ESOP Association Blog
Reflections on the Inaugural Public Policy Council


I believe in employee ownership. I suspect everyone in the ESOP community can get behind that phrase, and it is one that is far more unifying than the topic of “politics”, especially as our nation begins 2025 and turns the corner from the 2024 election. But those two subjects – employee ownership and politics – intersect. Modern ESOPs are a construct of the federal government, which it then naturally regulates, setting the rules and policies that affect all ESOPs. Public policy efforts on behalf of ESOPs are therefore necessary, not just for employee owners concerned with protecting their retirement assets, but also for the employee ownership community that seeks to protect and promote it. This vital intersection of public policy and ESOPs is why I chose to step forward and chair TEA’s inaugural Public Policy Council starting in 2021.
As my time as Chair of the Public Policy Council concludes, I want to share a bit about our work and encourage you to get involved in the growing advocacy efforts of the Association. The Public Policy Council (PPC) was created to help revamp and guide the public policy efforts of the Association. The PPC needed to quickly establish its membership and its governance, which it did with a mission and vision that center our efforts directly on ESOP issues.
Next, we set about the chief task of creating policy papers that defined the Association’s priorities. We asked for comment and feedback, held “town hall” style meetings at National Conference, and consulted with both the corporate and professional membership of the Association. That extensive process resulted in several Policy Papers, instrumental both as “north stars” for the Association’s efforts and in educating elected officials and their staff, the media, and others. Those can be found here.
To help achieve desired policy wins in these areas, several members of the PPC set out to promote the dramatically revamped advocacy programs the Association began just a few years ago. From the dramatic transformation of the National Conference’s Advocacy Academy and ESOP Advocacy Day and growth in the ESOP PAC, to the creation of the Employee Owner Action Network (EOAN) and the ESOP Ambassador program, the PPC helped launch the sustaining grassroots engines that power ESOP advocacy in Congress and state capitals. Most importantly, through the combined efforts of volunteer leaders, Association staff, and elected officials that support the employee ownership agenda, we saw significant results.
The Worker Opportunity, Results, and Knowledge (WORK) Act was passed in SECURE 2.0, authorizing funds for Employee Ownership Initiative to promote employee ownership and mandating much-needed regulatory clarity from the Department of Labor. EOAN has grown to thousands of members and is routinely sending messages to state and federal lawmakers. Legislation has been introduced to help address key needs of the ESOP community in Washington and in state legislatures. ESOP PAC has held fundraising events at the International Employee Ownership Center and contributed record amounts to elected officials in the 2023-2024 congressional cycle. Outreach to elected officials and the growth into state legislative efforts has never been higher.
Taken together, the combination of volunteer leadership, new and expanded advocacy programs, and a new slate of policy issues, has moved The ESOP Association from its previously “defensive” stance, with an agenda largely aimed at protecting existing law, to a more “proactive” one, focused on addressing issues that will help ESOPs grow and become easier to form and administer. As important as these steps were, they will ring hollow unless the Association and we, as employee owners and members, continue growing them to their full potential.
Our first PPC really stepped up, and a new PPC has been appointed to help lead for the next two years. But it’s also your turn. Every member of TEA, every employee owner, every ESOP company, can do something. A simple action like joining EOAN matters, but you can take the lead in promoting EOAN in your company to get others to join. You can attend National Conference for Advocacy Academy and ESOP Advocacy Day, but you can also get others to join the effort. You can invite your elected officials to a tour your company, which is one of the most powerful ways to share the positive benefits of employee ownership, or you can invite your elected officials to a TEA chapter event.
I proudly work at an employee-owned company that employs many scientists and engineers – I understand and appreciate planning and the importance of laying a foundation for the future on which to build. The next Public Policy Council will build on this foundation. The new chair of the PPC is Ben Holder, the President and CEO of Plastic Products, Inc., a 100% ESOP-owned specialty manufacturer. Ben served with me on the Executive Committee of the PPC for several years and is a friend and a highly capable leader in the ESOP community. In the next two years the Association will need to address major tax legislation, work to finalize the adequate consideration regulation, and perhaps address other issues – promoting ESOPs in government contracting and providing greater access to capital, for example. I will remain a member of the PPC, EOAN, and ESOP Ambassadors because of this important work, and I look forward to seeing you at future events.
As I said at the outset -- I believe in employee ownership, and that is why I’ve always been active in supporting the ESOP Association. It has been a real thrill to have the opportunity to play a leadership role helping TEA advance public policy through our inaugural Public Policy Council. I know that Ben and next Public Policy Council will build on this success, and I strongly encourage employee owners to engage in their own way in support of these goals.