In April, the group had a chance to tour the model that inspired their own; now, they’ve returned with a list of action items. Their goal: To better understand how Ohio co-ops could get to Mondragon’s level.
“We’ve laid a base, where can we go from here?” asks Ellen Vera, Co-op Cincy’s co-founder and co-director. “How do we get to that next level?”
A Mondragon in the Midwest
In 2009, retired railroad mechanic Phil Amadon heard about the launch of the network of unionized worker co-ops. Jointly launched by the United Steelworkers and Mondragon USA, the project aimed to spread Mondragon’s model of democratic worker-ownership combined with union membership.
It wasn’t his first time hearing about Mondragon; back in the ‘80s, delegations sent to Spain by Cincinnati’s Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center had reported back to Amadon and other local organizers about the Mondragon federation’s success with worker coops connected to the labor movement.
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