TRACY FRISCH OCTOBER 24, 2016
(Image: takebackthecoop.com)
Django Zeaman and Dorothy Finnigan, say they are not activists, but when they saw what was happening to their co-op in Santa Fe, it hit too close to home for them to ignore. Together with others who are concerned about the fate of the co-op, they have collected the 1,600 signatures — 10 percent of the 16,000 member-owners — required by their co-op’s bylaws to secure a special membership meeting. In so doing, they’re following the playbook Honest Weight members used to wrestle back their co-op from a board that was working with the management team to strip authority from the membership, under the guidance of costly consultants and attorneys. (Founded in 1976, Honest Weight Food Co-op is a large co-op in Albany, N.Y.)…
Website connects the dots and provides a resource
In September the coalition launched its website www.TakeBackTheCoop.com to document the struggle underway at La Montañita. In addition to bringing La Montañita member-owners up to speed, the website is already providing an essential resource for members of other co-ops facing similar challenges. And Take Back the Co-op has begun hearing from people in other co-ops in distress around the country.
Several months back, when people involved with Take Back the Co-op started doing their own research, Django says, “We realized something bigger was going on.”
The website traces the problems at La Montañita to major players in the national cooperative sphere, most notably CDS Consulting. With 40 consultants, CDS, which stands for Cooperative Development Services, exercises a near monopoly on board training and education in the food co-op movement.
CDS works hand in hand with two other major players. United Natural Foods Inc. (UNFI) is a publicly traded food distributor with $8 billion in annual revenue. The association of food co-ops known as National Co+op Grocers (NCG) is tied to UNFI through the purchasing contract offered to its members.
A couple of personnel changes at La Montañita suggest the interlocking nature of these entities. The co-op’s former board president was hired as a CDS consultant. One of her assignments has been consulting for La Montañita! “We paid for the privilege of her managing our stores,” Django says. Similarly, two of La Montañita’s general managers have been promoted to positions at National Co+op Grocers (NCG).
[CDS Consulting has now rebranded itself as “Columinate”. They have been actively involved with the changes at Mariposa]