Shared ownership is having a moment—or, better said, its moment is just getting started.
In a major report Beloved Economies co-released last week about moving economic transformation ideas into the mainstream, the narrative of shared ownership as a winning strategy was named by interviewees as one of the top narratives related to economic transformation currently gaining traction in the U.S.
In other words, there is an increasingly prevalent narrative that alternative ownership models can benefit workers, communities, and businesses alike.
ESOPs (Employee Stock Ownership Plans), in particular, are a form of shared ownership that’s becoming more widely known and promoted.
But not all ESOPs are created equal. For the winning strategy story to ring true, it matters why the people in a company decide to become an ESOP. So does how they structure it.
At their best, ESOPs offer employees a path to become partial or full owners of the companies they help build. In doing so, they create real worker wealth. For example, a 2023 study found that employees at ESOP companies had retirement account balances of $80,500 (more than double those of employees at comparable non-ESOPs), with other estimates closer to $180,000.
In determining if and how to become an ESOP, many companies begin with financial and logistical groundwork, like getting a clear picture of cash flow and valuation, assembling legal counsel, finding the right advisors, and understanding the transaction’s financial implications. There are good guides for this part; this one is a helpful place to start.
The harder question comes next. Are you actually willing to share power?
"Corporations that claim to support democracy while practicing something closer to autocracy are living a contradiction," writes Harvard's Malcolm Salter. He was writing about corporations broadly, but the tension applies to ESOPs too. The tension is not new. It’s been present for decades, and has occasionally made headlines over the years—such as with the South Bend Lathe worker-owners who went on strike against top management who controlled the company’s voting power—and more recently, with Casino Queen workers gaining an ownership stake on paper only to discover the structure was rigged to benefit the seller.
It doesn't have to be that way. As Karla Monterroso, racial equity strategist, reminds us, we tend to think of power as binary; you either have it or you don't. But power and governance can be redistributed and embedded into how a company operates, which is exactly what our colleagues at the U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives and the Democracy at Work Institute have long advocated for.
The full benefits of worker ownership for all sides only hold when ownership is paired with a voice in decision-making and genuine accountability. So before any legal process begins, consider starting with these questions:
What would it take for employees to have real influence over leadership decisions, and are we willing to structure ourselves accordingly?
Where in this organization do people already hesitate to speak up, and what could we change to overcome that hesitation?
If the promise of shared power went unfulfilled, how would workers hold the company accountable?
With commitment to ask these questions, founders of ESOPs can be part of a growing community of pro-democracy business leaders, who are truly fulfilling the promise of shared ownership as a winning strategy for shared thriving.
In solidarity,
Jess Rimington & Joanna Levitt Cea
A Beloved Tip: Prioritize relationships
In the loveless economy, we are taught that relationships are something to be networked and optimized. We schedule them into 30-minute color-coded rectangles on our calendars, careful not to spend too much time on the initial banter in case the “real” purpose of the meeting gets lost.
Beloved Economies research presents a different story. The organizations producing the most meaningful, durable change treat relationships as the work itself.
Beloved Economies co-learner Kataraina Davis points to a Māori concept called kaitiakitanga that captures this well. She describes it as a way of moving through the world where caring for the people around you isn't separate from the work. To “tiaki someone” is to make them feel held. Breakout actors carry this norm into rooms where business-as-usual has spent generations teaching people to keep their distance.
This could look as simple as starting every meeting with a genuine check-in before the agenda. Instead of asking, how are you?, try a more specific question that invites people to open up. It can also look like creating space to talk about big visions or wild ideas with no particular end-goal in mind. It might also mean choosing to have the hard conversation—offering constructive feedback or naming a misalignment—because avoiding it hurts the relationship more. (Remember, clear is kind.)
Here are a few questions to reflect on:
Where in your work are you treating relationships as transactional, and what might change if you didn't?
When did you last make space for your team to connect around something other than a task or project?
Who in your organization deserves more of your care and attention?
What We're Reading
Capitalism: A Global History. This book offers a sweeping global look over centuries at how our current form of business as usual became the dominant economic model, seemingly against all odds, and what defines capitalism’s essence. Read the review and check out the book.
Speaking Up Almost Cost Me My Job, But We Built Power Anyway. What gets labeled as burnout or “attitude problems” is often a guise for something structural. This firsthand account shows how conversations between coworkers, even at work where “justice isn’t a given,” can evolve into collective power. Nonprofit Quarterly. (3 minutes).
Employee Ownership Tax Considerations: What Your CPA Should Be Asking. A comprehensive guide that walks through the tax structures and decisions that can either enable or undermine the promise of redistributed wealth in ESOPs. Common Trust. (9 minutes).
The Rise of the Digital Oligarchy. The internet promised openness. Instead, a handful of tech giants now control the World Wide Web. This piece traces how we got here, and asks whether we can rebalance power. Rolling Stone. (14 minutes).
Investing Your Values in the New Age of AI Civil Rights. Much of the capital fueling AI's expansion comes from pension funds and nonprofit endowments that have a duty to serve the communities harmed by it. Nonprofit Quarterly. (6 minutes).
Quick Bite
As we wrap up the month of May, it’s worth reflecting on its significance as the month of International Workers’ Day. Before it was International Workers' Day, May 1st was just another day of the week. Then, workers decided otherwise. In that same spirit: On this day in 1926, Ford became one of the first American companies to adopt the 40-hour workweek, proof that the conditions we inherit were always someone else's fight first.
An Offering
In our work supporting the pro-democracy business community, Beloved Economies is proud to be part of a broader movement ecosystem of diverse groups bringing to life economies that work for all.
The report we released last week in partnership with BLIS Collective and Imperative 21 shines a light on this ecosystem in the U.S. and its growing narrative power. Grounded in interviews with over 70 leaders of economic justice and transformation efforts, the report explores what’s helping economic transformation ideas resonate more broadly, what’s holding them back, and where stronger narrative alignment may be possible.
In addition to the full report, you can check out two short “hot take” videos about the report’s findings, produced by two colleagues in our movement community who are also influencers / creators: Foxxy Blue Snacks and Michael Mezzatesta. Check out their hot takes! Here and here.
What inspires you about the findings?
