Becoming a Member
A guide for all employees interested in becoming an Obran Cooperative Worker-Owner Member!
Understanding Membership
Becoming an Obran Member is a fairly straightforward process! In order to join the cooperative, you must:
Sign your membership agreement
Buy a $250 membership share (payable over time, deducted from your after-tax paycheck)
Contribute at least 1% of your paycheck to your internal capital account
Complete at least 10 hours of work at an Obran Cooperative company each year
Complete the 5-part Member Training curriculum (optional, but strongly encouraged; content to be released on a rolling basis)
Pass the initial 90-day member candidacy period
Participate in at least 3 member meetings each year
That's it! If you are ready to take the first steps in becoming a member check out the sample membership agreement and feel free to read through the cooperative's bylaws. These are the two most important documents you will need to understand before joining.
Signing Your Membership Agreement
Anyone that wants to be come a worker-owner member of the cooperative must first sign a Patron Membership Agreement and purchase a cooperative share.
You can sign the membership agreement in 1 of 2 ways: 1. Through the Member Center: You should receive a direct invite to join the Obran Member Center soon after joining Obran where you can learn more about Obran, membership and sign up.
2. Through an automated membership signup process here.
You can do in 1 of 2 ways:
Set up your Obran Member Center Portal and sign the agreement there
Directly sign a Membership Agreement today
Member Benefits
While Membership in the cooperative is not required to work at our companies, we hope that you will consider joining! As a Member you have greater rights and privileges than you do as an employee. Once you become a Member you will be able to:
Open an internal capital account
When a new Member joins the cooperative, an internal account—named just for them—is opened in the cooperative's books (financial accounting records). This account is how we track and distribute profits and losses of the cooperative at the end of each year. Think of it like a savings account with super powers.
Your $250 Membership Share serves as your "equity stake" in the cooperative and can only be withdrawn when you leave membership. Any additional contributions (either by you or profit shares) are available to you to use! See Understanding Your Internal Account for more information.
Earn your share of all Obran Cooperative profits
The Obran Cooperative is a conglomerate company, which means it owns multiple businesses. Even if you only work in one of the cooperative's businesses, as a member of the cooperative, you are a partial owner of every business the cooperative owns!
Vote and run for the Obran Cooperative Board of Directors
The cooperative's Board of Directors is responsible for setting the strategic direction and charting a sustainable course for the entire organization. Every Member has the right to both run in cooperative Board elections and vote for members of the Obran Board!
Vote and run for your company's Board of Directors
Democracy is a core value of the cooperative. Your ability to directly control where you work is a fundamental right of every Obran Member! In addition to the Obran Board, each company has its own democratically-elected board to make company-specific decisions. As an Obran Member, you have a right to vote and run in your company's board elections.
Vote for major decisions
When major decision arise that impact the cooperative's business or membership, you have a say in the outcome!
Participate in all member trainings
Knowledge is power, and every Obran Member gets access to our growing set of free training and educational materials. The Cooperative hosts guest speakers, pairs members with mentors and advisors, and empowers you to deliver on our core value of innovation.
Enjoy access to exclusive member benefits
We're constantly working to grow member benefits through partnerships. You can learn more about our current offerings here.
Get your premiums covered for medical, dental and vision insurance
Obran covers 100% of member's Obran-supplied medical, dental and vision insurance premiums for members (dependents are not covered at this time). This varies by business unit and employment type. For a full understanding of eligibility for Obran-provided health, dental and vision benefits, contact people@obran.org
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