Hi! I’m How-Sen. I’m a freelance digital campaigner and a volunteer organizer at #SaveMEC.
Just one week ago, I received a surprising text message from my in-laws. Mountain Equipment Co-op — our Canadian co-operative with over 5 million owners like me — might be sold to an American private equity firm with just 5 (!!) employees.
In this single week, 125,000 people have signed petitions against the sale on Change.org. 9,700 have demanded an Emergency General Meeting of the co-operative. And we’ve raised over $75,000 to fight this sale in court.
Here’s the reason why the board’s announcement was so surprising to me: As a member, I am a co-owner of MEC. So the board should have informed me BEFORE announcing the proposed sale via a press release. A letter was not mailed to me. An email was not sent to me. This is not an acceptable way to run a democratic co-operative. And it’s why I urge all MEC members to call an emergency meeting.
Go to SaveMEC.ca to sign the petition
Kingswood Capital — the American equity firm trying to buy our co-op — released a so-called ‘open letter’ via press release yesterday. Here’s what it said:
“We are… going to treat our customers like the co-op members you have been.” (emphasis mine)
Did you catch that? From their own mouths, it’s clear that what they intend to do. Kingswood intends to turn us – the owners of our co-operative — into simple consumers of their big box store.
But the sale has not yet been finalized. We can stop this. And we have many ways to do it.
1. The most important thing right now: We need every member to sign the call for an emergency Special General Meeting. Sign up at SaveMEC.ca
2. Once you’re done that, we need everyone to share like crazy. Use the hashtag #SaveMEC, and make sure to send people to SaveMEC.ca. Here are some quick social share graphics I made that you can use on Facebook, on Twitter, and in these “Story” things I keep hearing about.
3. And of course, keep donating to the SaveMEC legal fund.
I’ve been proud to be a MEC member and owner over the past twenty years. I won’t let it be sold to a tiny American equity firm without a fight.