We believe cooperatives are an excellent example of a sustainable and socially just economic business model for the 21st century. In this work we show how spains mondragn corporacin cooperativa mcc has made it. The mondragon cooperatives in spains basque region are perhaps the most famous example of democratic workerowner industrial enterprises that have continued to grow and thrive for almost 50 years. Larraitz altunagabilondo is a lecturer at the faculty of humanities and educational sciences and researcher at lanki, the institute of cooperative research, at the mondragon.
Jul 09, 2014 mondragon has sales and production presence on five continents and employs more than 80,000 people around the globe. The mondragon cooperative corporation mcc is composed of a group of industrial, retail, service, and support cooperatives primarily in the arrasatemondragon valley in the basque country in spain. The cooperative form of business also is built on a foundation a set of guidelines that create its uniqueness and. Mondragon consists of seventy eight townhouse units ranging in size from one to four bedroom units. Apr 30, 2014 the case of mondragon by vincent navarro. Cooperation, participation, social responsibility, innovation. Eroski is a big box retail store that is owned by its employees and customers and has kept walmart out of spain simply by being a more competitive. Mondragon university is a cooperative university, which combines the development of knowledge, skills, and values, and maintains close relations with business, especially mondragon cooperatives.
Mondragon is a cooperative that has 147 companies employing 80,000 workers. Pdf are democracy and success compatible in a business organization. Pittsburgh the united steelworkers usw and mondragon internacional, s. Funding for the development and production of this toolbox was provided by a grant from the. The mondragon cooperative corporation united diversity. Cooperativismo y gestion socioempresarial mondragon. Mondragon cooperative homes coop living in brampton. Such management structures concentrate power in the hands of managers, and it seems that policy setting and control of management activities have moved away from owners producers, workers towards an upper level of senior. They include mondragon assembly in guipuzcoa, which employs some 85 people. Jul 18, 20 we briefly analyze the experience of the longstanding mondragon cooperative movement as a relevant case study to illustrate how the value of solidarity plays out.
Many scholars have studied mondragon as a strong example of an industrial cooperative with a. For instance, the largest mondragon cooperative, fagor, is reputed to operate the most automated refrigeration assembly line in spain. Appreciation is also due to foundations and donors who have helped make this report possible. These cooperatives were initiated soon after world war ii by a young priest named don jose maria arizmendiaretta. Spains giant cooperative where times are hard but few go bust this article is more than 7 years old. Corporacion mondragon grupo empresarial internacional. This may sound like just another big player in the multinational corporate scene, however mondragon corporation is anything but your typical corporation. The largest cooperative in the world, they are a federated network of over 250 cooperative businesses who together are the seventh biggest group in spain. Praxis peace institute has established a special relationship with the mondragon cooperatives and is a proud educator of cooperatives and the ethics and values of cooperatives. Cat economia social y empresa cooperativa mondragon.
Every associate is an owner of the company, and we consider a maximum acceptable pay difference one of our. Acknowledgements this publication is one in a series of toolboxes published by the northcountry cooperative foundation. Mondragon corporacion cooperativa p jose maria arizmendiarreta, 5 20500 arrasatemondragon biblid 02127016 1999, 44. Successes and challenges by sharryn kasmir, hofstra university, usa in the wake of financial crisis and antiausterity uprisings, there is growing interest in the us and europe in nurturing noncapitalist social relations and solidarity economies. Taking its name from the small town in the basque country of spain where it was founded, the mccs reach now extends across spain, europe and the globe. There are major cooperatives in retail as well as manufacturing. Arizmendiarrieta played a key role in the origin, growth, and consolidation of the mondragon companies, both intellectually and practically.
In fact, the machines are so sophisticated that they can manufacture four models of refrigerators simultaneously. This company is actually a federation of 110 worker cooperatives. We operate in the industrial, finance and retail sectors, and promote initiatives in the fields of knowledge and education. Mondragon corporation is the embodiment of the cooperative movement that began in 1956. The history of an experience cancelo alonso, antonio mondragon corporacion cooperativa p jose maria arizmendiarreta, 5 20500 arrasatemondragon biblid 02127016 1999, 44. The mondragon cooperative corporation, or mcc, is often considered the most successful example of workerowned enterprise in the world.
Pdf merge combine pdf files free tool to merge pdf online. Jan 19, 2014 arguments against workers cooperatives. Once files have been uploaded to our system, change the order of your pdf documents. Without it, the building probably would not stand very long. The mondragon cooperatives were restructured about 1992 into three divisions, namely industrial, finance and retail. Basque cooperative mondragon defies spain slump bbc news. Dec 06, 2009 on october 27th, the united steelworkers and mondragon internacional, the worldwide network of cooperatives based in basque territory, announced a new alliance. Sep 16, 20 sistema cooperativo mondragon sembrando noticias. Overview of the mondragon cooperative movement today there are over 85 industrial cooperatives in the mondragon cooperative movement with around 20,000 workermembers. Mondragon continues to be a practical expression of such an idea and the current leadership is guided by arizmendiarrietas vision and values. Jul 31, 20 the mondragon corporation is an inspiration. Mondragon cooperatives now own or joint venture some 114 local and overseas subsidiaries, and are committed to their conversion to employee ownership on a casebycase basis, consistent with local laws, customs. All content is posted anonymously by employees working at mondragon.
I recently completed a study tour to mondragon, a small town in the basque region of spain, which is the home of the worlds largest and most advanced. The lowestpaid mondragon associate in spain is making about what. It was established by a catholic priest, jose maria arizmendiarrieta jma, in. The northern spanish town is dominated by its eponymous 15bn corporation that. They employ over 80,000 people, have their own banks, universities, research laboratories and social security systems.
In 2007, the mondragon networknow the mondragon cooperative corporationhas 85 companies employing,000 people globally. Aug 14, 2012 the mondragon cooperative is a collective of around 250 companies and organisations. Ellerman industrial cooperative association and boston college section a. Cooperation at work david morris may 1992 institute for local selfreliance 927 15th st. Cooperative business principles cooperative information report 45, section 2 a building has a foundation which supports the rest of the structure. Once you merge pdfs, you can send them directly to your email or download the file to our computer and view. Corporacion mondragon 2014 diaporama spanish duration. Entrepreneurship in the mondragon cooperatives by david p.