Co-ops 101 An introduction to cooperatives
"We must increase our membership awareness and understanding of the cooperative movement of which they are a part, and begin to provide more services, either directly or indirectly for our membership. We must also increase our involvement with the community of which we are a part, and take an active part in molding the future of our East Lansing environment. And eventually, I believe, we must come to grips with the idea that we are different, we are an alternative economic system, and that co-ops may be the only real hope of the consumer to gain control of his or her own destiny. We have an edge on history, if only we can see it. Through cooperation, we can be more than the sum of our individual parts. Through cooperation, ultimately, we can have a hand in shaping our world. The SHC is a cooperative; we've made a start." -Jim Jones, first SHC Executive Secretary, June 1973
Table of Contents ❏ What is a co-op? ❏ Cooperative Principles ❏ Historical Iterations of the Principles ❏ The first co-op, as we know them ❏ What makes co-ops resilient over time? ❏ Co-ops: Reasons Why ❏ Co-op Facts & Figures ❏ Different Types of Co-ops ❏ Co-op Sectors ❏ Stronger Together: Co-op Associations ❏ What makes working together better? ❏ What it means to be a member owner
What is a co-op? Cooperatives are autonomous associations owned and controlled by their members. They are organized and run democratically, and value people over profit. “Cooperatives are based on the values of self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equality, equity, and solidarity. In the tradition of their founders, cooperative members believe in the ethical values of honesty, openness, social responsibility and caring for others.” ica.coop (Internat’l Cooperative Alliance) Co-ops are generally formed to fulfill a need in a community, such as food or housing. They combine the resources, skills and labor of their members to form something greater than the sum of its parts. "Cooperation is a method of working together in either a social or business organization for the mutual benefit of both the individual and the group. In other words, it is doing something as a GROUP that cannot be done alone." Luther H. Buchele, First Executive Secretary, ICC Ann Arbor
Cooperative Principles 1. Voluntary & Open Membership 2. Democratic Member Control 3. Member Economic Participation 4. Autonomy & Independence 5. Education, Training & Information 6. Cooperation amongst Cooperatives 7. Concern for Community
These are the International Cooperative Alliance’s current official version of the Cooperative Principles, as of the 1995 Statement on Cooperative Identity.
Historical Iterations of the Principles
From the ICC Ann Arbor’s 1997-98 Annual Report
Lower: from Paul Lambert’s 1959 book Studies in the SOcial Philosophy of Co-operation
Upper: From Brett Fairbairn’s “The Meaning of Rochdale: The Rochdale Pioneers and the Co-operative Principles”
The first co-op, as we know them The Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers was formed in Rochdale, Lancashire, England in 1844, in the midst of economic downturn and difficult times for working class folks. The Rochdale Society was originally comprised of a group of 28, about half of which were weavers. While the Industrial Revolution forced many skilled workers into poverty, these men banded together and created a store where they could sell goods that they otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford. They opened their store on 21 December 1844, with their products for sale consisting of butter, oatmeal, candles, sugar, and flour. Starting with a pooled capital of one pound per member for a total of 28£, they were able over the next few months to expand their goods to include tea and tobacco, and became known for providing quality goods at affordable prices.
What makes co-ops resilient over time? ❖
Member initiative/participation ➢ ➢
Having a stake in it through social/community engagement and economic buy-in Not just business, but social as well
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Value- and principle-driven: so long as people believe in and act in the interest of the values and principles, cooperatives will thrive
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Designed to meet needs, not to make profit: when capitalism comes into crisis, cooperatives are able to continue providing for their members as they do not focus on the generation of profit.
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Accountability through democracy and transparency: this is contingent of co-op’s leadership work to provide info/opportunities to their members, as well as the responsibility of members to seek out info and educate themselves on the co-op and take the opportunities provided
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Solidarity & interdependence: co-ops are rooted in mutual support of the members, acting for collective benefit rather than the benefit and promotion of single individuals
Co-ops: Reasons Why Cooperatives are created to fulfill a need within a community, which cannot be fully satisfied by the government or the capitalistic economy. Co-ops provide opportunities for more equitable participation in the economy, both through providing more affordable goods or services and by engaging members in a participatory system of operation. Co-ops allow their members to gain power in their communities by acting collectively, with more strength than an individual with limited capital/resources would have. Members benefit mutually from involvement in a co-op, both gaining and contributing. Co-ops are rooted in mutual support and solidarity, meaning their members have a stake in the wellbeing of other members and the co-op as a whole.
Co-op Facts and Figures ★ ★ ★
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More than 12% of humanity is part of a co-op There are 3 million cooperatives in the world The largest 300 cooperatives and mutuals report a total turnover of 2,034.98 billion USD, according to the World Cooperative Monitor (2019). Cooperatives contribute to the sustainable economic growth and stable, quality employment, employing 280 million people across the globe, in other words, 10% of the world’s employed population. (ica.coop)
Different Types of Co-ops ★
Consumer cooperatives ○ Food cooperatives ○ Housing cooperatives ○ Electric cooperatives ○ Credit unions
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Worker cooperatives (businesses owned and controlled by their workers)
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Producer cooperatives (owned by those who produce something; markets & sells cooperatively) ○ Agriculture cooperatives
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Retail/purchasing cooperatives (agree to aggregate demand/purchasing power to get lower prices from suppliers)
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Social cooperatives (provide social services such as child or elderly care)
Co-op Sectors ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢
Agriculture Housing Social services Financial & Credit Unions Mutual Insurance Food/grocery Worker co-ops/business Purchasing Utilities
Stronger Together: Co-op Associations ★
Association of Cooperative Educators (ACE) ○ increase understanding, innovation and professionalism in cooperative education
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National Cooperative Business Association/ Cooperative League USA (NCBA CLUSA) ○ Strives to develop, advance and protect cooperative enterprise.
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International Cooperative Alliance ○ unites, represents and serves cooperatives worldwide.
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North American Students of Cooperation (NASCO) ○ Educating and organizing an emerging generation of cooperators.
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Federation of Southern Cooperatives ○ non-profit cooperative association of black farmers, landowners, and cooperatives And of course more!
What makes working together better? ❖ Power in numbers - we can accomplish more as a unit than individually ❖ Pooled capital and resources ➢ Shared labor ■ Getting stuff done ■ Building community ❖ Create more efficient systems; integrate the ideas & experiences of many ❖ Louder voice in the community: being heard as an entity, not one person
What it means to be a member owner ❖
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To have member responsibilities ➢ Legal responsibilities/obligations ➢ Patronize the co-op - participate financially ➢ Stay informed & educated on co-op goings-on To be a steward: “we sit in the shade of trees we didn’t plant” ➢ preserve cooperative character To visualize and plan the future of the co-op To embody and practice the values and principles To be an engaged member of the community
Stewardship: the job of supervising and taking care of something, such as an organization or property.
I think that people acting in small, consensus based groups, responding to the needs of their environments, will be able to effectively deal with what is coming down the pike. In a world of increasingly predatory capitalism, we have little choice but to work cooperatively with one another for our own survival, and the survival of the world as we know it. Neil Corcoran, SHC President ’95-’96
"...the people in the houses must remember that they are SHC. If they don't like SHC the way it is, they have both the duty and the power to change it. And also they must closely examine the reasons for their anxieties and frustrations. Some are justified and some are not. If the cause is not really with SHC, then the real cause should be squarely faced. It is difficult for small groups to work successfully with interpersonal problems, which is why communes generally have such short lifespans. People in co-ops sometimes also solve the problem by leaving, but for students this is difficult. By projecting the problems on SHC, however, they remain unsolved indefinitely. If they are faced squarely, cooperatively, and with understanding there is at least a chance of their being resolved. Cooperation does not come naturally - it must be learned. Especially on a barren plain." - Jim Jones, first SHC Executive Secretary, from "Pines Grown Gnarled on the Barren Plain," mid-1972
“We own it!” Published by the Inter-Cooperative Zine Team by Emily Tyler & Dillon Lee
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