Structure

Let's discuss a new structure.

Centrally, our corporation (established December 2020), Pecan Milk Worker Cooperative, Inc. will hold the common stock equity for all team members.

The corporation will also hold the Governance Council, which votes members in from the permanent ownership, in order to reach long-term governance decisions, related to finance, Dept of Agriculture approved facilities and facilities we own as assets, branding, etc.

Governance Council members are required to be active working members.

All other decisions, day-to-day management decisions will be made by worker-owners within the LLC co-ops.

Decisions are made directly democratically.

We will maintain Pecan Milk Co-op, LLC (established November 2014). It will be wholly owned by the corporation Pecan Milk Worker Cooperative, Inc.

We will establish Education Training Cooperative to hold all trainings, marketing and sales work. It will be wholly owned by the corporation Pecan Milk Worker Cooperative, Inc.

We will establish Information Cooperative to hold all information technology and safety/security work. It will be wholly owned by the corporation Pecan Milk Worker Cooperative, Inc.

We will establish Down by the River Cooperative, a farmer-owned cooperative founded by worker-owner Jupe and comrade Zel. It will be wholly owned by the corporation Pecan Milk Worker Cooperative, Inc.

We plan to build a commercial kitchen on farm land we buy together.

Each LLC co-op has teams (Production, Distribution, Bakery, etc.). Each team elects an organizer. Organizers have needed information regarding work, answer questions, make schedules, set tasks and excuse absences or not.

We will establish MonteKiwan Art Collective, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. It will replace our current 501(c)3 fiscal sponsor Project South; the nonprofit will be a means to receive grants.

MonteKiwan Art Collective, named after 2 worker-owners that passed away in August 2018, will receive 10% of the income from our for-profit businesses, as a way to reduce tax liability.

MonteKiwan Art Collective will support artists in the South with resources to create art, in addition to other not-for-profit programming.

Many of our assets will be in trust, a legal arrangement that enables us to share assets. Those assets include land and art-work intellectual property.