Cooperatives: A Way Forward for Solidarity and Economic Democracy
The American Solidarity Party recognizes and celebrates the intrinsic value of each human being from conception to natural death. Our whole life approach to politics extends to economics. We believe that every individual has a right to benefit from his or her labor. This conviction leads to a distinct feature of the ASP economic platform: the commitment to an ownership economy. We believe economic injustice can best be addressed by the establishment of trade guilds, employee stock ownership programs, and cooperatives. We call for an economic democracy in which people share ownership and decision-making with respect to the power and resources of their communities. Rather than narrowly focusing on profit and generating capital, an ownership economy is built upon a foundation that values solidarity, cooperation, democracy, and sustainability. Cooperatives are mainstays of this enterprise.
The most successful cooperatives consist of leaders and members who commit to seven cooperative principles:
Voluntary and open membership
Democratic control
Economic participation by members
Autonomy and independence
Education and training
Cooperation with other cooperatives
Concern for the community.
Let’s look inside two successful cooperatives, Mondragon and Cooperative Home Care Associates.
Established in 1956 in Spain, Mondragon is an association of cooperatives that highlights finance, industry, retail, and education. Mondragon has established the ability of cooperative ventures to compete globally. It is the largest cooperative in the world and currently employs more than 80,000 people in 95 separate self-governing cooperatives. As part of its mission statement, the company underscores its “commitment to solidarity, applying democratic methods in its organization and management”. As a worker co-op, Mondragon uses a bottom-up approach to decision-making. The organization adheres to “a one person, one vote system for election of the cooperative’s governing bodies and for deciding on important issues.” Workers choose a Social Council to represent them on issues such as working conditions and process changes. Overall, capital is viewed as a means to supply resources and as necessary for development, but it is subordinate to the people and to the mission. In other words, capital is not the goal, but rather a tool that enables the cooperative to achieve its goals.
Cooperative Home Care Associates (CHCA), a worker-owned cooperative, provides low-income individuals with education, job training, and decent wages. At the same time, it supplies much-needed labor for New York’s South Bronx. After three months on the job, employees are offered stock ownership in the company. Employee ownership rates have hovered around 70% over the course of the co-op’s history and the worker retention rate (85-90%) consistently exceeds industry norms. Established in 1985, CHCA has adapted to substantial changes in the medical sector in general and home health care in particular. This adaptability is due in part to the cooperative structure of the company. CHCA values employee empowerment, believing that empowerment results in quality care.
Overall, the unique principles of the cooperative model contribute to a sense of ownership and encourage companies to contribute to the community. Although not all cooperatives are employee-owned, those that embrace employee ownership bring workers the opportunity to directly benefit from their labor. The ASP advocates for policies that support cooperatives, including enacting regulations and policies that promote small, locally-owned businesses such as providing tax breaks and financial incentives for the establishment of cooperative ventures. As a fundamental element of an ownership economy, the cooperative model leads to common ground for a common-sense approach to the common good.
Interested in starting a co-op? Check out these resources:
There are co-op development centers throughout the country with resources specific to your state.