Re: Mondragon: Mondragon papers

[Dan Bell <dbell@kent.edu>]

Dear Shann,

Allow me to express my view regarding the issue of whether or not
Mondragon represents employee ownership.

The Mondragon Cooperatives definitely fit under the broadly used
term "employee ownership". Here in the US, for better or worse,
we refer to companies as employee-owned whenever they have an ESOP.

The ESOP may only own 3% and have no pass-through of voting rights,
yet when we say there are over 10,000 employee-owned companies in the
US, we are including such companies in the count.

I do not believe that the distinction between individual and collective
claims is relevant to whether or not an enterprise is employee-owned.

If employees choose to organize their ownership in a collective way,
that is their choice.

On the other hand, when attaching certain public benefits like tax
breaks or government loans to a form of ownership, I agree that the
object of the assistance should be more narrowly defined.

In my opinion, the important characteristics of ownership are a voice
in the governance of what is owned (which the MCC employees have); and
a share in the profits generated (which the MCC employees have).

It is acceptable for employees to agree to certain restrictions on
the traditional ownership rights if they believe this serves their
collective interests.

Dan
--
Dan Bell
International Program Coordinator
Ohio Employee Ownership Center
Kent State University
Kent, OH 44242
(330) 672-0333 << Direct number!
(330) 672-3028 general office number
(330) 672-4063 fax
dbell@kent.edu
http://www.kent.edu/oeoc/
http://cog.kent.edu