but we pass people from one to the other cooperatives. We pass also money from one to the other cooperative. We pass cash, liquidity, from one to the other cooperatives, and also innovation. And that is very important in order to overcome the economic crisis. So in this moment, a lot of small companies also are thinking or think that Mondragon is going well because we can compete all over the world, because the internal amount of the exportation is very high and because we are overcoming much better than the others, in general, the crisis.

 

[rickyb]

Evonomics‏ @EvonomicsMag 9h9 hours ago

Economists Dirk Bezemer and Michael Hudson expose the extractive economy: http://bit.ly/2fkyA3K @yanisvaroufakis @ProfSteveKeen @StephanieKelton @RanaForoohar

 

[1989]

It is the borrowers job to create the wealth.

 

[rickyb]

MIKEL LEZAMIZ: For example, machine tools sectors, car components cooperatives. Yeah, in different cooperatives. And so, that is a very important idea. First of all, we are passing money, cash, liquidity, from one to the other cooperatives, because, as you know, the lack of liquidity from the banks, it’s very high. And some of our competitors are suffering. And some of them, they are going down and closing because this lack of liquidity. Now, we don’t have this kind of problem, because it’s very common to pass money from one to the other cooperatives, to pass liquidity, cash, from one to the other cooperatives, in order to overcome the economic crisis.

AMY GOODMAN: So here you are in Spain really actually thriving, certainly getting by, as Bankia, the largest bank conglomerate, has—is going under, involved in perhaps the biggest banking fraud in Spain’s history.

MIKEL LEZAMIZ: And in fact, for example our cooperative bank, Caja Laboral, that is the second-biggest in the Basque Country, and in the north of Spain, from Madrid to the north of Spain, it’s the—among the second-, the third-biggest bank, is going very well. In fact, all the data that we have are, in general, much better than the banks on the—most of the banks. And it’s because, in this case, we—in the Basque Country, there is not so big a problem with the construction, because the problem of the real estate and the construction was more in the east part and the south part of Spain. Here, we are not—we don’t have this kind of problems connected also with the banks. And also, it’s because the bank also is more connected with industry. And as you know, the Basque Country is more industrial than the construction or than the others. It’s the most influence or the most important industrial area of Spain, the Basque Country.

 

[It will be fine]

MIKEL LEZAMIZ: For example, machine tools sectors, car components cooperatives. Yeah, in different cooperatives. And so, that is a very important idea. First of all, we are passing money, cash, liquidity, from one to the other cooperatives, because, as you know, the lack of liquidity from the banks, it’s very high. And some of our competitors are suffering. And some of them, they are going down and closing because this lack of liquidity. Now, we don’t have this kind of problem, because it’s very common to pass money from one to the other cooperatives, to pass liquidity, cash, from one to the other cooperatives, in order to overcome the economic crisis.

AMY GOODMAN: So here you are in Spain really actually thriving, certainly getting by, as Bankia, the largest bank conglomerate, has—is going under, involved in perhaps the biggest banking fraud in Spain’s history.

MIKEL LEZAMIZ: And in fact, for example our cooperative bank, Caja Laboral, that is the second-biggest in the Basque Country, and in the north of Spain, from Madrid to the north of Spain, it’s the—among the second-, the third-biggest bank, is going very well. In fact, all the data that we have are, in general, much better than the banks on the—most of the banks. And it’s because, in this case, we—in the Basque Country, there is not so big a problem with the construction, because the problem of the real estate and the construction was more in the east part and the south part of Spain. Here, we are not—we don’t have this kind of problems connected also with the banks. And also, it’s because the bank also is more connected with industry. And as you know, the Basque Country is more industrial than the construction or than the others. It’s the most influence or the most important industrial area of Spain, the Basque Country.

Did you read this? It's awful and has very little point to it. Anyone even remotely competent could sum this whole text wall up in a sentence or two. If you are the advocate for co-ops they are doomed to failure.

 

[rickyb]

Did you read this? It's awful and has very little point to it. Anyone even remotely competent could sum this whole text wall up in a sentence or two. If you are the advocate for co-ops they are doomed to failure.

capitalism is itself the best promoter for coops because it is failing everyone so miserably.

if you want to do something useful, then post articles about what people thought about alternative economic systems during slavery or feudalism before capitalism. or the psychology of why corporations promote this family identity amongst their employees.

 

[rickyb]

at my work, i lock in cruise control a few km below the speed limit because i like working slow. i am paid by the hour and i dont make more money by working fast, only the capitalists do.

 

[DriveInDriveOut]

capitalism is itself the best promoter for coops because it is failing everyone so miserably.

if you want to do something useful, then post articles about what people thought about alternative economic systems during slavery or feudalism before capitalism. or the psychology of why corporations promote this family identity amongst their employees.

What economic system are you proposing?
You can't seem to answer that question.

 

[rickyb]

AMY GOODMAN: Mikel, can you explain how the management structure works? What does it mean to say worker-owners?

MIKEL LEZAMIZ: OK. Yes, we set up the most important things, therefore, in the cooperatives is the general assembly, the general assembly formed by all the workers that are the members of this cooperative. For example, going to Fagor domestic appliances, they are at this moment 2,500 workers, producing washing machine, dishwashers, the refrigerator, and then so on—2,500. And they set up at least once a year the general assembly in order to make the most important decision and decide the strategy, the annual report, and to approve the annual report, and then so on. And in this case, it’s the general assembly who makes the decision. But after that, we choose the governing council—the board of directors, you say—the governing council, that in the case of Fagor, they have 12 people—president, vice president, secretary and another nine. In the small cooperatives, there are maybe only three or maybe five, seven, nine; or being big, 12 people. And this governing council set up at least once a month in order to make the decision every month. And they choose the general manager, the CEO, in order to execute and to manage the company, and in this case, to propose the important decision. But it’s the governing council that makes the decision. It’s not the general manager. And after that, the general manager has the finance director, the people director, production director, marketing director, as they need.

 

[It will be fine]

AMY GOODMAN: Mikel, can you explain how the management structure works? What does it mean to say worker-owners?

MIKEL LEZAMIZ: OK. Yes, we set up the most important things, therefore, in the cooperatives is the general assembly, the general assembly formed by all the workers that are the members of this cooperative. For example, going to Fagor domestic appliances, they are at this moment 2,500 workers, producing washing machine, dishwashers, the refrigerator, and then so on—2,500. And they set up at least once a year the general assembly in order to make the most important decision and decide the strategy, the annual report, and to approve the annual report, and then so on. And in this case, it’s the general assembly who makes the decision. But after that, we choose the governing council—the board of directors, you say—the governing council, that in the case of Fagor, they have 12 people—president, vice president, secretary and another nine. In the small cooperatives, there are maybe only three or maybe five, seven, nine; or being big, 12 people. And this governing council set up at least once a month in order to make the decision every month. And they choose the general manager, the CEO, in order to execute and to manage the company, and in this case, to propose the important decision. But it’s the governing council that makes the decision. It’s not the general manager. And after that, the general manager has the finance director, the people director, production director, marketing director, as they need.

Great, another wall of text to say a co-op is a corporation with directors. Revolutionary indeed.

 

[rickyb]

Great, another wall of text to say a co-op is a corporation with directors. Revolutionary indeed.

hey dont worry about it, ill keep posting and maybe you and budda will put 2 and 2 together

 

[rickyb]

Black Monday, '77, The Birth of the Rust Belt in Youngstown

Also in 2004, the US Federation of Worker Cooperatives (USFWC) was established. Starting with just $7,000 in the bank, the USFWC has grown to represent and support more than 160 democratic workplaces and organizations representing more than 4,000 workers, and has been instrumental in pushing state and local governments to support worker cooperatives as part of their economic development strategies.

In New York City, a coalition of grass-roots community organizers and cooperative advocates — including the New York City Network of Worker Cooperatives, an affiliate of the USFWC, and The Working World (an organization founded by a young New Yorker who was motivated by The Take) — recently secured $1.2 million from the city’s budget to support worker-owned businesses in low-income communities. One of the driving forces behind the New York City legislation is Cooperative Home Care Associates, the largest worker cooperative in the United States with more than 2,000 workers, most of whom are women of color, who enjoy above-average pay and benefits.

In Madison, Wisconsin, a measure has passed the city council earmarking $5 million over five years to support cooperative development. In Jackson, Mississippi, before his tragic death, Mayor Chokwe Lumumba was preparing an ambitious strategy to combat economic inequality in the heart of the Black Belt by building a “solidarity economy” — one that connected community and cooperative enterprises to municipal procurement and remains underway.

RELATED: Economy & Work

Don’t Blame Youngstown
BY John Russo and Sherry Linkon | November 15, 2016

In 2008, the Evergreen Cooperative Initiative was launched in Cleveland, Ohio — where the population has fallen from more than 900,000 in 1950 to below 400,000 today. Here, a number of cooperatives are linked together with a community-building nonprofit corporation and a revolving fund designed to create more such connected, community-building businesses. The Evergreen Cooperative Laundry operates out of a LEED [Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design] Gold-certified building, uses around one-fifth the amount of water that conventional laundries use, and has an advanced water heating system that saves energy. Evergreen Energy Solutions recently installed one of the larger urban solar fields in the country. And Green City Growers Cooperative — a 3.25-acre hydroponic greenhouse — can produce roughly 3 million heads of lettuce and 300,000 pounds of herbs per year. An important new strategy in Cleveland uses anchor institutions — hospitals and universities in the area that purchase more than $3 billion a year in goods and services — to provide a long-term market for the worker-owned cooperatives.

The United Steelworkers, whose national leadership once opposed the Youngstown effort, has also evolved. The union has adopted a major strategy to help build “union co-op” worker-owned companies around the nation. Efforts are underway, in particular, in Pittsburgh and Cincinnati.

 

[It will be fine]

hey dont worry about it, ill keep posting and maybe you and budda will put 2 and 2 together

You might try an approach that at least has a chance of convincing someone. Right now your complete lack of comprehension will turn people off.

 

[rickyb]

its the economy stupid.

"The brutality abroad is matched by a growing brutality at home. Militarized police gun down mostly unarmed, poor people of color and fill a system of penitentiaries and jails that hold a staggering 25 percent of the world’s prisoners although Americans represent only 5 percent of global population. Many of our cities are in ruins. Our public transportation system is a shambles. Our educational system is in steep decline and being privatized. Opioid addiction, suicide, mass shootings, depression and morbid obesity plague a population that has fallen into profound despair. The deep disillusionment and anger that led to Donald Trump’s election—a reaction to the corporate coup d’état and the poverty afflicting at least half of the country—have destroyed the myth of a functioning democracy. Presidential tweets and rhetoric celebrate hate, racism and bigotry and taunt the weak and the vulnerable. The president in an address before the United Nations threatened to obliterate another nation in an act of genocide. We are worldwide objects of ridicule and hatred. The foreboding for the future is expressed in the rash of dystopian films, motion pictures that no longer perpetuate American virtue and exceptionalism or the myth of human progress.

....“For the majority of Americans, the 2020s will likely be remembered as a demoralizing decade of rising prices, stagnant wages, and fading international competitiveness,” McCoy writes. The loss of the dollar as the global reserve currency will see the U.S. unable to pay for its huge deficits by selling Treasury bonds, which will be drastically devalued at that point. There will be a massive rise in the cost of imports. Unemployment will explode. Domestic clashes over what McCoy calls “insubstantial issues” will fuel a dangerous hypernationalism that could morph into an American fascism.- chris hedges

 

[Operational needs]

You might try an approach that at least has a chance of convincing someone. Right now your complete lack of comprehension will turn people off.

And the massive walls of text?

 

[It will be fine]

And the massive walls of text?

Hard to convince people if they aren't even reading what you post. Thing is, I'd probably agree on some of his ideas, I'm pretty liberal, but I'm not going to read all that nonsense.