WSJournal More Interested in Caviar & Foie Gras Than Worker-owned Firms

[99th_Monkey]

2. I knew about the Mondragon phenomenon

Hell, they even have cooperative banks, child care centers, etc. My graduate work at
the Univ. of Oregon in the mid 80s focused on worker ownership as a means of anchoring
jobs and capital into local communities, particularly ones being hard hit in NW region due
to massive downturn in the timber industry at the time.

What I did NOT know, is about the United Steelworkers exploring opportunities with
Mondragon. Despite Labor's early history in US, many union peeps in 80s were suspicious
of worker ownership because it represented a departure from collective bargaining; but
that was beginning to change too, as I got a work-study gig on campus Labor Institute
writing a manual for worker buy-outs of distressed companies.

And yes, the IWW has been on board all along.