Tag Archives: Mondragon

Permanently higher unemployment (!)

Posted on December 16, 2009 by coopgeek

I read a lot of economic news, and it’s not every day I come across an article as startling and unnerving as this report that the “natural” rate of unemployment may have increased from 5% to 7%. That’s the word … Continue reading →

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More on Mondragon

Posted on November 19, 2009 by coopgeek

One of my big personal shortcomings is ambition. Last month, I went to visit the legendary Mondragon cooperatives in the Basque Country (Spain). I planned write eloquent posts on a different important topic every day, so all my readers would … Continue reading →

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Capitalism: a movie review

Posted on November 17, 2009 by coopgeek

As Capitalism: A Love Story approaches its conclusion, filmmaker Michael Moore makes a pretty bold pronouncement: “Capitalism is evil, and you can’t regulate evil. You have to eradicate it.” Ooh! Fighting words! Unfortunately, they’re the sort of  fighting words that … Continue reading →

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Make your own jobs

Posted on November 11, 2009 by coopgeek

Two Federal Reserve regional presidents have separately offered a grim prognosis  in the wake of last week’s rise in national unemployment to 10.2 percent (over 12 percent in Sacramento). More than six people are chasing every available job. It seems that … Continue reading →

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The latest from United Steelworkers

Posted on November 2, 2009 by coopgeek

On Friday, my friend/colleague Lisa Stolarski and I sat down with Rob Witherell, who is coordinating the United Steelworkers’ freshly-announced plan to create worker cooperatives in North America. This will be modeled after, and in partnership with, the Mondragon cooperatives … Continue reading →

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Mondragon and the Steelworkers

Posted on October 28, 2009 by coopgeek

Today was my first full day in Pittsburgh. By coincidence, it was also the day that Mondragon Internacional and the United Steelworkers announced their intention to work together to build worker ownership in North America. This is extremely interesting news, … Continue reading →

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Mondragon 4: Outside the bubble

Posted on October 18, 2009 by coopgeek

In the valleys surrounding Mondragon/Arrasate, roughly 60% of jobs are in the cooperative sector. These co-ops have a rule that top management can be paid no more than six times the starting wage. There are two exceptions: the CEO of … Continue reading →

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Mondragon 3: Uncle!

Posted on October 16, 2009 by coopgeek

That fabulous remote hotel wrecked my email access, so I have been behind on everything. I had hoped to provide an account of each day’s adventures in Co-op Land, but for now, it appears that I’ll just have to offer … Continue reading →

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Mondragon 2: Getting down to business

Posted on October 15, 2009 by coopgeek

On the first day of our formal education, we went right to the middle of things…in more ways than one. I’ve known that this trip is going to reveal a system that is more complex and less perfect than the … Continue reading →

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Mondragon 1: Arrival in the Basque Country

Posted on October 14, 2009 by coopgeek

NOTE: This was written two days ago. I’ve had internet access issues, so it’s taken a while to post. Hopefully I’ll get some additional writing from the past two days up very soon. Please stand by… I’m already overwhelmed. I … Continue reading →

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