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The industrial co-operative FAGOR distinguishes itself by its size and its seminal role in the co-operative experience of Mondragon (Spanish Basque Country). The co-operative faces numerous challenges: global competition, criticisms from the trade-unions, questions about its pattern and its social responsibility. This article scrutinizes the way the Basque nationalist trade-unions deal with the co-operative phenomenon. Trade-unionism being banned in the co-ops, the unionists’ activism is limited to an external critical appraisal of the co-operative. The article is concerned with the strategies endorsed by a co-operative facing both the globalization and the controversy about the conservation of its original principles.