Timothy Garbinsky
I and my colleagues at the NCEO are big proponents of learning about something from those who have gone through it. What better way to get information on what something is like than to talk to somebody with real-world experience? It's all well and good to learn in other ways but, removed from a human perspective, it can all start to seem a bit theoretical.
Timothy Garbinsky
Now that a month has passed since our annual conference in Seattle this past April, my colleagues and I have a renewed gratitude for just what it means to host these events. As you likely know, this past April saw us reunited with our members and the employee ownership community in Seattle for our first in-person conference since April 2019.
Timothy Garbinsky
The Rutgers School of Labor and Management has just introduced a free online program that guides business owners through the process of selling their businesses to their employees through an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) or worker cooperative. The program, funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, is run through the New Jersey/New York Center for Employee Ownership, which created the program in conjunction with our friends at the Democracy At Work Institute, itself one of the foremost authorities on worker cooperatives.
Timothy Garbinsky
Our friends at the Beyster Institute in the Rady School of Management at the University of California at San Diego have just opened registration for their new training program for ESOP service providers. The course, titled Understanding ESOPs: Training to be an ESOP Professional, is offered in partnership with the UC San Diego Extension program and will cover all the basics for service providers who seek to gain more expertise in the field.
Timothy Garbinsky
As anybody who just finished attending our 2021 Fall ESOP Forum can attest, it’s a busy time of year for us all. In my case, I found myself conducting interviews, moderating discussions, and joining some of the more casual networking sessions, all to make sure members and attendees truly got the most out of our event. And this doesn’t even include the sessions I tried to attend for my own edification, since I, like all of us, still have a lot to learn.
Timothy Garbinsky
Every year around this time, I get excited about our Fall ESOP Forum, taking place this year from September 22 to 24 online. It serves as both a welcome reprieve from the late summer/early autumn doldrums and an augmentation of Employee Ownership Month, which falls directly on its heels. It also provides a yearly opportunity to take stock of the past year while looking forward to what the upcoming year might have in store for us.
Timothy Garbinsky
It's no secret that workplace attitudes are changing. Many workers in all sectors and at all stages of their careers are learning that many parts of their jobs can be done from home. Others are beginning to feel there’s a disconnect between the value of their work and the amount of respect or compensation they receive. All of this points to somewhat of a cultural shift, not only in the nature of work itself, but in the way workers are treated.
Timothy Garbinsky
One of my favorite things about the employee ownership world is that it's always growing and moving. In addition to being a net positive for workers, businesses, and the economy in general, EO is also an exciting environment to work in, with lots of opportunities to get involved. And these opportunities aren't rigid or cookie-cutter—you can work at a national organization or local one, you can get involved in policy and advocacy, or you can work directly with companies. Whether you work full- or part-time or are a volunteer, the sphere around employee ownership is as flexible as employee ownership itself is for owners and companies.
Timothy Garbinsky
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ESOPs at their best do a lot more than provide working people with livable retirement income. Sure, this is perhaps the most important or compelling aspect of ESOPs, and one needn't look far to see reasons why this sort of wealth inequality solution is so vital in 2021.
