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Labor unions at United Airline have made it clear that they do not want to exchange further concessions for more stock in the company's ESOP. Company officials, meanwhile, have made it equally clear that further contributions to the ESOP are very unlikely absent these concessions.

There are interesting and helpful resources and research coming from Michael Darger and others at the University of Minnesota Extension program. Most recently, they conducted a rigorous survey of the state’s business owners that offers real insights into how employee ownership fits into their plans.

In "S Corp ESOP Legislation Benefits and Costs: Public Policy and Tax Analysis," Steven Freeman and Michael Knoll of the University of Pennsylvania conclude that S corporation ESOPs add an annual $14 billion in additional compensation that would not have been paid absent an ESOP, lead to annual j

The University of Wisconsin's Executive Education Center's excellent "Employee Ownership Management Program" will be held October 2-4 in Madison, WI. The program offers an intensive, participative investigation of how to make employee ownership work effectively.

The University of Wisconsin at Madison has started a three-day program for managers and supervisors on managing an employee ownership company. Courses will focus on communications, team-based management, marketing employee ownership, how ESOPs work, and other topics.

One of the most contentious stock options issues is whether unvested options should be included in marital property in divorce settlements. In Fisher v. Fisher (Pa. No. 170, 4/25/01), the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that they were.

In Baccanti v. Morton (MA, No 08442, 8/13/01), the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that unvested options could be divided in a marital estate.

Two upcoming meetings on employee ownership may be of interest:

The Beyster Institute of the University of California San Diego is hosting the Corporate Director's Exchange, which is part of the institute's program on corporate governance for ESOP comp

The 2018 Vermont Employee Ownership Conference will be June 8 from 8:30 to 5:00 in Burlington, Vermont.