The Most Famous Worker Co-operative of All…Mondragon


“Hand in hand, of one mind, renewed, united in work through work, in our small land we shall create a more human environment for everyone and we shall improve this land. We shall include villages and towns in our new equality; the people and everything else: Ever forward. Nobody shall be slave or master of anyone, everyone shall simply work for the benefit of everyone else, and we shall have to behave differently in the way we work. This shall be our human and progressive union- a union which can be created by the people.” Don José María Arizmendiarrieta

Mondragon, in the Basque region of Spain, is perhaps the best known worker co-operative. It is arguably one of the largest and most successful examples of worker co-operation. The history and development of Mondragon is fascinating and complex. This page gives a very brief outline of the co-op’s origins. For more in-depth information please see the resources listed below.

A Short History of Mondragon
In 1941, the community of Mondragon was recovering from the economic and social crisis caused by the Spanish Civil War. The youth of Mondragon were caught between an older paternalistic order and new social ideas, many of which were connected to strong religious beliefs. That year a newly ordained priest, Don José María Arizmendiarrieta, arrived in Mondragon. He spoke of social reform in the Basque region, and of building an egalitarian worker community. Don José María became a favorite among the youth, who he encouraged to become educated and to develop social reform ideologies.

In 1955 five workers, all of whom, had been inspired by Don José María to get university degrees and strive for social reform, purchased a stove making company and moved it to Mondragon; they called it “Talleres Ulgor.” The company was not a legal co-operative at first. The founders researched many possible organisational forms before deciding that co-operation best suited the principles championed by Don José María.

Ulgor was the first worker co-operative in Mondragon. There are now over a hundred worker co-operatives, as well as co-operative banking, housing, and social institutions, including Mondragon University. The Co-operative Group was formed in 1982 to unite Mondragon worker co-operatives, promote the development of more worker co-operatives, and ensure worker-members were benefiting from co-operation.

Mondragon continues to apply ten principles, inspired by Don José María: Open Admission, Democratic Organisation, Sovereignty of Labour, the Instrumental and Subordinate Character of Capital, Participatory Management, Payment Solidarity, Interco-operation, Social Transformation, Universality, and Education. Mondragon has experienced challenges in its quest for the ideal worker community envisioned by Don José María. A major challenge for Mondragon continues to be overcoming gender barriers in the workplace. Mondragon has also had to develop with changing technologies. Because Mondragon co-operatives must compete with other companies, they sometimes feel the conflicts of meeting both economic necessities and social obligations, such as maintaining a lower pay deferential scale while securing well-qualified employees. However, Mondragon continues to be a successful, democratic, driving economic and social force in the Basque region.

Books and Articles
There are many books and articles on Mondragon; here are a few suggestions.

  • Ormachea, J. M. (1993) The Mondragon Cooperative Experience. Mondragon: Mondragon Corporacion Cooperativa.
  • Bradely, K. and A. Gelb. (1983) Cooperation at Work: The Mondragon Experience. London: Heinemann Educational.
  • Campbell, A., C. Keen, G. Norman, and R. Oakeshott. (1977) Workerowners: The Mondragon Achievement. London: Anglo-German Foundations for the Study of Industrial Society.
  • Cheney, G. (1999) Values at Work: Employees participation meets market pressure at Mondragon. Ithaca: ILR/Cornell University Press.
  • Eaton, J. (1979) ‘The Basque workers’ cooperatives’, Industrial Relations Journal, 10:32-40.
  • Hindmoor, A. (Jan. 1999) ‘Free riding off capitalism: entrepreneurship and the Mondragon experiment’, British Journal of Political Science, 217-24.
  • Johnson, A.G. and W.F. Whyte (1977) ‘The Mondragon system of worker production cooperatives’, Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 31:18-30.
  • Logan, C. and H. Thomas (1982) Mondragon: An economic analysis. London: George Allen & Unwin.
  • MacLeod, G. (1997) From Mondragon to America: Experiments in Community Economic Development. Sydney: University College of Cape Breton Press.
  • Whyte, W. (Apr. 1999) ‘The Mondragon Cooperatives in 1976 and 1998’, Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 52 #3: 478-81.

Online Resources


 

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