Shift Change

Description
Reviews
Citation
Cataloging
Transcript

If you are not affiliated with a college or university, and are interested in watching this film, please register as an individual and login to rent this film. Already registered? Login to rent this film. This film is also available on our home streaming platform, OVID.tv.

SHIFT CHANGE: PUTTING DEMOCRACY TO WORK tells the little known stories of employee-owned businesses that compete successfully in today's economy while providing secure, dignified jobs in democratic workplaces.

With the long decline in US manufacturing and today's economic crisis, millions have been thrown out of work, and many are losing their homes. The usual economic solutions are not working, so some citizens and public officials are ready to think outside of the box, to reinvent our failing economy in order to restore long term community stability and a more egalitarian way of life.

There is growing interest in firms that are owned and managed by their workers. Such firms tend to be more profitable and innovative, and more committed to the communities where they are based. Yet the public has little knowledge of their success, and the promise they offer for a better life.

Amongst the organizations featured in SHIFT CHANGE are:

Mondragon Cooperative Corporation - Begun in the 1950s, the Mondragon co-ops have transformed a depressed area of Spain into one of the most productive in Europe with a high standard of living and an egalitarian way of life. They are owned and managed by their workers. Seeing the achievements of the MCC helps to overcome the idea-widespread in North America-that worker run cooperatives can only exist on the economic fringe.

The Evergreen Cooperatives in Cleveland, OH - This is an ambitious urban redevelopment model, directly inspired by Mondragon, where local institutions and public officials are supporting green cooperatives of previously marginalized, predominantly African American workers, who provide commercial laundry services, install solar energy systems, and grow vegetables in vast urban greenhouses.

Arizmendi Association of Cooperatives, San Francisco, California - Started 30 years ago, there are now six of these independent worker owned and managed cooperative bakeries that work together to provide the financial and legal services they need, and to incubate new coop bakeries.

Equal Exchange, Boston MA: Founded in 1986, Equal Exchange is one of the largest roasters of fair trade coffee in the world.

'This is a very important film on a very important topic that is almost completely neglected by business schools. As our current economic structures veer ever closer to collapse, the cooperative alternative has become more important and more attractive. Seeing the sophistication of these businesses and listening to these co-op member/owners talk about their work is totally inspiring. Another world IS possible - and it looks like this!' Jill Bamburg, Core Faculty, Bainbridge Graduate Institute, Author, Getting to Scale: Growing Your Business without Selling Out

'Shift Change offers us living examples as well as an inspiring vision of what a productive, just, and sustainable economy can look like. The film's core message can help to build bridges across different groups who are united in their commitment to the economic vitality and fairness of their own communities. The overall message, the cases, and the analysis are exactly what we need to help chart pathways out of the global economic crisis.' George Cheney, Professor and Coordinator, Doctoral Education in Communication and Information, Associate Investigator, Ohio Employee Ownership Center, Kent State University, Author, Values at Work: Employee Participation Meets Market Pressure at Mondragon

'One of the barriers to fostering cooperative values and businesses in North America is the lack of awareness of the benefits that well organized cooperatives with good business practices can offer to workers and communities. Educating the public to the cooperative approach to business is an important contribution which Shift Change can make.' Ted Howard, Executive Director of Democracy Collaborative, University of Maryland

'A refreshing and thoughtful response to those who argue there are no better or even viable alternatives to our current for-profit, top-down market-based economic organizations...The film exposes the viewer to the wide range of workers (from highly skilled engineers to newly arrived immigrant workers) as well as workplaces (from household appliances to industrial laundry) engaged in cooperative production. Shift Change could easily be used effectively in economics, sociology, political science, and management courses.' Randy Albelda, Professor of Economics and Senior Research Associate at the Center for Social Policy, University of Massachusetts-Boston

'A first-rate documentary...A unique educational film. Shift Change persuasively demonstrates the success of worker cooperatives in building industry through democratic ownership that also paves the way to advancing new forms of democracy in capitalist society. What makes the film so convincing is the overwhelming evidence that is conveyed to all that cooperatives are imperative in advancing the American Dream of worker control and democratic governance. Shift Change is a sweeping and indispensable documentary!' Immanuel Ness, Professor of Political Science, Brooklyn College, City University of New York, Co-Editor, Ours to Master and To Own: Worker Control from the Commune to the Present

'The world has changed but most businesses are still run as they if it were last century with a few on top operating with as little concern for their workers as for the community or the environment. Fortunately, against this model stands a vibrant group of worker cooperatives stretching from the Basque region of northern Spain to the rust belt cities of Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Madison Wisconsin. Shift Change tells how workers are creating a new business model, one that is democratic, egalitarian, and concerned for the community; a model that is also, ultimately, more productive because it draws on the talents and the skills of the workers themselves.' Gerald Friedman, Professor of Economics, University of Massachusetts at Amherst

'The North American worker cooperatives and the Mondragon cooperatives in Shift Change tell a compelling story of real possibilities at a time when many think there are no solutions to this current difficult economic situation.' Paul Hazen, President and CEO of the National Cooperative Business Association

'Gorgeous! Simply beautiful! I love what I see so far. The U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives strongly supports this project.' Melissa Hoover, Executive Director, U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives

'The basic purpose of Shift Change is to encourage the development of work cooperatives in North America as one solution to our severe economic problems as well as a means for a regional economy to compete successfully in the global economy. We at the CMRC can see using the documentary in many ways.' Dan Swinney, Executive Director of Chicago Manufacturing Renaissance Council

'An uplifting film that offers cross-cultural perspectives on worker-owned, worker-run businesses. This film would be appropriate for courses dealing with issues of social class, the economy, social change, or worker rights.' Amy Blackstone, Associate Professor and Chair of Sociology, University of Maine

'This is an essential introduction to worker-ownership. The film presents the building blocks of cooperativism, from the pleasure and pain of group decision-making to the process of building networks of coops, clearly and compellingly in the words of worker-owners themselves.' Chris Tilly, Professor of Urban Planning, Director of the Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, University of California-Los Angeles

'Brilliant...For the labor movement, the film opens up the interesting question of what would a union worker cooperative model look like. In an economy where casino-like investment decisions are rewarded and outsourcing of employment hurts us all, worker cooperatives present a healthy alternative to business as usual and the usual types of businesses.' Jeff Johnson, President, Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO

'Shift Change brings you behind the scenes at some of the most exciting cooperative successes in Europe and the United States. This is a movement that's creating jobs, strengthening communities, and showing that another economy is possible. It's a movement that's taking off--and this film is the way to understand what's happening.' Sarah Van Gelder, Executive Editor, YES! Magazine

Citation

Select a citation style:

Main credits

Young, Melissa (Producer)
Dworkin, Mark (Producer)
Dworkin, Mark (Narrator)
Dworkin, Mark (Screenwriter)
Dworkin, Mark (Cinematographer)

Other credits

Producer, Melissa Young; photography/editing, Mark Dworkin; Moving Images Video Project, production company.

MARC Record See Worldcat record

Keywords

employee-owned businesses, secure jobs, dignified workplaces, economic crisis, decline in US manufacturing, foreclosures, worker-owned factories, failing economy, community stability, Mondragon Cooperative Corporation, Basque, Spain, Evergreen Cooperatives, Cleveland; democracy, African-American workers, commercial laundry services, installing solar, growing vegetables, urban greenhouses, Arizmendi, worker-owned bakeries, Oakland, Equal Exchange, Boston, Isthmus engineering, Madison,"Shift Change",Bullfrog Films; employment; work; ownership,doc,env; politics

00:01.972 --> 00:05.423
[MUSIC PLAYING]

00:05.423 --> 00:17.260

00:17.260 --> 00:18.960
If you look at the
history of Cleveland,

00:18.960 --> 00:22.830
it was considered
a blue-collar town.

00:22.830 --> 00:24.900
It was very comparable
to Pittsburgh

00:24.900 --> 00:28.700
and Buffalo and
Detroit, certainly.

00:28.700 --> 00:30.640
A lot of that's changed.

00:30.640 --> 00:32.950
The manufacturing's not
here like it once was.

00:32.950 --> 00:38.600

00:38.600 --> 00:41.410
Companies in this era
of capital and job

00:41.410 --> 00:43.484
mobility are not really
anchored in place.

00:43.484 --> 00:45.275
They're not really
loyal to the communities

00:45.275 --> 00:47.280
in which they reside.

00:47.280 --> 00:49.590
And so as companies come
and go from our communities

00:49.590 --> 00:51.930
it kind of rips the
economic underpinnings.

00:51.930 --> 00:55.122

00:55.122 --> 00:59.180
People losing their homes,
the foreclosure crisis here--

00:59.180 --> 01:01.770
it's just been devastating.

01:01.770 --> 01:05.840
We're at a time in this country
with the economic crisis,

01:05.840 --> 01:08.130
that people are not looking
for the same old thing.

01:08.130 --> 01:09.640
They say you keep doing
the same old thing,

01:09.640 --> 01:10.656
you get the same result.

01:10.656 --> 01:18.140

01:18.140 --> 01:21.660
We give incentives to businesses
and they come into a town.

01:21.660 --> 01:23.640
And they say, well,
we're going to move here.

01:23.640 --> 01:25.250
And we give them some money.

01:25.250 --> 01:27.642
And in 10 years when the
incentives over, they

01:27.642 --> 01:29.475
say, well, what town
should we move to next.

01:29.475 --> 01:32.710

01:32.710 --> 01:35.150
It's a familiar story.

01:35.150 --> 01:38.975
Industries move away, jobs
are lost, and with them,

01:38.975 --> 01:42.320
a middle class way of life.

01:42.320 --> 01:46.050
It seems to be happening
everywhere, but it's not.

01:46.050 --> 01:49.240

01:49.240 --> 01:52.635
[MUSIC PLAYING]

01:52.635 --> 02:01.850

02:01.850 --> 02:03.610
This is a place
where most businesses

02:03.610 --> 02:06.700
are owned by people
who work there.

02:06.700 --> 02:08.680
Jobs are secure.

02:08.680 --> 02:10.660
There's a broad and
prosperous middle class.

02:10.660 --> 02:15.920

02:15.920 --> 02:19.130
At the heart of the economy
are the Mondragon cooperatives.

02:19.130 --> 02:22.300
120 independent companies
each owned and managed

02:22.300 --> 02:28.340
by its workers, joining together
for the common good-- 84,000

02:28.340 --> 02:34.017
employees, $25 billion
in annual revenues.

02:34.017 --> 02:36.820
And the region around Mondragon
has the lowest unemployment

02:36.820 --> 02:37.475
in Spain.

02:37.475 --> 03:27.367

03:27.367 --> 03:29.075
We believe that it
isn't good for anybody

03:29.075 --> 03:30.437
if somebody loses their job.

03:30.437 --> 03:32.270
If you lose your job,
you haven't got money.

03:32.270 --> 03:34.440
If you haven't got
money, you can't buy.

03:34.440 --> 03:37.060
If you can't buy, you
can't buy our product.

03:37.060 --> 04:05.226

04:05.226 --> 04:10.060
[MUSIC PLAYING]

04:10.060 --> 04:12.290
Mondragon has a special
appeal for people

04:12.290 --> 04:13.770
in North America,
who want to build

04:13.770 --> 04:17.579
a more just and
sustainable economy.

04:17.579 --> 04:21.079
What a great way to put
a company in a community

04:21.079 --> 04:23.320
that supports the community.

04:23.320 --> 04:25.250
The people would
own the business.

04:25.250 --> 04:26.960
So the business can't
pick up and move

04:26.960 --> 04:29.874
unless every single person
who work there said,

04:29.874 --> 04:31.040
Yeah, we'll move to Florida.

04:31.040 --> 04:40.210

04:40.210 --> 04:41.830
And there's all
kinds of multipliers.

04:41.830 --> 04:44.270
Because if I live
in that community,

04:44.270 --> 04:48.050
then I'm also spending my
money in the community.

04:48.050 --> 04:50.100
This is a business
and we're a co-op.

04:50.100 --> 04:52.690
We all have to have a
strong mentality today.

04:52.690 --> 04:54.652
What Evergreen and Ohio
Solar is trying to do

04:54.652 --> 04:56.360
is going to work for
us in our community.

04:56.360 --> 04:58.890

04:58.890 --> 05:04.510
We're linking these business
to local institutions,

05:04.510 --> 05:06.780
like hospitals and
universities, that

05:06.780 --> 05:07.990
are also rooted in Cleveland.

05:07.990 --> 05:10.270
They're not going
to get up and leave.

05:10.270 --> 05:13.860
And if we can win them as our
customers for our services

05:13.860 --> 05:17.810
in Evergreen, then we have
a chance of real stability.

05:17.810 --> 05:22.200
The hope is that over a
10, 20 year period that we

05:22.200 --> 05:25.960
can build a network of
20, 50, 100 companies that

05:25.960 --> 05:30.360
employ over 5,000 residents.

05:30.360 --> 05:33.030
The way we have to approach
all of these efforts

05:33.030 --> 05:35.570
is are the businesses
sustainable,

05:35.570 --> 05:38.260
are they viable, can
they generate profits.

05:38.260 --> 05:42.200
Because if they can't do those
things, then for those workers,

05:42.200 --> 05:46.600
it's going to be a very
short-lived endeavor.

05:46.600 --> 05:50.260
An installation like
this may take our co-op

05:50.260 --> 05:53.560
anywhere from a week to
two weeks to install.

05:53.560 --> 05:56.560
What's in it for the city
is as these panels produce

05:56.560 --> 06:00.170
electricity, their
overall consumption

06:00.170 --> 06:02.770
of power during the
month is reduced.

06:02.770 --> 06:05.600
Because we're actually
producing power for them,

06:05.600 --> 06:07.870
so they don't have to buy
it straight off the grid.

06:07.870 --> 06:10.992

06:10.992 --> 06:13.740
We're insulating
this house and we're

06:13.740 --> 06:16.060
doing that by drilling
holes in the siding

06:16.060 --> 06:18.670
and filling up all
the exterior walls

06:18.670 --> 06:21.540
with cellulose insulation.

06:21.540 --> 06:24.130
When you're in to general
labor, you're more or less

06:24.130 --> 06:26.580
waiting for someone to
tell you what to do.

06:26.580 --> 06:30.020
You stick to a regular routine,
you come in, you do your work,

06:30.020 --> 06:33.860
and the day goes on, the
day goes on and that's it.

06:33.860 --> 06:36.710
When you're a part of this
co-op, you make choices.

06:36.710 --> 06:39.890
You motivate yourself
because you're an owner.

06:39.890 --> 06:41.620
You have to take the initiative.

06:41.620 --> 06:47.020

06:47.020 --> 06:47.520
Oh.

06:47.520 --> 06:47.756
Yeah.

06:47.756 --> 06:49.180
I work this machine,
that machine.

06:49.180 --> 06:50.854
I be all over the place.

06:50.854 --> 06:52.270
I can work everything
around here.

06:52.270 --> 06:53.737
I can even do that over there.

06:53.737 --> 06:55.204
I do everything around here.

06:55.204 --> 06:57.160
Everybody learns everything.

06:57.160 --> 06:59.594
So we kind of rotate
and move around.

06:59.594 --> 07:00.094
Yeah.

07:00.094 --> 07:01.561
You have to.

07:01.561 --> 07:03.517
Yeah.

07:03.517 --> 07:11.540
This machine washes 150 pounds
of linen every three minutes.

07:11.540 --> 07:13.050
OK.

07:13.050 --> 07:17.250
These dryers hold 300
pounds-- 300 pounds.

07:17.250 --> 07:20.260
You know how you dry clothes
and all your heat at home

07:20.260 --> 07:22.170
goes right out the stack?

07:22.170 --> 07:24.850
The heat goes up then
it comes back down,

07:24.850 --> 07:26.512
so we can reuse that heat again.

07:26.512 --> 07:27.720
And then it goes back out.

07:27.720 --> 07:34.560

07:34.560 --> 07:37.735
Final product.

07:37.735 --> 07:39.232
Being an owner
makes it different

07:39.232 --> 07:40.729
because then you're
looking forward

07:40.729 --> 07:42.270
to the future of
building something--

07:42.270 --> 07:43.224
something financial.

07:43.224 --> 07:47.720
You have some stability that
you can look forward to.

07:47.720 --> 07:51.200
You got money set aside that
you can use for maybe to start

07:51.200 --> 07:53.096
another business or whatever.

07:53.096 --> 07:54.518
Yeah.

07:54.518 --> 07:56.890
Yeah.

07:56.890 --> 08:00.822
Everyone who works in that
laundry today own that company.

08:00.822 --> 08:04.060
If they're with us
20 years they will

08:04.060 --> 08:07.240
have a nice piece of
capital to take what.

08:07.240 --> 08:08.680
Absolutely.

08:08.680 --> 08:12.710
So over time they'll continue
to grow that and create

08:12.710 --> 08:14.710
a-- hopefully-- retirement
pool for themselves

08:14.710 --> 08:16.910
and be able to walk
away and have sent

08:16.910 --> 08:21.410
their children to college
and own a nice home.

08:21.410 --> 08:24.450
The idea is not to just
maximize the self-interest

08:24.450 --> 08:28.370
and benefit for the people
today working in the companies.

08:28.370 --> 08:30.470
But it's to develop
something that

08:30.470 --> 08:33.780
has real lasting
power over time.

08:33.780 --> 08:36.250
And so we've created a
structure called the Evergreen

08:36.250 --> 08:38.260
Cooperative Corporation.

08:38.260 --> 08:39.780
On the board of
that company will

08:39.780 --> 08:42.850
be representatives elected
by the individual Evergreen

08:42.850 --> 08:43.789
Companies.

08:43.789 --> 08:45.970
But also by the
anchor institutions

08:45.970 --> 08:47.740
that are our clients
and partners,

08:47.740 --> 08:50.270
by our investors, our funders.

08:50.270 --> 08:55.190
So it's a kind of effort of
many, many different types

08:55.190 --> 08:57.820
of people working
together collaboratively

08:57.820 --> 09:00.704
for the benefit of
the common good.

09:00.704 --> 09:03.525
Most people, as
with any job, they

09:03.525 --> 09:05.730
see it more as a 9:00 to 5:00.

09:05.730 --> 09:09.895
We have to develop that culture
and that consciousness that

09:09.895 --> 09:11.610
is bigger than that.

09:11.610 --> 09:12.590
It's not just a job.

09:12.590 --> 09:15.469
It's not just some place
you get a paycheck from.

09:15.469 --> 09:16.510
You know what I'm saying?

09:16.510 --> 09:18.480
This is a blessing.

09:18.480 --> 09:20.390
Like to be able to
get up every morning

09:20.390 --> 09:24.150
and come to work and go
to bed at night thinking

09:24.150 --> 09:26.636
I can get up in the morning go
to a job that I really love,

09:26.636 --> 09:28.124
something that I
have passion for.

09:28.124 --> 11:41.850

11:41.850 --> 11:44.860
You have an economic stake.

11:44.860 --> 11:49.950
You participate in the
distribution of profits.

11:49.950 --> 11:52.520
When you leave the enterprise,
if the enterprise been

11:52.520 --> 11:55.500
successful, you can take with
you a significant profit share

11:55.500 --> 11:57.842
that has been accumulating
over your years

11:57.842 --> 11:59.050
of working in the enterprise.

11:59.050 --> 12:17.600

12:17.600 --> 12:20.370
From outside is not
very easy to see

12:20.370 --> 12:23.510
different between a cooperative
or the kind of companies.

12:23.510 --> 12:28.160
But it once you're inside,
you can see these differences.

12:28.160 --> 12:30.280
You don't treat in
the same way a car

12:30.280 --> 12:32.120
that is rented or your own car.

12:32.120 --> 12:33.150
So this is our company.

12:33.150 --> 12:37.580
So this is why we feel better
in this company and work

12:37.580 --> 12:38.690
happier in this company.

12:38.690 --> 12:39.190
No.

12:39.190 --> 12:42.910
We are involved in the
decisions that we made.

12:42.910 --> 12:46.390
We know about the accounts.

12:46.390 --> 12:48.970
We know about the
researcher's strategy.

12:48.970 --> 12:50.800
We are part of that
and we like that.

12:50.800 --> 13:28.166

13:28.166 --> 13:33.980
[MUSIC PLAYING]

13:33.980 --> 13:35.550
There are dozens
of worker co-ops

13:35.550 --> 13:38.830
around San Francisco
Bay, including a network

13:38.830 --> 13:41.620
of six bakeries that were
inspired by and named

13:41.620 --> 13:43.314
for the founder of Mondragon.

13:43.314 --> 13:46.660

13:46.660 --> 13:47.550
I really like baking.

13:47.550 --> 13:51.300
I like working with food and
feeling the heat of the oven

13:51.300 --> 13:52.430
and things like that.

13:52.430 --> 13:56.028
And the physicality
of the actual baking.

13:56.028 --> 13:58.236
And it's also nice cause
it's a creative outlet which

13:58.236 --> 14:05.099
is I think really essential
for the human spirit.

14:05.099 --> 14:06.890
Too often I thought
people who were working

14:06.890 --> 14:08.765
in progressive
organizations-- we were trying

14:08.765 --> 14:10.730
to protest other things
and stop other things,

14:10.730 --> 14:13.070
but we weren't trying to
build an alternative to that.

14:13.070 --> 14:16.170
And to really have a
democratic society,

14:16.170 --> 14:19.182
we have to have the people who
have the Democratic values be

14:19.182 --> 14:21.390
able to produce bread and
be able to produce bicycles

14:21.390 --> 14:23.960
and books and the
things that we need.

14:23.960 --> 14:26.650

14:26.650 --> 14:29.400
I like having a say in
how the business is run.

14:29.400 --> 14:33.700
I think that when people share
ownership they take ownership.

14:33.700 --> 14:35.910
Everyone's really invested
in the work they do

14:35.910 --> 14:41.050
and everyone really steps
up when that investment

14:41.050 --> 14:43.510
and dedication is there.

14:43.510 --> 14:46.420
And I think that probably
is the biggest difference

14:46.420 --> 14:50.938
from any other
job I've ever had.

14:50.938 --> 14:52.906
We all make the same
amount of money.

14:52.906 --> 14:55.084
I've been here 13, 14
years but if someone

14:55.084 --> 14:57.949
were to be a member
tomorrow they would

14:57.949 --> 14:59.794
make the exact same
wage that I do.

14:59.794 --> 15:03.353
They have amount of voting
say at the meetings.

15:03.353 --> 15:05.522
It's one person, one vote.

15:05.522 --> 15:08.414
Some people, it's
an immediate fit

15:08.414 --> 15:12.820
and that's just part of
their core personality type.

15:12.820 --> 15:18.266
They're vocal, they can
communicate really easily,

15:18.266 --> 15:19.890
they're willing
to give feedback,

15:19.890 --> 15:21.389
they're willing to
receive feedback.

15:21.389 --> 15:24.210
And other people have
to learn over time

15:24.210 --> 15:26.060
that they have a voice.

15:26.060 --> 15:29.000
[CHATTER]

15:29.000 --> 15:30.615
There are no managers.

15:30.615 --> 15:33.816
If anything
everyone's a manager.

15:33.816 --> 15:36.190
That doesn't mean that we just
make all decisions sitting

15:36.190 --> 15:37.090
around in a group.

15:37.090 --> 15:41.060
We actually delegate
a lot of things out.

15:41.060 --> 15:44.410
Each committee is responsible
for different aspects

15:44.410 --> 15:45.300
of the business.

15:45.300 --> 15:47.870
So, for example, finance is
responsible for making sure

15:47.870 --> 15:50.360
that payroll is done and
that all of our vendors

15:50.360 --> 15:51.770
are paid on time.

15:51.770 --> 15:54.480
And production make sure
that all of our products

15:54.480 --> 15:57.487
are looking great and that
when we introduce new product,

15:57.487 --> 15:58.570
there's a system for that.

15:58.570 --> 16:01.720

16:01.720 --> 16:05.170
The largest cooperative is
still the original Cheese Board.

16:05.170 --> 16:08.410
They do about $6 million
a year in business.

16:08.410 --> 16:11.481
And the mature cooperatives
are breaking that $2 million

16:11.481 --> 16:13.285
a year.

16:13.285 --> 16:15.020
Starting pay is $12 an hour.

16:15.020 --> 16:18.800
We provide health
insurance for everyone.

16:18.800 --> 16:20.520
For one of our mature
cooperative that's

16:20.520 --> 16:24.550
been in business for a while the
pay range is about $30 an hour.

16:24.550 --> 16:26.600
So that takes into
account wages, benefits,

16:26.600 --> 16:29.240
and profit-sharing.

16:29.240 --> 16:31.770
The buy-in is $5,000
to begin with.

16:31.770 --> 16:34.765
That's $1,000 in cash
or $500 and the rest

16:34.765 --> 16:36.390
can be done through
payroll deductions.

16:36.390 --> 16:39.142

16:39.142 --> 16:41.060
We kind of wear two hats here.

16:41.060 --> 16:45.160
Like sometimes we act as workers
and sometimes we act as owners.

16:45.160 --> 16:48.160
And as a worker you want to
have the highest wage possible.

16:48.160 --> 16:51.665
But as an owner you realize
that for the sake of the bakery

16:51.665 --> 16:55.745
if sales go down, then perhaps
we need to be paid less.

16:55.745 --> 16:59.760
I think it's a great place to
learn what democracy means.

16:59.760 --> 17:01.812
Maybe when I started
I was a little more

17:01.812 --> 17:03.728
idealistic about we're
all going to get along.

17:03.728 --> 17:04.694
It's like really great.

17:04.694 --> 17:06.319
We're going to own
a business together.

17:06.319 --> 17:10.239
In reality the structure really
does help keep things in check.

17:10.239 --> 17:14.119

17:14.119 --> 17:19.454
Through the democratic consensus
process takes a lot of work.

17:19.454 --> 17:23.885
And if the group is really
swaying over to one side

17:23.885 --> 17:27.765
sometimes it takes a
moment to go, OK, actually

17:27.765 --> 17:29.702
I'm going to follow suit.

17:29.702 --> 17:31.160
Because there's a
greater momentum.

17:31.160 --> 17:34.070

17:34.070 --> 17:35.660
There's always
going to be conflict

17:35.660 --> 17:39.880
and I think that, as opposed
to normal businesses that

17:39.880 --> 17:41.490
aren't cooperative,
there might even

17:41.490 --> 17:43.750
be a little bit more
conflict on the surface.

17:43.750 --> 17:45.650
Just because in other
businesses if you

17:45.650 --> 17:48.040
have a problem with someone,
you can just go to your boss

17:48.040 --> 17:49.840
and they can solve your problem.

17:49.840 --> 17:52.805
Or they can try to work
toward solving your problem.

17:52.805 --> 17:54.950
But here we're all
on the same footing,

17:54.950 --> 18:01.000
so you really have to work out
your issues with each other.

18:01.000 --> 18:02.930
Swallowing your pride
and listening to others

18:02.930 --> 18:05.370
and compromising and not
always getting your way

18:05.370 --> 18:10.820
is a really big part
of being in a co-op.

18:10.820 --> 18:17.250
For certain personality
that's not going to happen.

18:17.250 --> 18:19.950
I personally believe
that no one's perfect

18:19.950 --> 18:22.660
and it's really great to
have different points of view

18:22.660 --> 18:23.680
and come together.

18:23.680 --> 18:29.244
It's not solely
yours, it's everyone's

18:29.244 --> 18:34.710
That in itself it's kind of
a beautiful thing I think.

18:34.710 --> 18:38.112
[MUSIC PLAYING]

18:38.112 --> 19:00.540

19:00.540 --> 19:03.410
They were treated
poorly, because they

19:03.410 --> 19:05.580
don't know the language.

19:05.580 --> 19:10.100
Sometimes not even paid
for the work they do.

19:10.100 --> 19:12.710
Sometimes humiliated.

19:12.710 --> 19:18.830
and coming me here
there's a safety net.

19:18.830 --> 19:21.110
In Oakland, a
nonprofit called Wages

19:21.110 --> 19:23.452
helps women develop green
house cleaning cooperatives.

19:23.452 --> 20:31.710

20:31.710 --> 20:34.000
Emma's has 30 members.

20:34.000 --> 20:38.860
I have really 30 supervisors.

20:38.860 --> 20:41.110
[SPEAKING SPANISH]

20:41.110 --> 20:42.210
We have marketing.

20:42.210 --> 20:44.000
We have a budget for marketing.

20:44.000 --> 20:48.840
And so they know that when
they come here they start,

20:48.840 --> 20:51.260
let's say, tomorrow
that we are going

20:51.260 --> 20:54.858
to fill their schedule
as soon as we can.

20:54.858 --> 20:58.060

20:58.060 --> 21:01.330
And that if there is a
complaint by a client,

21:01.330 --> 21:04.130
we are going to take care
of it here in the office.

21:04.130 --> 21:09.829
That if they are abused verbally
that we will take care of it

21:09.829 --> 21:10.620
here at the office.

21:10.620 --> 21:55.820

21:55.820 --> 21:58.330
[MUSIC PLAYING]

21:58.330 --> 22:30.570

22:30.570 --> 22:32.998
[MUSIC PLAYING]

22:32.998 --> 22:37.720

22:37.720 --> 22:40.510
The cooperatives in Mondragon
got started in the years

22:40.510 --> 22:41.890
after the Spanish Civil War.

22:41.890 --> 23:48.970

23:48.970 --> 23:50.780
The cooperatives
were spearheaded

23:50.780 --> 23:54.860
by a visionary priest with a
passion for social justice.

23:54.860 --> 23:57.520
He started the school to
teach technical skills

23:57.520 --> 23:59.170
and nurture a culture
of cooperation.

23:59.170 --> 24:25.980

24:25.980 --> 24:28.782
In 1956 five graduates
of the school

24:28.782 --> 24:30.490
founded the first
industrial cooperative.

24:30.490 --> 25:24.340

25:24.340 --> 25:27.735
[MUSIC PLAYING]

25:27.735 --> 25:32.110

25:32.110 --> 25:36.340
Gradually more
enterprises grew based

25:36.340 --> 25:39.210
on this philosophy
in the late 1950s.

25:39.210 --> 25:41.710
And they joined
together finally in 1959

25:41.710 --> 25:44.960
to create the first Mondragon
network institution, which

25:44.960 --> 25:48.340
was the cooperative
bank Caja Laboral.

25:48.340 --> 25:51.610
But not really a
bank, more what might

25:51.610 --> 25:53.690
be called development
finance organization,

25:53.690 --> 25:58.090
because its purpose was to
help the other industrial and

25:58.090 --> 25:59.460
service cooperatives develop.

25:59.460 --> 26:16.610

26:16.610 --> 26:19.770
[MUSIC PLAYING]

26:19.770 --> 27:50.150

27:50.150 --> 27:53.150
[MUSIC PLAYING]

27:53.150 --> 28:15.110

28:15.110 --> 28:18.519
[MUSIC PLAYING]

28:18.519 --> 28:31.210

28:31.210 --> 28:34.820
Through the early '60s, more
and more co-ops were created

28:34.820 --> 28:37.310
and additional
networked institutions

28:37.310 --> 28:40.770
were created-- the social
security and insurance

28:40.770 --> 28:43.670
cooperative, schools and
universities, research

28:43.670 --> 28:46.460
and development center.

28:46.460 --> 28:48.090
Cooperative governance
means that we

28:48.090 --> 28:50.220
elect a portion of
our board of directors

28:50.220 --> 28:52.830
and we know who those
people are and if there

28:52.830 --> 28:56.410
are significant issues
related to the running

28:56.410 --> 28:58.000
of a faculty of business.

28:58.000 --> 29:00.160
Whether it's related to
curriculum or student

29:00.160 --> 29:02.870
recruitment or financially
or some other issue,

29:02.870 --> 29:05.520
we know who these people
are, we know whom we elected,

29:05.520 --> 29:08.620
and we have relatively
easy access to them.

29:08.620 --> 29:12.040
[MUSIC PLAYING]

29:12.040 --> 29:49.110

29:49.110 --> 29:52.030
so there's no sort of those
are the more you come to us

29:52.030 --> 29:57.280
and it was a silly and this was
a story for this system what

29:57.280 --> 30:00.830
the personal panel
in this system

30:00.830 --> 30:03.920
was up in doing this for funding

30:03.920 --> 30:04.790
Enough is enough.

30:04.790 --> 30:34.204

30:34.204 --> 30:38.180
[MUSIC PLAYING]

30:38.180 --> 32:24.612

32:24.612 --> 32:28.028
[MUSIC PLAYING]

32:28.028 --> 34:35.115

34:35.115 --> 34:38.531
[MUSIC PLAYING]

34:38.531 --> 34:48.779

34:48.779 --> 34:51.010
Our niche in the market
is really custom machines.

34:51.010 --> 34:52.964
So everything is a
little bit different.

34:52.964 --> 34:55.540
The machine we have here
is an inspection machine.

34:55.540 --> 34:58.650
What it is used for
is inspecting cabinets

34:58.650 --> 35:01.090
that one of our customers
makes to make sure

35:01.090 --> 35:03.750
that they've been
assembled properly.

35:03.750 --> 35:06.250
So it looks at the front
of the door using lasers

35:06.250 --> 35:08.650
to make sure that
the door is square

35:08.650 --> 35:11.970
with the rest of the cabinets.

35:11.970 --> 35:14.530
A lot of times people
say, well, how many times

35:14.530 --> 35:16.960
have you made a
machine for our widget.

35:16.960 --> 35:17.840
It's like, never.

35:17.840 --> 35:20.250
Nobody ever has probably.

35:20.250 --> 35:21.490
This is the first time.

35:21.490 --> 35:24.640
And that's what we do
and do it pretty well.

35:24.640 --> 35:27.880
We have the coolest jobs
around because your dream is--

35:27.880 --> 35:28.442
I think so.

35:28.442 --> 35:29.570
I think so.

35:29.570 --> 35:32.100
You're inventing
something every day a week

35:32.100 --> 35:34.540
and you get to invent
it out of thin air

35:34.540 --> 35:35.956
and then you get
to watch it work.

35:35.956 --> 35:41.950

35:41.950 --> 35:44.580
You're valued for your
ideas and your creativity

35:44.580 --> 35:48.230
and the things you can come
up with that maybe-- thinking

35:48.230 --> 35:51.710
outside the box,
that sort of thing.

35:51.710 --> 35:54.185
There's creative juices
flowing, I guess,

35:54.185 --> 35:56.143
that maybe gets stifled
in other organizations.

35:56.143 --> 35:59.240

35:59.240 --> 36:01.660
Information is shared
and people are involved

36:01.660 --> 36:04.210
and get to be part
of making decisions.

36:04.210 --> 36:06.791
And then they get to benefit
from those decisions, too.

36:06.791 --> 36:07.290
Right?

36:07.290 --> 36:10.090
It's not everybody has
a little tiny cubicle

36:10.090 --> 36:12.548
and then there's one guy who
comes to work in a helicopter.

36:12.548 --> 36:14.340

36:14.340 --> 36:18.990
We're making business decisions
with engineers and wiring

36:18.990 --> 36:22.740
people, accountants, machinists.

36:22.740 --> 36:28.190
And we really credit ourselves
as we run the business.

36:28.190 --> 36:30.490
The members worked
basically for a share

36:30.490 --> 36:32.510
of the business profits.

36:32.510 --> 36:33.660
In good years, we do well.

36:33.660 --> 36:36.280
In poor years, we
don't do so well.

36:36.280 --> 36:37.910
If we don't make
a lot of money--

36:37.910 --> 36:40.560
if we don't make
any money one year,

36:40.560 --> 36:43.440
it's not like we
close the doors.

36:43.440 --> 36:46.930
Members hunker down
and they say, well, OK.

36:46.930 --> 36:50.170
What can we do next
year to make it better?

36:50.170 --> 36:52.540
One member has one vote, period.

36:52.540 --> 36:55.200
It's not like in a corporation,
a regular corporation,

36:55.200 --> 36:57.640
where $1 has one vote.

36:57.640 --> 36:59.340
We don't track return on equity.

36:59.340 --> 37:01.430
We track return on labor.

37:01.430 --> 37:06.720
But the management
tools are very similar.

37:06.720 --> 37:10.260
In terms of managing
people, it's not really--

37:10.260 --> 37:11.820
that's much less
part of this job

37:11.820 --> 37:14.785
then it would be somewhere else.

37:14.785 --> 37:16.780
I have worked at
large corporations

37:16.780 --> 37:21.665
where there's a huge hierarchy
and it takes a lot of energy

37:21.665 --> 37:23.740
to operate in an
environment like that.

37:23.740 --> 37:28.355
We put our energy towards our
projects and our products.

37:28.355 --> 37:32.130
[MUSIC PLAYING]

37:32.130 --> 37:35.600
I came here for the sole purpose
to work for a worker's co-op.

37:35.600 --> 37:37.160
I heard about the place.

37:37.160 --> 37:40.330
I worked for a big
company up in Fond du lac.

37:40.330 --> 37:42.930
There it didn't seem to
matter how hard I worked

37:42.930 --> 37:44.140
or how little I get did.

37:44.140 --> 37:45.410
It made no difference.

37:45.410 --> 37:47.826
I wanted to go to a place where
I could make a difference.

37:47.826 --> 37:50.655
And I've been here for 17 years.

37:50.655 --> 37:53.490
It's the best place there is.

37:53.490 --> 37:57.220
There's a lot of power in
all of us sharing knowledge

37:57.220 --> 37:59.480
immediately right
across the room.

37:59.480 --> 38:03.220
I don't have to go through
a series of management

38:03.220 --> 38:05.990
and supervisors to
get to another person.

38:05.990 --> 38:08.780

38:08.780 --> 38:09.690
It works very well.

38:09.690 --> 38:13.010
I think that the
quality of our product

38:13.010 --> 38:14.510
really shows how well it works.

38:14.510 --> 38:19.240
And the fact that we have
a lot of repeat customers.

38:19.240 --> 38:21.970
The way Isthmus works
is you come on board

38:21.970 --> 38:23.860
and after two years
you're eligible to apply

38:23.860 --> 38:24.860
for membership.

38:24.860 --> 38:26.270
And not everybody does apply.

38:26.270 --> 38:27.332
It's not required.

38:27.332 --> 38:28.790
So we do have some
employees who've

38:28.790 --> 38:30.123
been here more than long enough.

38:30.123 --> 38:32.710
And they've even been
involved more than enough

38:32.710 --> 38:35.670
to not have to worry about
being approved for membership.

38:35.670 --> 38:38.340
But they don't want to
be a business owner.

38:38.340 --> 38:38.840
Right?

38:38.840 --> 38:40.904
They want to come home
at the end of the day

38:40.904 --> 38:42.070
and be done with for awhile.

38:42.070 --> 38:45.580
It is an extra commitment
to be a member.

38:45.580 --> 38:49.790
When we get a job we assign a
project manager to that job.

38:49.790 --> 38:53.610
They get assigned a team of
engineers and assembly people

38:53.610 --> 38:55.460
and controls people.

38:55.460 --> 38:59.830
One project John might
be, if he was still

38:59.830 --> 39:03.120
working as a [INAUDIBLE], might
be the boss of that project.

39:03.120 --> 39:05.040
And then the next
project, he may

39:05.040 --> 39:07.080
be working for one
of the people that

39:07.080 --> 39:08.390
worked for him on that project.

39:08.390 --> 39:11.900
So those roles would flip.

39:11.900 --> 39:14.331
We all come up with
different ideas.

39:14.331 --> 39:14.830
Right?

39:14.830 --> 39:17.460
And we throw them out
there on the table.

39:17.460 --> 39:22.490
And hopefully the group
grabs onto one of those ideas

39:22.490 --> 39:24.570
and runs with it.

39:24.570 --> 39:27.320
Sometimes the vote
doesn't go your way,

39:27.320 --> 39:30.530
but at least you heard the
decision-making process.

39:30.530 --> 39:32.670
And you understand
why the decisions

39:32.670 --> 39:35.470
were made, which that's
totally different than most

39:35.470 --> 39:38.120
other companies, I think,
where a lot of the decisions

39:38.120 --> 39:42.710
are made behind closed
doors or on a golf course.

39:42.710 --> 39:45.810
It takes a lot longer
to get to a decision.

39:45.810 --> 39:47.910
But then you don't
have convince people

39:47.910 --> 39:50.450
after the decision was made
that it was the right decision.

39:50.450 --> 39:52.510
Or tell them why they
should participate in it

39:52.510 --> 39:54.570
and then monitor their
compliance with that.

39:54.570 --> 39:55.070
Right?

39:55.070 --> 39:55.790
They're on board.

39:55.790 --> 39:58.410
They were the ones
who made the decision.

39:58.410 --> 40:00.820
But not all decisions
are the same.

40:00.820 --> 40:03.130
Certain groups have the
expertise about certain

40:03.130 --> 40:04.440
decisions and others don't.

40:04.440 --> 40:09.080
So if it comes down to a
new machine for the shop,

40:09.080 --> 40:10.460
people up front
in the office are

40:10.460 --> 40:12.210
interested in what it's
going to cost, obviously.

40:12.210 --> 40:13.780
They're interested
in why we need it.

40:13.780 --> 40:15.655
But there is an
understanding that these guys

40:15.655 --> 40:16.470
are the experts.

40:16.470 --> 40:20.780
[MUSIC PLAYING]

40:20.780 --> 40:23.410
The stress in our jobs
is because of what we're

40:23.410 --> 40:26.390
trying to do and just
the technical difficulty.

40:26.390 --> 40:29.360
It's not because a boss is
telling you to jump left

40:29.360 --> 40:31.257
when you think you
should be going right.

40:31.257 --> 40:32.465
It's not that kind of stress.

40:32.465 --> 40:37.850

40:37.850 --> 40:41.160
Most other companies I couldn't
share in the decision-making,

40:41.160 --> 40:43.470
because I wouldn't have a vote.

40:43.470 --> 40:46.359
At the end of the day if the
work I did produced profit,

40:46.359 --> 40:48.150
I wouldn't get to share
in that, because it

40:48.150 --> 40:50.500
would be going somewhere else.

40:50.500 --> 40:52.710
If I was concerned
about what this

40:52.710 --> 40:56.276
was doing to the community, if
I worked for another business,

40:56.276 --> 40:57.150
that wouldn't matter.

40:57.150 --> 41:03.850

41:03.850 --> 41:08.000
In Madison we have some of
the oldest worker co-ops.

41:08.000 --> 41:12.540
So Nature's Bakery, Union Cab,
Community Pharmacy-- we've

41:12.540 --> 41:15.615
all been around for
at least 30 years.

41:15.615 --> 41:18.800

41:18.800 --> 41:20.630
There's Nature's Bakery co-op.

41:20.630 --> 41:21.930
They have a really nice banner.

41:21.930 --> 41:31.070

41:31.070 --> 41:36.200
Self-organized workers'
businesses just make sense.

41:36.200 --> 41:39.310
We think more in terms of
how do we keep our jobs, then

41:39.310 --> 41:42.810
how do we improve
our bottom line.

41:42.810 --> 41:44.840
Now, obviously, our
bottom line is important,

41:44.840 --> 41:47.850
because without a profitable
business we don't have jobs.

41:47.850 --> 41:55.570

41:55.570 --> 41:59.500
We offer a full-service
prescription pharmacy.

41:59.500 --> 42:01.960
We also have a health
and beauty section,

42:01.960 --> 42:05.040
where we have natural beauty
products, chemical-free body

42:05.040 --> 42:06.400
care.

42:06.400 --> 42:11.000
One of the things I
really like is the ability

42:11.000 --> 42:15.670
to be able to make decisions as
a group and to work things out,

42:15.670 --> 42:19.310
rather than a more
traditional structure

42:19.310 --> 42:22.000
where decisions are made
and you may not like them.

42:22.000 --> 42:24.910
But that's just the way it is.

42:24.910 --> 42:26.480
It's nice not having a boss.

42:26.480 --> 42:29.010
I've worked in other
pharmacies with bosses

42:29.010 --> 42:32.330
and I've never wanted
to be the boss.

42:32.330 --> 42:35.000
And also I grew up
and went to college

42:35.000 --> 42:38.400
in the '60s and the '70s and
it was a pretty radical time.

42:38.400 --> 42:40.230
And working in a
traditional pharmacy

42:40.230 --> 42:42.265
was always harder
for me, because it's

42:42.265 --> 42:45.840
a pretty conservative
environment.

42:45.840 --> 42:50.525
It does bring some challenges
I think to worker co-ops,

42:50.525 --> 42:52.400
especially like it when
you're a co-op you're

42:52.400 --> 42:54.600
striving for this
egalitarianism.

42:54.600 --> 42:59.200
Because pharmacists have--
most of them have PhD's now.

42:59.200 --> 43:04.110
We have to pay them considerably
more than we pay the workers.

43:04.110 --> 43:05.790
All the pharmacists
who work here

43:05.790 --> 43:07.590
have a different
legal responsibility,

43:07.590 --> 43:09.350
because we have a state license.

43:09.350 --> 43:12.470
We need to renew that
license every year.

43:12.470 --> 43:15.960
The pharmacy has a license
that certain requirements

43:15.960 --> 43:18.700
have to be met.

43:18.700 --> 43:21.920
When it concerns
drug selection, yes.

43:21.920 --> 43:26.260
I think our technicians and
the other workers in the store

43:26.260 --> 43:29.180
do differ to the
pharmacist's expertise.

43:29.180 --> 43:35.470
So, yeah, in a way we're set
aside from just another worker.

43:35.470 --> 43:37.830
But nonetheless
it's not the owner

43:37.830 --> 43:40.540
who makes the final decision
on what drugs to carry,

43:40.540 --> 43:42.780
what prescription vials to buy.

43:42.780 --> 43:45.960
And this is our ability to do
what's best for our patients.

43:45.960 --> 43:49.160
The decision we can
make is not a question

43:49.160 --> 43:50.985
your chain pharmacist
are able to make.

43:50.985 --> 43:52.610
They get whatever they get.

43:52.610 --> 43:57.410
[MUSIC PLAYING]

43:57.410 --> 43:59.890
Union Cab is a worker
co-op that came

43:59.890 --> 44:02.920
from a history of
labor struggle.

44:02.920 --> 44:08.240
The drivers went on strike
because of really poor working

44:08.240 --> 44:11.890
conditions and shut
down the business.

44:11.890 --> 44:15.110
The owner was, in the
end, forced to sell.

44:15.110 --> 44:18.510
The dispatchers and
the drivers realized

44:18.510 --> 44:21.845
that they had all the skills
needed to run the business.

44:21.845 --> 44:25.400

44:25.400 --> 44:27.700
So we'll be getting
rid of all of the gas

44:27.700 --> 44:33.875
puzzling Crown Victoria's within
the next six months or so.

44:33.875 --> 44:37.670
They already have 20 Toyota
Priuses in our fleet.

44:37.670 --> 44:40.330
And it's actually less
expensive to run them,

44:40.330 --> 44:43.720
because of the cost of
fuel is our number two

44:43.720 --> 44:45.270
expense after wages.

44:45.270 --> 44:49.456
It's going to be right
on time-- 7 o'clock.

44:49.456 --> 44:53.980
Our company trusts us to work
in the most productive way

44:53.980 --> 44:56.200
for ourselves and the company.

44:56.200 --> 45:00.764
And we, in turn, trust the
company not to screw us over,

45:00.764 --> 45:02.180
because we're part
of the company.

45:02.180 --> 45:04.590
And anything that happens
within the company,

45:04.590 --> 45:06.530
we have a little bit of say in.

45:06.530 --> 45:08.230
It's way better than
the corporations

45:08.230 --> 45:09.940
I've worked in before.

45:09.940 --> 45:11.639
As a member you're
also an owner.

45:11.639 --> 45:13.680
And you have the same
voice as every other owner.

45:13.680 --> 45:16.409
Everybody has one
share, one vote.

45:16.409 --> 45:18.450
Really makes you feel
involved with the business.

45:18.450 --> 45:20.830
It's just not making
money for the top 1%

45:20.830 --> 45:22.690
of the people working here.

45:22.690 --> 45:24.470
It's making money for everybody.

45:24.470 --> 45:28.050
This is my [INAUDIBLE]
bill, my charge slips--

45:28.050 --> 45:31.000
Co-ops issues and co-op
living have always

45:31.000 --> 45:31.920
been part of my life.

45:31.920 --> 45:34.630
Whether it was
food buying co-ops,

45:34.630 --> 45:38.420
day cares, credit unions,
work environments.

45:38.420 --> 45:42.220
The flexibility,
the sense of control

45:42.220 --> 45:48.160
of being able to have some
influence over my workspace--

45:48.160 --> 45:50.540
even though I was
in middle management

45:50.540 --> 45:54.630
in corporate environments in
the past, at the end of the day

45:54.630 --> 45:56.890
the profits went
to somebody else

45:56.890 --> 45:59.440
and the decision-making
was done by somebody else.

45:59.440 --> 46:02.520

46:02.520 --> 46:04.660
The whole idea of
worker cooperatives

46:04.660 --> 46:06.490
is based on cooperation.

46:06.490 --> 46:07.900
And you can't do
that in a vacuum

46:07.900 --> 46:10.270
and you can't do that
singly as a business.

46:10.270 --> 46:13.380
You've got to build networks
regionally, nationally,

46:13.380 --> 46:16.940
internationally to build a
more fair and just economy.

46:16.940 --> 46:20.356
[CAR NOISES]

46:20.356 --> 46:35.140

46:35.140 --> 46:37.590
With three weeks of
stock market volatility,

46:37.590 --> 46:40.120
Main Street is flashing
back to the dark days

46:40.120 --> 46:41.280
of the financial crisis.

46:41.280 --> 48:38.406

48:38.406 --> 48:41.787
[MUSIC PLAYING]

48:41.787 --> 49:00.994

49:00.994 --> 49:04.368
[MUSIC PLAYING]

49:04.368 --> 49:09.188

49:09.188 --> 49:12.360
The oldest and largest
Mondragon cooperative is Fagor.

49:12.360 --> 49:14.940

49:14.940 --> 49:17.405
Three generations and 10s
of thousands of people

49:17.405 --> 49:18.594
have made their living here.

49:18.594 --> 49:24.210

49:24.210 --> 49:27.370
But when the housing boom
collapsed in 2008, so

49:27.370 --> 49:29.154
did a major market
for their products.

49:29.154 --> 50:32.530

50:32.530 --> 50:35.070
Today, the Fagor group
boasts manufacturing plants

50:35.070 --> 50:41.030
in Spain, France, Italy,
Poland, Morocco, and China.

50:41.030 --> 50:43.030
We face competition
from abroad, which

50:43.030 --> 50:46.020
can produce so much
cheaper than us.

50:46.020 --> 50:51.850
We cannot pay our workers the
same rate as they pay in Taiwan

50:51.850 --> 50:54.360
or in China or in Mexico.

50:54.360 --> 50:56.070
So we have plants in Mexico.

50:56.070 --> 51:00.490
And we have plants in
China and-- because we

51:00.490 --> 51:02.090
need to compete with
other people who

51:02.090 --> 51:03.790
also produce in China.

51:03.790 --> 51:08.545
And they are threatening to
push us out of the market.

51:08.545 --> 51:11.285
Fagor is more than a
brand because the group

51:11.285 --> 51:12.700
sells its products worldwide.

51:12.700 --> 51:40.560

51:40.560 --> 51:44.090
my heart we talk with two
spaces in Latin America

51:44.090 --> 51:48.280
and continue to move into this
and this initial basis industry

51:48.280 --> 51:54.125
from up in was nothing else

51:54.125 --> 51:58.260
In some cases, it's a
question of customers.

51:58.260 --> 52:01.720
In automotive components,
for example, the customers

52:01.720 --> 52:05.960
are the principal car
manufacturers around the world.

52:05.960 --> 52:09.340
They have an enormous amount of
influence over their suppliers.

52:09.340 --> 52:12.230
They can say, if you
would like to continue

52:12.230 --> 52:20.830
being a supplier to this
company, Ford, Volkswagen,

52:20.830 --> 52:24.470
please have a plant
in operation within 20

52:24.470 --> 52:28.180
miles of our manufacturing
facility in XYZ city

52:28.180 --> 52:30.600
in Brazil in the next 24 months.

52:30.600 --> 53:04.470

53:04.470 --> 53:07.000
This is an enormous challenge.

53:07.000 --> 53:10.100
And the community that's
necessary for shared ownership

53:10.100 --> 53:14.440
to be fair and effective
is very difficult

53:14.440 --> 53:17.060
to develop at those distances.

53:17.060 --> 53:19.620
These people in the next
town have experience

53:19.620 --> 53:21.440
with cooperative ownership.

53:21.440 --> 53:23.810
They know what their
rights and responsibilities

53:23.810 --> 53:27.360
are, what the risks
and rewards will be.

53:27.360 --> 53:30.750
How can we develop the
same sense of community

53:30.750 --> 53:37.800
with a group of workers in
Mexico or in China or in India?

53:37.800 --> 54:10.856

54:10.856 --> 54:14.195
[MUSIC PLAYING]

54:14.195 --> 56:42.930

56:42.930 --> 56:45.732
[MUSIC PLAYING]

56:45.732 --> 57:37.064

57:37.064 --> 57:40.536
[MUSIC PLAYING]

57:40.536 --> 57:51.470

57:51.470 --> 57:54.590
I work here as an
employee but I also

57:54.590 --> 57:56.950
own one share of the company.

57:56.950 --> 58:00.964
I have a say in what happens
with the company, which

58:00.964 --> 58:03.110
is awesome.

58:03.110 --> 58:05.274
If the company loses
money, we take a hit.

58:05.274 --> 58:06.740
We have to pay.

58:06.740 --> 58:10.006
If we make money after all
our other expenses are paid

58:10.006 --> 58:11.880
and we've paid out our
dividends and invested

58:11.880 --> 58:14.460
some back in the company,
we get the profit sharing.

58:14.460 --> 58:16.190
So we have a stake.

58:16.190 --> 58:20.345
We have skin in the
game, as they say.

58:20.345 --> 58:21.220
It's a real business.

58:21.220 --> 58:22.760
We have goals to meet.

58:22.760 --> 58:25.320
But there's just
this environment

58:25.320 --> 58:27.930
that we all love
what we're doing.

58:27.930 --> 58:29.770
And it's very meaningful to us.

58:29.770 --> 58:32.955
And we all want it to work.

58:32.955 --> 58:36.392
[MUSIC PLAYING]

58:36.392 --> 58:41.302

58:41.302 --> 58:44.890
Equal Exchange is best known
for our fair-trade coffee.

58:44.890 --> 58:48.520
It's where started with and
it is our reason for being.

58:48.520 --> 58:52.010
is to work with these
democratically organized

58:52.010 --> 58:55.350
cooperatives of small-scale
farmers who normally

58:55.350 --> 58:58.070
are exploited by the system.

58:58.070 --> 59:02.090
Our goal was to make the market
work for the small farmers

59:02.090 --> 59:04.697
and for these co-ops
owned and governed

59:04.697 --> 59:05.780
by the farmers themselves.

59:05.780 --> 59:11.180
[MUSIC PLAYING]

59:11.180 --> 59:15.490
Once you see how much work
goes into picking that coffee,

59:15.490 --> 59:19.060
getting it here, the struggles
that the farmers go with.

59:19.060 --> 59:21.330
They get this little
extra social premium

59:21.330 --> 59:23.060
for the fair trade
price and they

59:23.060 --> 59:24.960
can choose to invest
it in clean water.

59:24.960 --> 59:29.370
They can choose to invest
it in quality improvement.

59:29.370 --> 59:32.210
They can choose to invest it
in more mechanized equipment.

59:32.210 --> 59:34.320
But then maybe
there's a landslide.

59:34.320 --> 59:36.240
And they have to
spend it on the roads

59:36.240 --> 59:38.200
so that they can get
the product to market

59:38.200 --> 59:39.715
or to get the kids to school.

59:39.715 --> 59:43.910

59:43.910 --> 59:48.980
We're not at the whims
of outside investors--

59:48.980 --> 59:52.300
that our company won't be bought
and sold out from under us.

59:52.300 --> 59:55.750
And that as the owners,
we can make sure

59:55.750 --> 01:00:00.200
that Equal Exchange
stays on a mission.

01:00:00.200 --> 01:00:03.850
The smartest people that
I see on a daily basis

01:00:03.850 --> 01:00:05.360
are in this building.

01:00:05.360 --> 01:00:08.740
The most interesting
conversations I have in my life

01:00:08.740 --> 01:00:11.450
are always at the
tables at lunch.

01:00:11.450 --> 01:00:16.070
The biggest challenge that
we get is from each other.

01:00:16.070 --> 01:00:19.260
When you're hired
you're a worker.

01:00:19.260 --> 01:00:22.060
After a year, you
have the ability

01:00:22.060 --> 01:00:24.590
to be voted into the co-op.

01:00:24.590 --> 01:00:26.670
Being a worker-under
who on some level

01:00:26.670 --> 01:00:28.870
is supervised by
management who is then

01:00:28.870 --> 01:00:32.730
supervised by the executives
of the company which is then

01:00:32.730 --> 01:00:34.630
supervised by the
board of directors,

01:00:34.630 --> 01:00:39.320
which could be someone in this
group in the worker-owner body.

01:00:39.320 --> 01:00:43.410
That circle, sort of the checks
and balances of that system,

01:00:43.410 --> 01:00:45.580
is really beautiful.

01:00:45.580 --> 01:00:46.080
Americano.

01:00:46.080 --> 01:00:48.840

01:00:48.840 --> 01:00:53.450
What we're here to do is operate
a different kind of business

01:00:53.450 --> 01:00:57.090
and try to teach
consumers the value

01:00:57.090 --> 01:00:58.980
of a different kind of business.

01:00:58.980 --> 01:01:01.550
And sometimes that
creates an opportunity

01:01:01.550 --> 01:01:04.660
for us to have a
conversation about what

01:01:04.660 --> 01:01:08.820
sustainable retail food
products could look like

01:01:08.820 --> 01:01:12.542
and what they cost-- what the
real cost of those things are.

01:01:12.542 --> 01:01:14.250
And sometimes you've
got a line of people

01:01:14.250 --> 01:01:16.166
and they don't want to
have that conversation.

01:01:16.166 --> 01:01:19.234
And they say, it's too much
and they walk out the door.

01:01:19.234 --> 01:01:21.900
As a business owner I can't say,
well, I don't need that person.

01:01:21.900 --> 01:01:23.840
I don't need their business.

01:01:23.840 --> 01:01:27.440
So I've got to think about
either evaluating our decisions

01:01:27.440 --> 01:01:30.290
or evaluating how we message it.

01:01:30.290 --> 01:01:33.810
Or say we're going to make every
decision the greenest decision

01:01:33.810 --> 01:01:35.450
that we can.

01:01:35.450 --> 01:01:41.000
And it that means that isn't the
right business for some people

01:01:41.000 --> 01:01:45.720
to patronize, then that's part
of the cost of doing business

01:01:45.720 --> 01:01:46.220
our way.

01:01:46.220 --> 01:01:48.730

01:01:48.730 --> 01:01:52.220
Every day we test every roast
that we roasted the day before.

01:01:52.220 --> 01:01:56.490
You grind coffee into the
cup, pour hot water on it,

01:01:56.490 --> 01:01:58.870
and then the grinds
actually rise to the top.

01:01:58.870 --> 01:02:01.760
And then they trap
the aroma underneath.

01:02:01.760 --> 01:02:03.430
And so when you
break that crust,

01:02:03.430 --> 01:02:05.980
you get that first kind of
impression of the coffee, which

01:02:05.980 --> 01:02:07.271
is really intense and exciting.

01:02:07.271 --> 01:02:09.720

01:02:09.720 --> 01:02:11.430
It's basically
just a way to check

01:02:11.430 --> 01:02:16.050
for cleanliness, consistency,
and roast-level and making sure

01:02:16.050 --> 01:02:17.715
that everything
that we're producing

01:02:17.715 --> 01:02:19.590
comes out really well
and sweet and delicious

01:02:19.590 --> 01:02:20.964
with interesting
characteristics.

01:02:20.964 --> 01:02:23.369

01:02:23.369 --> 01:02:25.160
What we're going to
talk about this meeting

01:02:25.160 --> 01:02:28.690
is what the work priorities
are for next year--

01:02:28.690 --> 01:02:32.670
We had to learn how to create a
place where we could routinely

01:02:32.670 --> 01:02:34.550
make group decisions.

01:02:34.550 --> 01:02:36.780
Not in a way that
everybody gets their way,

01:02:36.780 --> 01:02:38.590
because that's not
going to happen.

01:02:38.590 --> 01:02:41.170
But to do it in a way
that people believe

01:02:41.170 --> 01:02:45.150
is fair, transparent,
and where people

01:02:45.150 --> 01:02:48.949
have faith in the system, even
if they don't get the outcome

01:02:48.949 --> 01:02:50.490
they wanted on a
particular occasion.

01:02:50.490 --> 01:02:53.622

01:02:53.622 --> 01:02:55.445
We've got to put
the business first.

01:02:55.445 --> 01:02:57.070
If we're not moving
coffee for farmers,

01:02:57.070 --> 01:02:58.444
we're not supporting
our mission.

01:02:58.444 --> 01:03:01.240
If we're not bringing
money in, we're

01:03:01.240 --> 01:03:03.004
not building this business.

01:03:03.004 --> 01:03:04.545
We're not creating
a viable business.

01:03:04.545 --> 01:03:07.190
Well once we take
care of that, we

01:03:07.190 --> 01:03:11.050
need to keep managing
the co-op and actively

01:03:11.050 --> 01:03:15.360
developing ourselves
as owners of business.

01:03:15.360 --> 01:03:17.680
That has to go hand in
hand with our day jobs.

01:03:17.680 --> 01:03:20.850

01:03:20.850 --> 01:03:22.080
So let me ask this question.

01:03:22.080 --> 01:03:23.950
So bananas--

01:03:23.950 --> 01:03:25.230
Was it a risk?

01:03:25.230 --> 01:03:26.310
Was it an innovation?

01:03:26.310 --> 01:03:31.080
I would say it was a risk and
it was also a major innovation

01:03:31.080 --> 01:03:34.465
because there was a new
market that they took a risk

01:03:34.465 --> 01:03:37.700
to go ahead and jump in.

01:03:37.700 --> 01:03:41.812
Allowing for risk helps retain
your more innovative employees.

01:03:41.812 --> 01:03:43.270
Without allowing
innovation or risk

01:03:43.270 --> 01:03:45.620
you not only risk
stagnation as a company,

01:03:45.620 --> 01:03:50.296
but you also dampen
employee retention.

01:03:50.296 --> 01:03:51.670
Like what are the
conditions that

01:03:51.670 --> 01:03:54.770
encourage risk or
innovation here?

01:03:54.770 --> 01:03:58.860
What are the opticals--
structural, cultural,

01:03:58.860 --> 01:04:01.000
self-imposed?

01:04:01.000 --> 01:04:04.550
Imagine you start a cafe and
you hire a bunch of baristas.

01:04:04.550 --> 01:04:06.460
And they're all employees
of Equal Exchange

01:04:06.460 --> 01:04:08.790
now, whether they're
on track or not.

01:04:08.790 --> 01:04:10.390
Then you fail.

01:04:10.390 --> 01:04:12.190
13 people just lost their jobs.

01:04:12.190 --> 01:04:13.360
That is kind of a risk.

01:04:13.360 --> 01:04:15.100
Right?

01:04:15.100 --> 01:04:17.480
Then if we go really deep
within a risky venture,

01:04:17.480 --> 01:04:21.909
we have the livelihood of
120, 125 people here at stake.

01:04:21.909 --> 01:04:23.700
I think there's a
certain knowledge of that

01:04:23.700 --> 01:04:25.325
and awareness in the
back of our heads,

01:04:25.325 --> 01:04:26.685
like, boy, we blow this one.

01:04:26.685 --> 01:04:29.780
What are we all going
do for work next year?

01:04:29.780 --> 01:04:33.040
If we fail totally it
doesn't just affect us,

01:04:33.040 --> 01:04:35.720
we have a bigger mission--
like we have a social mission.

01:04:35.720 --> 01:04:38.910
And so if we fail, it also
affects the fair trade thing

01:04:38.910 --> 01:04:39.640
and farmers.

01:04:39.640 --> 01:04:42.940
And so taking really huge
risks affects a lot more people

01:04:42.940 --> 01:04:46.033
than the 100 plus
people who work here.

01:04:46.033 --> 01:04:49.344
[MUSIC PLAYING]

01:04:49.344 --> 01:04:54.090

01:04:54.090 --> 01:04:57.440
Any time you can increase
democracy in some place,

01:04:57.440 --> 01:04:59.960
like a workplace,
that's a good thing.

01:04:59.960 --> 01:05:02.580
And that makes all
those challenges

01:05:02.580 --> 01:05:04.360
more than worthwhile.

01:05:04.360 --> 01:05:05.660
And not innovative for--

01:05:05.660 --> 01:05:08.990
Yes, we do have a
lot of meetings.

01:05:08.990 --> 01:05:11.050
But if we're continuing
to deliver on the things

01:05:11.050 --> 01:05:13.050
that we promised that
we're going to deliver on,

01:05:13.050 --> 01:05:18.260
if we are able to continue to
make a difference in fair trade

01:05:18.260 --> 01:05:20.830
and coffee and
small farmers lives,

01:05:20.830 --> 01:05:24.954
who's to say that having a
lot of meetings doesn't work.

01:05:24.954 --> 01:05:27.120
People have offered us a
lot of money but said, hey,

01:05:27.120 --> 01:05:28.786
I want to see it on the board.

01:05:28.786 --> 01:05:30.910
And they want to tell you
how to run your business.

01:05:30.910 --> 01:05:34.260
And they want you to put
their financial returns

01:05:34.260 --> 01:05:36.055
above all other values.

01:05:36.055 --> 01:05:36.930
So you know what?

01:05:36.930 --> 01:05:39.990
We really need the money,
but the board-- people

01:05:39.990 --> 01:05:42.805
are nominated by the
worker-owners here.

01:05:42.805 --> 01:05:44.960
And they're elected
by the worker-owners.

01:05:44.960 --> 01:05:46.250
And that's our structure.

01:05:46.250 --> 01:05:48.948
We're not willing
to compromise it.

01:05:48.948 --> 01:05:52.350
[CHEERING]

01:05:52.350 --> 01:06:13.720

01:06:13.720 --> 01:06:16.460
I feel that somebody who
believes in cooperativism

01:06:16.460 --> 01:06:18.940
is much more likely to
actively participate

01:06:18.940 --> 01:06:21.070
in the social and
democratic processes

01:06:21.070 --> 01:06:24.030
outside the cooperative.

01:06:24.030 --> 01:06:27.640
If you are not willing to
be pushed about in your job,

01:06:27.640 --> 01:06:30.590
you are not willing to be
pushed about by a politician,

01:06:30.590 --> 01:06:33.990
by a policeman, by
anybody else who thinks

01:06:33.990 --> 01:06:35.110
that they've got power.

01:06:35.110 --> 01:06:40.140

01:06:40.140 --> 01:06:43.172
Cooperatives are growing and
expanding into new areas.

01:06:43.172 --> 01:06:44.960
The United Steelworkers
in Mondragon

01:06:44.960 --> 01:06:48.860
are developing unionized
workers co-ops.

01:06:48.860 --> 01:06:51.590
And delegations are
visiting Cleveland

01:06:51.590 --> 01:06:54.145
hoping to adapt the Evergreen
model for their own cities.

01:06:54.145 --> 01:06:57.700

01:06:57.700 --> 01:06:59.580
The world is watching.

01:06:59.580 --> 01:07:02.927
The economy is so
bad other cities

01:07:02.927 --> 01:07:05.556
want this to be successful.

01:07:05.556 --> 01:07:06.512
We own this place.

01:07:06.512 --> 01:07:08.720
That's an extra
reason to go to work.

01:07:08.720 --> 01:07:11.057
Sort of like it's a house
if you rent it, not so much.

01:07:11.057 --> 01:07:14.039
But if you own it,
that's a big deal.

01:07:14.039 --> 01:07:21.494

01:07:21.494 --> 01:07:24.476
I don't know if I could
work in a company.

01:07:24.476 --> 01:07:30.230
I'm spoiled at being able to
ask our executive directors how

01:07:30.230 --> 01:07:33.130
they made a certain decision or
tell them what I think about it

01:07:33.130 --> 01:07:35.100
and not worry about any
kind of repercussions.

01:07:35.100 --> 01:07:36.516
In fact they'll
probably invite me

01:07:36.516 --> 01:07:37.888
to sit down and talk about it.

01:07:37.888 --> 01:07:38.554
Small Americano.

01:07:38.554 --> 01:08:48.366

01:08:48.366 --> 01:10:22.596
[MUSIC PLAYING]