Jose Maria Arizmendietta

(1915–77) Gen Mgt

Basque priest, more commonly known as Father Arizmendi. Cofounder of the Mondragon cooperative movement.

a large, worker-ownership movement based in the town of Mondragon, in the Basque region of northwest Spain. The Mondragon cooperative movement started in 1956, and was founded on the teachings of Jose Maria Arizmendietta. It consists of worker-owned businesses, supported by a savings bank that raises money for the cooperative enterprises. Mondragon is not part of the traditional cooperative movement, and is instead based on ten principles: equality of opportunity; the democratic election of managers; sovereignty of labor; a requirement for capital to be used by labor rather than labor used by capital; participative management; low pay differentials; cooperation with other cooperative movements; social change; solidarity with those working for peace, justice, and development; and education.