The employee ownership community is very excited about new projects and advancements such as: the Rutgers University Employee Ownership fellowships program, the establishment of an Employee Ownership Chair at Rutgers University, and the work of the Aspen Institute’s Center for Business Education Caseplace.org project. In addition, there were no negative ESOP proposals in the Obama Administration’s budget and of late, there have been no hints at Congressional action against ESOPs.

 

BUT, sometimes, something very small can be a real eye-opener. Roll Call (www.RollCall.com/missionahead), a Washington, DC newspaper that is read by members of Congress and their staffs, recently ran a special section called “The Future of the American Worker.” It featured columns regarding current policy debates and opinions about what the future holds. In none, NONE, of the columns in the section was employee ownership mentioned. There was discussion of worker empowerment, businesses becoming more employee oriented but no word on employee ownership.

 

It just goes to show that we still have far to go. Yes, there are many great projects focusing on employee ownership in the works and we are proud of what we have accomplished so far, but making in roads with members of Congress, their staffs, and thought leaders of national media, academia, and think tanks is still a challenge this community needs to focus on.