Columbia City, Ind. — Ron and Ryan Richey have ambitious plans for Precision Plastics Inc. They also have the orders to back up their aspirations.
Read MoreWashington, D.C. – Today, the Employee-Owned S Corporations of America (ESCA) released a survey by John Zogby Strategies that finds employees who work at private, employee-owned companies are more confident about their jobs and less anxious about their financial futures than other workers.
Read MoreFollowing a Department of Labor (DOL) lawsuit, First Bankers Trust's Board of Directors decided to suspend the engagement of its services for transactions related to new employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs).
Read MoreMorton Buildings, the fabrication and construction firm known for its metal-walled buildings named after the central Illinois home of its headquarters, plans an aggressive expansion in rural America following its transition to full employee ownership this week.
Read MoreSelkirk Signs of Cranbrook, British Columbia celebrated the successful implementation of its employee share ownership plan (ESOP).
Read MoreWashington, DC: An Eighth Circuit panel on Tuesday affirmed a Tax Court ruling that the Employee Stock Ownership Plan of an orthopedic surgeon's corporation — which employed only him and his wife — did not quality for a tax exemption because it failed to meet requirements.
Read MoreSen. Sanders (for himself, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Leahy and Ms. Hassan) introduced Senate Bill S.1082 which, if enacted, would provide the establishment of the United States Employee Ownership Bank ("Bank") for the purpose of providing loan guarantees, direct loans and technical assistance to companies seeking to sponsor Employee Stock Ownership Plans or worker-owned cooperatives. The bill proposes initial capitalization of $500 million which capital would be available for feasibility analyses and stock transactions that create or expand ESOP ownership to 51% or more. An additional precondition before the Bank makes any subordinated loan or guaranty requires the board be elected on a 1 share to 1 vote, except those votes may be cast via direction to the ESOP trustee.
Read MoreReliance Trust Co. is accused by the Labor Department of breaching its fiduciary duties by allegedly causing an employee stock ownership plan to overpay for Tobacco Rag Processors Inc. stock ( Acosta v. Reliance Trust Co., Inc. , E.D.N.C., No. 5:17-cv-00214, complaint filed 5/4/17 ).
Read MoreNew York, NY: Grand Central Oyster Bar, the century-old seafood restaurant in New York City's Grand Central Terminal, is iconic. Diners revere the New York City landmark as much for its intricately tiled ceiling and oyster pan roast as its longevity, but the Oyster Bar, which won the Design Icon Award at Monday's James Beard Awards, deserves recognition for another aspect of its legacy: It's one of the few restaurants in the country that is owned entirely by its employees — 14 employees, at the moment.
Read MoreRosendin Electric, a national employee-owned company and one of the largest electrical contractors in the U.S., is celebrating 25 years of employee ownership and has been recognized as a winner of the 2017 Best Places to Work Award for Largest Employers (more than 1,000 Bay Area employees) by the San Francisco Business Times and Silicon Valley Business Journal.
Read MoreNorth River Boats North River Boats, one of the largest private employers in Roseburg, Ore., has new partners – more than one hundred of them. CEO Brent Hutchings informed his entire company of a newly formed employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) that will help him transfer over time a third of his ownership to eligible employees – the vast majority of his team of 131. The structure, Hutchings says, helps share the privately held company’s success with the people who deserve it most, reflecting the true spirit of North River Boats. “My wife, Chrys, and I want to share the wealth with the people who have worked so hard to build this iconic company by creating a legacy of ownership in the Roseburg community. It feels very much the right thing to do. Our team already behaves like owners, and now they actually are.” said Hutchings. “Creating an ESOP keeps the company I love forever afloat in Douglas County, without selling the business or giving up control to an outside investor.”
Read MoreALEXANDRIA, Va., May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Modern Technology Solutions, Inc. (MTSI) is proud to announce it is now officially 100% employee owned. The distinction represents the completion of an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) initiated in 2008 for MTSI, an engineering services and technology solutions provider for the defense industry, intelligence community, and commercial markets.
Read MoreFox Bros. Piggly Wiggly Inc., a chain of seven grocery stores in Milwaukee's suburbs, said Tuesday it is adopting an employee stock ownership plan as a means to chart the future ownership of the business and help the company compete in the region's super-competitive grocery market. Owners Pat and Lori Fox said there were a number of reasons they decided to transfer ownership of the business to the folks who work there. The obvious one is we're not getting any younger and so we had to figure out exit strategy," Lori Fox said. They could have sold the company outright. "We really didn't like that option because we really value our employees and that would create a lot of uncertainty for them," Lori Fox said. "We really wanted to protect them but recognize that we needed some kind of exit strategy." They decided the ESOP was the way to go.
Read MoreThe Colorado legislature introduced and passed HB17-1214, "Encourage Employee Ownership Of Existing Small Business" that requires its office of economic development to engage the services of a local nonprofit organization that supports and promotes the employee-owned business model to educate the staff at the office on the forms and merits of employee ownership in order for the office to promote employee ownership as part of its small business assistance center.
Read MoreAt the 25th annual meeting of the Woodruff Sweitzer company, workers heard about a company name change, a new logo and new branding efforts, but it was the next news nugget that caused them to stand up and cheer.
Read MoreVHV Company, based in Winooski, VT, announced today the establishment of an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), which effectively transfers ownership of the company to all employees. David Brown, President of VHV Company, sold his ownership interest to the newly created Employee Stock Ownership Trust, allowing employees to gain the benefit of ownership without any personal investment. "This transaction will give employees a financial interest in the future success of the business," Brown said. "After 20 years of ownership, I decided it was time to sell all my stock to the people who I trust and value the most: the employees. People are the core of our business and it is extremely important to reward them for their passion, loyalty, and most importantly, their competence. I'm excited to take our already strong culture to the next level by instilling an ownership mentality that connects employees' everyday work to a higher purpose. I hope my grandfather, who started the business in 1949, is looking down and smiling."
Read MoreCOO Teresa Van Horn, with salesman Matt Sukowaty, says the ESOP adds "a personal touch" in how employees and customers are treated. In mid-2015, Van Horn Automotive Group's leaders discussed how to attract and retain talent, increase store count and keep family control of the business.
Read MoreSUMMIT Engineering, Laboratory and Testing, P.C., a consulting firm based in the Charlotte region and with branch offices throughout North and South Carolina, is now a 100% employee-owned ESOP company. Founded in 2004 by Douglas Curley, Drew Coffey and Bob McDonnell, over the last 13 years the firm has grown from a small operation to a well-respected, regional consultant with proven expertise in the areas of geotechnical, environmental and structural engineering, as well as materials testing and special inspections.
Read MorePresident Trump and Congress have promised to boost American job stability while giving workers greater control over their economic destinies. Fortunately, Trump's presidency overlaps with a unique window of opportunity to deliver on these promises. Nearly half of all private businesses are owned by Baby Boomers, which means as older Americans age out of the workforce, many family and locally-owned companies will change hands. Business owners can sell to a competitor, private equity, or go public, but they can also convert to an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP). In short, businesses can become employee-owned, which is consistent with more rapid and resilient job growth.
Read MoreThe U.S. House of Representatives recently passed the Encouraging Employee Ownership Act (H.R.1343) by a bipartisan vote of 331 to 87. The bill would ease current Securities and Exchange Commission rules, making it easier for private companies to provide stock-based compensation to employees. The bill would increase to $20 million the current $5 million cap on the amount of stock closely held companies can award employees before triggering certain SEC reporting requirements. The amount would be indexed for inflation annually. The bill was received in the Senate and referred to committee.
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