[Dulouz]

Tomorrow, the US Steelworkers and Mondragon, a Spanish worker cooperative, will be holding a press conference to discuss their plans to reinvigorate the US industrial base. Mondragon is a group of worker cooperatives representing over 100,000 members and another 50,000 workers worldwide. They have, apparently, made a deal with US Steelworkers to start creating manufacturing co-ops in the United States with the union operating as the co-ops "social committee". In the Mondragon structure, the "social committee" is the HR department and also a watchdog on management (which is elected by the the workers).

This could be the beginning of a US resurgence, but it won't be along Wall Street plans. I wonder if the media will even show up. . . .

[green union terrace chair]

This could be the beginning of a US resurgence, but it won't be along Wall Street plans. I wonder if the media will even show up. . . .

Are they funding this with Community Hours or do you think at some point they may need to ask for a wee bit of start-up capital?

[Marvell]

This could be the beginning of a US resurgence, but it won't be along Wall Street plans. I wonder if the media will even show up. . . .

Are they funding this with Community Hours or do you think at some point they may need to ask for a wee bit of start-up capital?

You don't think an organization with over 150k workers has access to start-up capital?

But nice snark, moron.

[green union terrace chair]

This could be the beginning of a US resurgence, but it won't be along Wall Street plans. I wonder if the media will even show up. . . .

Are they funding this with Community Hours or do you think at some point they may need to ask for a wee bit of start-up capital?

You don't think an organization with over 150k workers has access to start-up capital?

But nice snark, moron.

I do think they have the capability to raise funds and they will go to "Wall Street" to do it. They're not going to pass the hat among the workers to finance something of this magnitude.

But nice re-snark, mr. internet poopie-pants meanface.

[Minion0889]

This should answer both of your questions-
http://www.usw.org/media_center/release ... es?id=0234
- Mondragon has dough AND I think so does USW.
Wouldn't you vote some pension money to own and make your place of employ immune to corporate raiders? Functional, profitable companies are purchased and stripped on a regular basis by over-leveraged, incompetent or outright piratical buyers (That paper mill recently...,) and the workers left often without even a retirement fund.
It's high time the Union and the Cooperative movements got back together. Dignity, Security, a Living Wage and a Vote. What's not to like?
No Snark.

[Dulouz]

I do think they have the capability to raise funds and they will go to "Wall Street" to do it. They're not going to pass the hat among the workers to finance something of this magnitude.

Mondragon owns the third largest bank in Spain. They have an international investment fund and a sectoral investment fund backed by the individual co-ops. They can basically raise as much money as they need to with about 60% coming from the fund at 0% and the rest from the Caja Popular at about 3% or less. The Steelworkers have a pretty sweet pension fund.

Mondragon doesn't do risky business. In their entire history, they have only closed 3 co-ops (they were small with 2-3 members), but they start about 20-30 per year. If they are in, they expect to make money.