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MUTUAL AID SOCIETY OF AMERICA, MONDRAGON & MORE

-- Mondragon, the Parent; MASA, the child

Learn from your elders.

That is what we’re here for. E n[i]

The parent/child simile is apt. Mondragon is proof positive that cooperation works better than competition. Mutual Aid Society of America (MASA) is a child, eager to learn from the parent (Mondragon), but not wishing to make the parent’s “mistakes”.

PROLOGUE

First some background on The Basque country and cooperatives. Industrialists would not pick Mondragon as a place to start a local, then regional, then national and then global industrial complex. With the death of Franco and with a history of democracy, three provinces of Spain: Alava, Guipuzoca and Vizcaya formed a semi-autonomous regional government. Basque country spans land along the Atlantic Ocean and straddles the Pyrenees mountains, going into France. Basque are also predominant in Navarra which remained outside the regional government.

By 1990, the population of the four provinces was 2.7 million. Fifty-six percent of the population speak Euskera, unrelated to any other language. The Basque region is generally mountainous and moist. Historically, the population supported themselves by sheep herding and farming, but later developed seafaring, shipbuilding, iron mining and steel fabrication. Along with the shipyards and steel foundries, were schools of apprenticeship. Steel for the famous Toledo swords came from a mine and workshop near Mondragon. Mondragon became known for its swords as well as arms of all types. In the 13th and 14th centuries, the Basque were in struggle against various kings. In the long run, they turned this struggle to their advantage by urbanizing some of the population. Fn[1]

Democratic local government was founded on the practice developed during the 16th and 17th century which gave the male head of each household the right to vote for members of the municipal government. The votes were for members of the local general assembly. In two provinces the common law, called fueros, was codified.

The Spanish Crown, however, limited the right to vote to the wealthy, thus halving the number of voters. Basque members of skilled crafts and professions struggled to maintain their values of equality and democracy within their occupational associations. The rising power of the merchant class and their need for cheap labor and free trade, undermined these associations. In response, many of these associations expressed their sense of equality and joint struggle by forming health and welfare organizations. They opened hospitals and sanitariums. They formed network of skilled workers which bid for jobs and distributed work among them. In rural areas, families joined to exchange labor and provide mutual aid. Guilds had strong internal ties, expressed by being closed to outsiders.

Some of the largest guilds, such as firearms, formed producer cooperatives in the 20th century. By 1972, there were 193 registered producers cooperatives in Basque country, of which 144 were independent of the Mondragon cooperatives. During the Ancien Regime in Castile, the sons of the aristocracy went in to politics, military or the priesthood. In Basque country, the noblemen with titles worked with their hands in the foundries and shipyards and bought and sold merchandise. This social class (“gentry” in England) grew, generation after generation, lived comfortably and took advantage of opportunities of the moment. Working with one’s hands was not looked down upon. Groups formed in schools, although of different social status, continued into occupations and business. En[ii].

The law and politics of the Franco regime favored the employers by banning unions, collective bargaining and strikes. In place of the unions, consultive group of workers were formed, but were largely employer dominated. Job security replaced unions and strikes. However, with increased foreign competition, employers saw these policies as restraints and began collective bargaining to exchange job security for rights to relocate plants and introduce productivity provisions.

As part of the school, later expanded to include higher grades, Don Jose Maria set up study groups to discuss social problems. It was observed by Juan Leibar, President of Polytechnical University of Mondragon that the Basque had used up all of its mineral resources and had to travel over 1000 miles for their fish. “Our only resource now are human ones, so education and technology are essential for our survival as a people.” [MacLeod, 1997,. P. 54]

Franco had denied financial aid to the Basque. Don Jose Maria realized that to promote the establishment of a new social order, the Basque would have to raise their own capital, which they did by public and private subscriptions to a bank. The motto, “Savings or Suitcases” meant that if the Basque people want to work at home, they needed to pool savings. [MacLeod, 1997, p. 54.] Franco had put Basque country and culture into a state of deep despair. He had prohibited the use of the Basque language, required the use of Spanish names, withdrawn public support, killed the Basque leaders and put severe cultural and economic sanctions against the Basque region.

It was this despair which eventually became their strength. “While Franco had economic, military and political power, the only thing left for the Basque was the wealth of human resources. Instead of setting up businesses simply for individual good of a small group of people, they set out to work for the common good. There was no simple formula, and there were no quick answers. There was mainly a reliance on the good to be found in all people.” [MacLeod, 1997, p. 39]

Upon learning that Franco was expected to die soon, the Basque independence movement increased the heat on the pressure cooker. Post-Franco, free elections catapulted the Basque Nationalist party into office, along with some Socialists and the Herri Batsuna party. The idea of cooperatives is an old one in Basque country. The Catholic Church had housing and food cooperatives earlier than 1929. Unions had credit unions priof to 1914. The growth of farmer cooperatives had been stimulated by laws passed in 1906. In 1920, bakers, fire arms manufactures and furniture makers established their cooperatives. Existing unions often provided the start-up capital. ALFA, a fire arms manufacturer shifted in 1925 from arms to sewing machines. Churches, political parties and union were all involved in some way in creating and sustaining cooperatives. “Clearly, the Mondragon movement developed out of a rich and diverse culture, representing broad interest and many organizations within the Basque country.

The Alfa case was well known to the founder of the Mondragon movement, Father Jose Marie Arizmendiarrieta. His nephew was a friend of Toribio Echevarria, the organizer and leading spirit of Alfa…” Whyte, p. 20. Mondragon and its cooperatives have become very profitable and are major sources of jobs and income, especially in the Basque region. As privately held companies, net profit information is generally not public knowledge, although gross statistics are available. En[iii] I recommend reading three outstanding books and thank the authors for the insight upon which this article is largely based. En[iv] Each reading contributed to attributes of MASA.

In the Bibliography section, I list some “also ran” books and other resources. Doctrines, traits, factoids, policies relative to Mondragon, gleaned from the books, are listed in the left column and the equivalent expressions relative to MASA are in the right column. For an adventure in the realm of worker owned enterprises, buy your ticket and take your seat.

THE MASA-MONDRAGON MODEL   See: http://masallp.wetpaint.com/page/Mutual+Aid+Society,+Mondragon+and+More