On October 30, to celebrate the end of Cooperative Business Month, the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Employee Benefits Security Administration (ESBA) detailed the DOL’s implementation of the new Employee Ownership Initiative. Over the past year, the ESBA and Division of Employee Ownership team visited employee-owned cooperatives and other businesses across the U.S. ranging anywhere from eight to over 14,000 employee-owners to hear from them directly.
ESBA and the Division of Employee Ownership are now calling on cooperators to provide additional ideas and input on how to implement the initiative most effectively. They are specifically seeking feedback on the following questions:
- What type of resources do you want ESBA to offer?
- What techniques have you seen that effectively encourage worker voice and employee engagement?
- If you are a workforce or economic development professional who is interested in promoting employee ownership, how do you think the government, at the State and Federal level, can help?
NCBA CLUSA encourages cooperators to share their ideas and input on the DOL Employee Ownership Initiative by emailing ownership@dol.gov.
The DOL Employee Ownership Initiative was created as part of the Worker Ownership, Readiness, and Knowledge (WORK) Act passed within the FY 2023 Federal Appropriations and Funding Bill. The initiative will help educate workers and employers about the potential of worker ownership through outreach, training, technical assistance, clearinghouse development, and by supporting new and existing programs to facilitate employee ownership.
NCBA CLUSA advocates for policies and funding to continue support for employee ownership through worker cooperatives as part of our engagement with Congress. To learn more about our policy priorities, view our Policymakers Guide or email advocacy@ncba.coop.
