Organizational Model: ESOPs

Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) have been around since the 1940s, but they became economically attractive to employers only after 1974, when Congress liberalized the rules regarding them. These allowed for significant tax incentives for stock given to employees. In 1974 there were 200 ESOPs in the U.S. By 1998 this had grown to 10,000, covering about one in every ten American workers. About 1500 ESOP companies are majority owned by the employees. Several studies have found that when employees have significant ownership and participation in a company, profits, sales and productivity improves.

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• Worker Cooperative Statutes for Coops and ESOPs