Work cooperatives are not a simple legal formula for us. It is the concrete and affordable way to work together as free and equal producers. In our conception, work is what gives social meaning to each person's contributions, builds community and transforms the global reality. We conceive cooperativism as the way to emancipate, as far as possible, our own productive work from conditions that reduce it to a mere tool for the profitability of a monetary investment, be that our own or that of others.

The development of cooperative work produces over time a series of common goods, a commons with many facets: collective knowledge, the capacity for moral and material resilience, the support of the community that surrounds us, the assets of the cooperative... Altogether, this commons is the measure of the good work of the cooperative over time. A part of it -the accumulated reserves- depends directly on the surpluses produced by activity in the market; another -accumulated knowledge, learning capacity, moral strength, social support- is the result of an ongoing effort to document, share, listen and improve. In our experience and perspective, none of these dimensions can be conceived as something clearly separated from the others. Contributing to the commons as a single collective good, as the true driving force and objective of associated work, is for us the objective and the fundamental principle of cooperative life.

Our cooperatives are non-profit. The goal is not to distribute the maximum possible amount of surplus among its members. Work is remunerated on the basis of the principles of sufficiency -taking into account particular needs- and equality, avoiding the emergence of any type of privilege or group differentiated by income.

For us, the cooperative is a common economic metabolism and not a more or less punctual or recurring business or stream of income, which is why it must be guided by broad lines of consensus among its members. Consensus based on moral values and collective needs that must take into account the social reality that surrounds us. Contributing to and developing these consensuses is a responsibility which each and every one of the partners takes.

We believe that social commitment cannot be simply aesthetic or declarative. That is why our dissemination efforts as well as our economic capacity must contribute above all to the establishment of new cooperative production societies, but it must also be complemented with broader initiatives aimed at improving the material and cultural conditions of workers through cooperative means. The formation of cooperative agglomerations - which entail imparting education and training to cooperatives, cultural dissemination associations, consumer cooperatives and other forms of cooperation between workers - is an objective that we keep in mind as a guide in our everyday decisions.

The members of the cooperative share a common mission to strive for social production to become a harmonious and vast system of cooperative work. We understand that in order to achieve this, it is crucial to contribute to the best of our abilities to enact changes in the general conditions of society. That is why we cannot accept the idea that the cooperative should declare itself neutral in the face of the great alternatives and dilemmas that Humanity faces.