Employee Ownership Blog
Timothy Garbinsky

Timothy Garbinsky

Morehouse Launches New National Event to Grow Black Employee Ownership

The International Comparative Labor Studies (ICLS) program at Morehouse College announced the Vision and Victory conference, taking place November 12–14 at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta. The national event, subtitled "Expanding Black Employee Ownership," aims to do just that—explore the ways Black businesses and communities stand to benefit from employee ownership, how to encourage the growth and expansion of employee ownership in these communities, and how to deal with and overcome hurdles and barriers to doing so.

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Timothy Garbinsky

Guy Raz's NCEO Forum Keynote Available to Members Until October 9

If, like me, you were unlucky enough to miss out on the NCEO Forum last month in Philadelphia, then you didn't get to see the keynote from Guy Raz, award-winning host of the popular "How I Built This" podcast. My colleagues and others in the community told me it was inspiring, built from Guy's observations about employee ownership specifically (and ownership in general) based on companies with whom he has talked and spent time.

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Timothy Garbinsky

Employee Ownership: We Got Now

Ages ago, long before it was the focal point of either highlight reels or politically tinged controversies, the WNBA debuted in the late 90s with the tagline "We got next." If you've never played pickup basketball, those who are waiting for the court after the current game to 11 or 15 or (heaven forbid) 21 will say they "got next" to indicate they're playing the winners of the ongoing game.

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Timothy Garbinsky

Employee Ownership Plays the Great Game of Business

We at the NCEO have long thought (hoped?) that employee ownership would be a bigger part of being a successful business. Beyond its potential as a succession planning option for business owners (which shouldn't be overlooked), employee ownership has time and again demonstrated that it can serve as a robust employee benefit by itself, providing companies with a meaningful way to reward and engage employees. The impact of this engagement on company resiliency has been shown repeatedly in the last few years.

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Timothy Garbinsky

Congratulations to Joseph Blasi

Dr. Joseph Blasi, one of the driving forces of academic interest and research on employee ownership, has stepped down from his role as the director of the Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing at Rutgers University. He will continue his work as both a researcher and mentor at the university's School of Management and Labor Relations.

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Timothy Garbinsky

Oregon Bill Would Give ESOPs Public Procurement Preference

A new bill in the Oregon state legislature would give employee-owned businesses a purchasing preference for public contracting. HB 3646, which is sponsored by Representative Thủy Trần (D), alongside Representatives Andersen (D), Marsh (D) and Neron (D), and Senators Patterson (D), Sollman (D), and Weber (R), adds entities in which employees own at least 50% of the business (either directly or through an ESOP) to the list of preferred sources for public contracts, allowing them to receive the same preference currently given to benefit companies. This permits state agencies to select their bids even if they cost up to 5% more than the lowest bid from a non-preferred business. A work session for the bill is currently on the agenda of the May 13 meeting of the Oregon Senate Committee on Labor and Business.

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