Born in 1956 in the Basque Country under the inspiration of priest José María Arizmendiarrieta, the Mondragón Cooperative model is based on participation, wage equity, and reinvestment in the company itself. Each member has one vote in key decisions, and wage differences are limited: the highest-paid executive cannot earn more than six times what the lowest-paid worker makes.
“A cooperative has one eye on the heart and another on the pocket,” summarizes Etxeberria on http://Impact.Info . This balance between solidarity and profitability has made Mondragón a global benchmark for socially responsible business.
Today, Mondragón cooperatives generate stable employment, drive industrial innovation, and contribute to their environment having some of the lowest levels of inequality and unemployment in the country, thanks to a solid and competitive system that ensures the involvement and trust of its workers.
