Re: Re: Mondragon: Research for ILO on Worker Cooperative Formation

[dswinney@igc.org]

We arranged a couple small buyouts of companies facing succession crisis in the 
late 1980s--a printing company--Bankers Print with about 20 workers and Monarch 
Chair with about 5.  Bankers Print closed after a couple of years because of a 
management crisis but monarch chair is still open and has grown i think....

we think the market of companies facing succession problems and good targets 
for employee purchase is substantial.  We had a call about a potential project 
in the last couple of weeks.  the key variable is getting timely information.  
we belieive in developing Early Warning systems that can gather accurate and 
timely information--see our web site at www.clcr.org for a longer description 
of early warning systems.

dan swinney


Original message attached.

Mr. Jamison,

 

Thank you very much for your quick reply.  I am primarily interested in failing buisinesses for the main case studies of my paper, but it would probably be helpful to have some examples of non-crisis co-op conversions if you can point me in the direction of those. 

 

I would definitely be interested in any information you have on the Island Pond Woodworkers Alliance, the situation in that case looks like it is very close to what I am looking for.

 

Best Regards,

-Josh Olson

>>> don@veoc.org 06/10/03 07:29pm >>>

Josh --

 

Are you interested only in conversions of failing businesses?  I know of a few cases of conversions of healthy businesses into cooperatives...

 

I'd also be happy to talk with you about the founding of Island Pond Woodworkers.  It is a new business, not a conversion, but it was initiated by a group of workers who had been laid off by Ethan Allen Furniture when a factory was closed.

 

Don Jamison

Co-Director

Vermont Employee Ownership Center

802-861-6611

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Guest g5coop <g5coop@ilo.org>
To: mondragon@cog.kent.edu <mondragon@cog.kent.edu>
Date: Monday, June 09, 2003 6:40 PM
Subject: Mondragon: Research for ILO on Worker Cooperative Formation

My name is Josh Olson.  I am currently serving as an intern with Mark Levin at the Cooperative Branch of the International Labor Organization.  I have been given the assignment to do research and write a short paper on the use of cooperative buyouts as a mechanism for job retention for workers in investor-owned or privately held companies. 

 

I am looking for case studies of worker cooperatives that have been created as the result of worker purchases of failing non-cooperative enterprises.  For the purposes of my paper, I am interested both in both sucessful and unsucessful attempts at such conversions. ( I realize that there will be more information regarding successful cooperatives of this nature, but information on both successes and failures will be beneficial to my research.)  

 

Any information, regarding studies that have been published on this subject, details regarding particular cases of such conversions, or even the existence of such cases (hopefully accompanied by some contact information) would be most useful.

 

Many thanks, in advance.

 

Sincerely,

-Josh Olson