Employee Ownership Made Retirement Real for This Employee-Owner

We at the NCEO love to lift up the voices of working people whose lives have been transformed by the power of employee ownership. In celebration of Labor Day earlier this month, we received a piece from employee-owner Jaime Garcia of ESOP-owned Santini Foods in San Lorenzo, California, courtesy of the nonprofit Expanding ESOPs.

By Jaime Garcia

 

For the last few decades, retirement felt like a thing only possible in some past life. Most of my friends were in the same boat. I read in several sources that the typical U.S. worker has very little saved in a retirement account. It’s no wonder that many people over 60 in our country expect to work for a paycheck until they die. My daughters’ generation is even more pessimistic, with many simply giving up on the American Dream.

 

Then, four years ago, a chance conversation changed everything. My wife and I suddenly had the financial freedom to make our dreams come true.

 

This Labor Day, I’m sharing my story because I want to renew our country’s belief in the American Dream. Each day, I’m more confident that the path starts with employee ownership.

 

 

For over 20 years, I worked as a production supervisor and manager at various food companies, from Ghirardelli Chocolate to Peet’s Coffee. One day, I talked to a former co-worker, and he told me about his new job at a San Lorenzo-based company called Santini Foods. They had just decided to become employee-owned through an ESOP. My friend explained that it’s a retirement plan that lets companies share ownership with workers.

 

I didn’t know anything about ESOPs or employee ownership, but my friend was persuasive. I decided to check it out. I have always liked new challenges. When I started, the ESOP was still pretty new, so everyone was learning together.

 

From the start, being an employee-owner was energizing. Everyone was curious about each other’s work, eager to learn and see how they could help their colleagues succeed. Even though I’m a production manager, no one was afraid to tell me I’m doing something wrong and suggest a better approach. Everyone’s voice mattered.

 

The game-changing moment was when we all got our first ESOP account statements. Our hard work was coming directly back to us. The better Santini does, the more our personal wealth grows, without us contributing anything but our hard work.

 

From that point on, I’ve seen our ownership mentality spread, and in turn, our company grows stronger. At Santini, we make a wide array of products, from condensed and evaporated milks to chocolate and caramel sauces. Because everyone is encouraged to speak up and bring new ideas, we’re constantly improving our processes. We’ve streamlined our production schedule by allergen, saving time and ensuring better quality products. At the end of every shift, we take 15 minutes together to throw out trash and clean up our plant, rather than different people cleaning small sections two or three times. Every dollar saved is reinvested in us, the people who make our company what it is.

 

Which brings me to the financial benefits. I tell people that employee ownership is a portal to a retirement I long thought was a thing of the past. My wife and I are California people, through and through. We want to be on the water and fish from our backyard. A few years ago, I would have said, that’s nice, but let’s be real. Today, because of my growing ESOP account, it’s within reach.

 

Still, there are fewer than 6,500 ESOP companies in the U.S. and just 787 in California. The good news is that organizations like the NCEO, EOX, and Expanding ESOPs are building a movement to grow employee ownership in California and every other state. I’m hopeful more companies will make the decision Santini made and choose employee ownership because it is a win-win-win for businesses, employees, and customers.

 

This Labor Day, my wife and I will probably go fishing and plan our future home on the water. Now, I also have my sights set on an even bigger goal. Let’s build the momentum to make more California workers owners. Through employee ownership, we can revitalize the American Dream for my generation, for my daughters’, and for the country.