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Employee Ownership Blog

Loren Rodgers

Two Coops Leave the Mondragon Corporation

The Mondragon Corporation of Spain’s Basque region, an integrated network of more than 90 employee-owned companies plus many worker cooperatives, is the best-known example of worker cooperatives in the world. On December 15, the worker-owners of two of its largest member cooperatives voted to separate from the network, as reported in several articles, such as this one in El Pais.




NCEO

ESOP Education for Insiders and Advisors from the Beyster Institute

ESOP transactions require specific knowledge from both advisors and companies, each with unique responsibilities that compel them to act according to their duty and at the right moment. Many people with responsibility for the proper design and operation of ESOPs have never had a comprehensive overview of what they need to know to be effective in their roles – and many may not even realize that there are gaps in their knowledge. Filling in those gaps can help ESOP companies avoid pitfalls (see the NCEO's Don’t Do That! book for examples) and make good decisions from the board level to day-to-day operations.


Loren Rodgers

London Launches Employee Ownership Initiative

On December 2, the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, announced the creation of the London Ownership Hub, which will launch in early 2023 with the goal of creating "the networks, resources and conditions to help worker co-operative and employee-owned businesses across London develop and thrive." London contains nearly 500 employee owned businesses, 30% of the total in the UK, and the sector proved resilient through the pandemic.





Corey Rosen

Massachusetts Passes Employee Ownership Center Bill

Governor Charlie Baker of Massachusetts has signed a wide-ranging economic development legislative package that includes An Act to Enable the Massachusetts Center for Employee Ownership (S.261 / H.511), which will institutionalize the Massachusetts Center for Employee Ownership (MassCEO). The Office will be housed in the Massachusetts Office of Business Development. Much like the recently passed California Employee Ownership Act, the office will focus on outreach to business owners and serve as a resource hub for service providers and information. It will be led by a full-time director and will be able to make grants to local organizations to carry out its mission. The legislation also created a formal advisory board comprised of representatives from a number of stakeholder groups, including governor-appointed representatives from Massachusetts-based ESOP companies and worker cooperatives.