Sample Op-Ed—External
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[NOTE: This sample Op-ed is drafted as a generic opinion column.
Use this format, but make your op-ed as specific as possible. All
information in italics should be filled in to localize
the column in your community.]
Product: Sample Op-Ed—External
Co-op Type: Consumer Co-ops
Use: Submit for Placement in Local Daily Newspapers
under CEO/Chair Byline
Audience: General Public
Cooperatives Offer Consumers Trustworthy Business Alternative
At a time when public suspicion of corporate America is growing,
a new survey finds that more than two-thirds of Americans believe
democratically owned and governed businesses are more trustworthy
than other types of companies.
The survey shows that the public also rates as more trustworthy
businesses that have consumers on their boards of directors, that
allow for the democratic election of those directors, and that are
locally owned and controlled.
That should not be shocking news considering the epidemic of corporate
accountability scandals over the last two years that have been attributed
largely to lax board oversight. The pain these corporations inflicted
wasn’t limited to its shareholders and employees. The entire
U.S. economy has been affected. Public skepticism of corporate America
is predictably high.
Fortunately, consumers have a readily available alternative to
scandal-ridden publicly traded corporations. The businesses survey
respondents say they trust are the nation’s 48,000 cooperatives—businesses
that are owned and governed by their members.
These co-ops can teach corporate America a number of lessons about
accountability and service. Today, cooperatives serve some 120 million
Americans, and operate in industries ranging from housing and utilities,
to food, banking and insurance. Consumers buy childcare, groceries,
housing, healthcare, power, financial services, and much more from
cooperatives they own and control.
Regardless of the industry, in the eye of a vast majority of Americans,
co-ops offer a more accountable alternative to Enron and WorldCom.
The idea of a business that is owned and governed by its customers
is understandably appealing. In a co-op, the consumer-owners democratically
elect the board of directors from within the cooperative’s
membership. Co-op board elections bear little resemblance to the
token democracy of corporate elections in which the board and management
effectively appoint new directors.
And consumer co-ops form and operate, fundamentally, to provide
quality and affordable products and service to their consumer-owners,
not to make a profit for Wall Street investors. Co-op profits, if
there are any, are returned to the consumer-members in the form
of lower prices and fees, year-end dividends, or a greater share
in the co-op.
Here in [insert name of locality, state or region as appropriate],
[number of consumer co-ops if available] provide [number
of members] with goods and services they can trust, because they
are also the owners of those businesses.
Concern about where the interests of directors lie—in their
own enrichment or in the success of the business—isn’t
relevant in a co-op. That’s because the board is, by definition,
made up of the business’s consumer-members. This produces
the appropriate motivations: the board serves the interests of customers,
directors, and owners simultaneously, because they are the same
people. There are no conflicts of interests so prevalent in the
publicly traded corporations making the headlines.
These are the democratic governance characteristics consumers say
they trust. It is no wonder, then, that consumers rate co-ops so
highly on ethics, trust and service.
More than two-thirds of Americans agree that consumer co-ops are
ethically governed, while just 45 percent say the same of publicly
traded corporations. More than 75 percent agree that these co-ops
run their businesses in a trustworthy manner compared to just 53
percent for publicly traded businesses.
Asked whether consumer co-ops have the best interests of consumers
in mind when conducting business, 77 percent of Americans agree
they do. Fewer than half said the same of investor-owned corporations.
Co-ops also scored higher than publicly traded corporations, by
wide margins, on questions of value, quality, price, and commitment
to their communities.
Federal and state government consumer bureaus should do more to
help consumers find the businesses they trust. A leading national
consumer group, the Consumer Federation of America, just called
on government officials to exercise leadership in this area.
And if Congress and federal regulators want to restore public trust
in corporate America, they will have to go further than they’ve
gone with new accountability and democratic governance requirements.
Corporations will have to start acting more like co-ops: working
in the best interests of the people who use their goods or services,
supporting the local community, and operating democratically, giving
owners—Americans—a true voice in the business.
Until that happens, Americans are fortunate to have a trusted business
alternative: cooperatives. Numbering 48,000 across the country,
not only do cooperatives rate higher than publicly traded corporations
on business responsibility and trustworthiness, they also outnumber
them by more than three to one. And that’s good for everyone.
-end-
Author attribution
[Full name of author] is [title] of [insert your
co-op name], a co-op owned and governed by its [number
of members] consumer-members.
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