Published once a week in Palmer, Alaska for the Mat
anuska Valley Farmers' Co-operatinn; Association for
the purpose of p;ivinp, news of the Association's work,
problems and accomplishments.
POLICY MAKING IN A COOP
One of the fundamental differences between the policy-making func
tions in a Co-op and the average corporation is the privilege of the
Stock-holders in the Co-op to change itspolicies in a hurry. The By
Laws of our Association state that when 35$ of the members of the As
sociation sign and present a petition to the Boa'rd of Directors re
questing that a meeting be called to discuss and vote upon any policy
that is unsatisfactory, it is mandatory that the meeting be called; and
if a majority of the members vote to change the policy than it must be
changed. As each stockholder has only one vote, a majority of the in
dividuals who make up the voting list would be able to vote for any
changes thought necessary. In comparison, the average corporation
usually votes by the number of shares held by the members; since any
one can buy as many shares as he can afford, a few individuals can mus
ter a majority of the votes and head off any change with which they are
not agreeable. Human nature being what it is, this usually means that
the big Stock-holders vote for things that will be of value to them,
even if they are detrimental to the interests of the members as a whole.
It is usually the practice of big corporations to hire a Manager
or Director who, with a small staff whom he selects, take over the en
tire management of the corporation; and the elected directors just are
a consultative ^roup for a year at a time. At the end of the year the
annual reports are presented to the 3oard of Directors. If they are
good, the manager is rehired or continued in his job; if bad, he is
usually replaced. But all during this time, and probably for some time
afterwards, the average stock-holder doesn’t have any say-so in the
management, and is not able t6 change its' policies. Usuall7f things
v ork out all right, because all he wants are the dividends—the worth
of his holdings is based on this. The stock-holders are mostly people
r yj.ng no interest in buying or selling to the corporation in which he
h .is stock. The only thing that they are interested in is the amount
of money the management can squeeze out of the corporations’ customers.
Citen the stock-holders never see any of the physical assets of the
company in which he is part owner, so it is a very impersonal thing to
him as far as that goes.
In our Co-op we sell to and purchase from its’ members. We own ,
it, and we can see its’ physical properties; we can observe its’ growth
or decline; we know its’ employees personally, usually, and feel that
is a part of our way of life. There is nothing impersona 1 a bout a Co
op to a loval participating member, because he is right on the ground
on which it is functioning. Therefore, its’ policies, progress and
mistakes are personal things to us. We should take part in its’ manage
ment through our votes in the meetings and in order to vote intelli
gently v/e should acquaint ourselves with the facts about its’ policies
and management. If a member feels that he is being treated, unjustly
for any reason, he can state his case to the whole membership; if it
is a real greivance it can be changed. • This is a real privilege, for
it prevents any form of dictatorship. Any time that the- Board of Dir
ectors or the Managers refuse to follow the instructions from the mem
bership, it behooves the membership to replace them with people who
will do so. All of us should take part in the management of our Co-op
through instructions to our Board of Directors and Manager, giving them
a fair change to carry them out. Directors and Managers are human just
like the rest of us and make mistakes just like we do; however, they
don’t make as many mistakes after they become experienced as they do
when they are learning. CRR