Article contains significant errors. MEC was never owned by its members. If it were, we would have had a say when it was sold, voting on whether to accept the offer, and receiving a share of the payout. MEC was never actually a cooperative. I think there should be consequences for this deception. I also think there need to be more consumer cooperatives than there are. Please mention any you know below.
It was an ersatz cooperative, where the executives attempted to respect member’s interests, paid dividends, etc; but there was no legal protection or ownership.