How worker ownership builds community wealth and a more just society

A recent help-wanted ad for a laundry worker in Cleveland contained some unusual language, asking prospective candidates: “Have you ever wanted to work for a company that is 90 percent employee-owned? What about a company that offers a program to help you become a homeowner?” The ad went on to identify Evergreen Cooperative Laundry as

Employee ownership: The secret to attraction and retention?

The Great ResignationQuiet QuittingQuiet Firing.

Whatever the buzzwords, there’s no doubt about one thing: companies are struggling to find enough workers.

There currently are two job openings for every unemployed person in America, but attracting scarce people is only half of the battle.

Just as difficult is engaging them (and keeping them engaged), so they don’t jump ship at

New California law promotes worker-owned businesses

Among the new laws taking effect in California this year is the California Employee Ownership Act, which encourages small-business owners to give their employees a stake in the company. Passed with unanimous support, the law sets up an employee ownership hub in the governor’s office to support companies that want to pursue this business

KKR 2021 Sustainability Report: Employee Ownership at Work

Since 2011, we have focused on employee ownership and engagement as key drivers in building stronger companies throughout our private equity portfolio, first with our Americas Industrials investments and now more broadly across sectors and regions. The centerpiece of the strategy has been:

  • Seeking to make everyone in the company an owner by granting

Can Employee Ownership Help Save Capitalism from Itself?

Corey Rosen, Founder, National Center for Employee Ownership

Johnny’s Pizza House is a chain of 38 company-owned pizza and eleven franchise restaurants in Louisiana, Arkansas, and Mississippi. Johnny’s employees don’t just serve up slices—they get a slice of the company too. Johhny’s is 100% owned by its almost 1,000 employees though an Employee Stock Ownership Plan

Business Ownership Key for Economic Recovery in U.S. Cities, New Report Shows

 The National League of Cities (NLC) and the Democracy at Work Institute (DAWI) released today new guidance for U.S. cities to pursue equitable post-COVID economic recovery through the use of employee ownership.

The new report, titled “Economic Recovery and Employee Ownership,” walks city

Honoring the dignity of employees includes having them own more of the company

George Clason, in his classic book titled “The Richest Man in Babylon,” wrote this line: “A part of all I earned was mine to keep.” In the 1950s, a lawyer named Louis Kelso coined the term “Employee Stock Ownership Plan” (ESOP). The intent of ESOPs is to significantly increase employee incentives and productivity, while giving

Moving Toward 100% Employee Ownership through ESOPs

Download this entire article with all the Exhibits: TischerHoffmireESOP 

The academic and practitioner literature on Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOP) has developed significantly over the past decades, particularly with respect to the impact (improved growth and productivity) and different types of ESOPs (leverage and non-leveraged).

Yet, despite ESOPs being well-conceptualised, the deals struck in the real

2020-11-30T04:19:37-06:00

For Owners Looking to Sell, an Option That Keeps Their Company Intact

In early 2000, Michael and Lynn Terry started a business selling horse trailers that were lighter than their competitors’ and customized to each client’s needs. Nearly two decades later, their company, Cimarron Trailers, with tens of millions of dollars in sales, employed over 130 people in Chickasha, Okla., and their trailers were sold

Hunter-Davisson Becomes 100% Employee-Owned

On October 19, 2020, FMI Capital Advisors announced the transfer of ownership of Hunter-Davisson, Inc. (“Hunter-Davisson”) to company employees via the Hunter-Davisson, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan (“ESOP”). In this transaction, Hunter-Davisson became 100% employee-owned. FMI Capital Advisors was the exclusive financial advisor to Hunter-Davisson for this transaction.

Based in Portland, Oregon, Hunter-Davisson is

Merrick’s Employee Ownership: What’s the Secret Sauce?

Merrick’s employee ownership journey started at the beginning of our company, with Founder Sears Merrick. In fact, the first stock transactions in Merrick’s history were recorded in the year we were incorporated, 1959. Sears had a theory that anyone who worked for themselves would work that much harder (and he was right!). From

Committed to Using Business As a Force For Good, Fireclay Tile Announces Significant Expansion of Employee Ownership

Fireclay Tile, the socially responsible California tile maker with a mission to do good, today announced a significant expansion to Employee Ownership. As the first and only Certified B Corp™ tile maker and the first Climate Neutral Certified tile company, Fireclay Tile strives to galvanize others in the industry to build a better version of capitalism

Northern Tree Service Transitions To Employee Stock-Ownership Plan

Northern Tree Service Inc. announced it has transitioned the ownership of its business lines over to an employee stock-ownership plan, or ESOP.

The Lazear Capital Partners team worked with the management of Northern Tree Service to design a custom solution that included employee benefits, financial flexibility, and maximum tax advantages.

Founded in 1932 by Walter Cambo, the

CEM Machine announces it will become employee-owned manufacturer

CEM Machine Inc. announced to its employees Thursday morning that the privately held manufacturer has been bought out and will become 100 percent employee-owned.

President Mark D. Robinson, who has been an owner of CEM since 2000, gathered about 30 of the company’s 55 total employees outside the West End Avenue facility — in

Armstrong Craven Moves to Employee-Owned Business Platform

Executive search firm Armstrong Craven, headquartered in Manchester, U.K., has become a majority employee-owned business. The firm will continue to be led by joint managing directors Rachel Davis and Peter Howarth. “We have long believed that the well-known benefits of employee ownership, when combined with our extremely dedicated team, will be a recipe for success,

DeBlois Electric of Lewiston now employee owned

DeBlois Electric Inc. announced Monday that the company is now 100% employee owned through an employee stock ownership plan. The announcement signals the beginning of a new ownership structure that will continue to operate with the same vision and leadership previously established.

The privately held company was started by Willie and Gaetane DeBlois in 1967, and

We will reduce inequality if firms offer workers company shares

The gap between rich and poor has widened in many countries over the past few decades and continues to expand. So here’s an idea: What if more companies allowed employees to own a share of the pie? Many economists and business experts think society would become more equitable if workers owned a stake in their

It’s really hard not to be an advocate of employee ownership

Employee ownership has too long been overlooked as a win-win solution for businesses and workers alike. That’s the view of Bill Young, founder and president of the Toronto-based Social Capital Partners.

That’s because employee-owned businesses offer “a proven wealth-creating vehicle” for individual employees; long-term wealth can be more resilient than income,

Harken Inc. founders decide to sell to employees

Peter Harken, the co-founder of internationally-renowned sailboat hardware and accessories manufacturer Harken Inc. in Pewaukee, says he and his late brother Olaf Harken rejected overtures from at least 50 potential acquirers over the years but now it’s time to “pass the baton.”

Harken, 83, who is the company’s chairman, announced

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