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Equal Exchange Employees Elect New Board Directors |
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Fast Growing Worker Cooperative Celebrates 18th Birthday With Annual Exercise In Workplace Democracy
CANTON, MA—May 12th, 2004— On May 6th the employee/owners of Equal
Exchange, the nation's leading Fair Trade coffee company, celebrated
the company's 18th birthday with a tradition rarely seen at U.S.
companies - they held their annual elections for the board of
directors. This year the employees elected two new inside directors,
Lynsey Miller and Rodney North, and re-elected Sue Meehan, COO of the
Share Group, to a her second term as an outside director.
In this time of ever increasing out-sourcing and concern over
rubber-stamp corporate boards, Equal Exchange takes a different
approach to corporate governance that is modeled upon basic democratic
principles such as one-person/one-vote, transparency, and
accountability to one's peers. Specifically the company is structured
as a democratic worker cooperative where the worker-owners, as they are
properly called, own the company in equal portions - one share each -
and elect the nine board directors. The board in turn has full
authority over the company's management. This structure creates what
can be called ‘a circle of governance' wherein every participant is
accountable to someone else, be it to a manager, to the board, or to
the worker-owners. Over Equal Exchange's 18 year history they
have grown over 30% annually on average and have remained steadily
profitable — thereby demonstrating the viability of both Fair Trade and
the worker cooperative model.
Six of the nine board seats are reserved for the worker-owners, and
three for outside directors. All employees are eligible to become
a worker-owner after one year at Equal Exchange, and any worker-owner
may nominate a candidate or stand for election. Historically the board
has included a mix of rank-and-file employees and managers, but not the
top-ranking executive, who reports to the board. The three outside
directors help to bring additional perspectives, experience and
expertise to the board. Directors serve three year, staggered terms.
Outside directors are limited to two consecutive terms.
Marjorie Kelly, Editor of Business Ethics Magazine, and author of The
Divine Right of Capital, commented "At a time of crisis in company
governance Equal Exchange stands out as a remarkable example of genuine
accountability. Its contested elections and knowledgeable employee
board members offer a better model than merely having independent
directors."
The male/female ratio of the Equal Exchange board also tends to be even
or have a female majority, another rarity, perhaps owing to the
democratic way the board is composed. The board currently has six
female directors, and a female chair, Beth Ann Milardo. For the
previous two years the ratio had been 5 women: 4 men.
Lynsey Miller is a consumer organizer for Equal Exchange and
specializes in outreach and educating the public about Fair Trade. She
is a graduate of Notre Dame University and has been with the company
since 2001. Rodney North is the company's main information officer and
works in Marketing. For three years, 1999-2001, Mr. North served as the
cooperative's elected worker-owner coordinator
Equal Exchange, the pioneer and U.S. market leader in Fair Trade coffee
since 1986, is a full service provider of high quality, organic coffee,
tea, hot cocoa and baking cocoa powder to supermarkets, cafés, and
places of worship across North America. 100% of Equal Exchange products
are fairly traded, benefiting 29 small farmer cooperatives in 14
countries around the world. In 2003 Equal Exchange's fair trade coffee
imports alone provided small farmers an additional $2.2 million in
extra income above normal market prices. Major customers include
Kroger, Safeway, Albertsons, Shaw's, Stop & Shop, consumer food
cooperatives, and other natural foods stores nationwide.
CONTACT:
Rodney North
The Answer Man - Information for the Public & Media
rnorth@equalexchange.coop
774-776-7398
Equal Exchange - Dedicated to Fair Trade
www.equalexchange.coop
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