And in order to maintain that they found it important to put all those things together so they could control them.

They are great at sharing what they know, but they warn that it works because the Basque are more egalitarian, and it really does take a different mindset to work in a really democratically run org. That may be why we don't see more here, despite the obvious benefits. After people go through 12 years of school where they are taught to look to everyone else except each other for guidance they are dependent rather than independent. Bosses like that, especially today. But that also shapes their thinking and worldview, so training people in a cooperative is a real challenge. Still, we don't do near enough to work toward that, I think.

The agreement between Mondragon and USW was out there on the USW site. It made me laugh to read the twists and turns as they tried to keep the union, which depends on the struggle between labor and management, relevant when the workers are the owners. (I suspect they are trying to keep their old jobs relevant and not have to change, like parents who want their kids to die at home of old age instead of growing up and away. And that's not healthy. But that's what "business unionism" is all about).