EO+WD Weekend Newsletter: Double Edition

and

Jan 05, 2024

Welcome Back!

2024 is yours for the making.

What We’ve Been Writing

Dr. Hand muses on how the Japanese art of kintsugi can help us understand and navigate the pressures on democracy in 2024
Tiffany tells the story of mass messaging company Text-Em-All, which recently converted to employee ownership by way of a perpetual purpose trust

What We’ve Been Reading

Check out this article from our partner Zoe Schlag on how employee ownership can be used to grow small businesses
A recent podcast episode covers the implications for banks of the recent employee ownership boom
The experience at OpenAI has much to teach us about the collective power of employees, and purpose trust ownership might have prevented this mess. According to Transform Finance’s Julie Menter, a thoughtful structure is a necessary but not always sufficient condition for protecting a company's mission
Employee ownership is expanding in India, where a Chennai-based company sold a ⅓ of itself to its employees

What’s Next

Our partners at the Aspen Economic Opportunities Program are hosting a book talk on January 24 with author Nick Romeo, who will discuss his new novel and building a more just economy
Is An ESOP Right For You? The National Center for Employee Ownership will host a conference right here in Dallas, TX on Feb 5-6
EO+WD will be participating in the Neighborhood Economics conference in San Antonio on Feb 26-28
The Aspen Economic Opportunities Program and Rutgers Institute for Employee Ownership and Participation will host its second annual Employee Ownership Forum in DC on April 9-10

In Case You Missed It: Holiday Extended Edition

A new academic paper dropped, comparing EOTs, ESOPs, and worker cooperatives
The Aspen Economic Opportunities program published two articles on employee ownership trusts
Zoe Schlag wrote on employee ownership culture for Talent Culture
Colorado’s pro-employee ownership law went into effect
A colleague of Dr. Hand’s launched her own Substack on democracy and technology
Dr. Hand was quoted in an Impact Alpha story on new employee ownership regulation in Canada
UC-San Diego is hiring an employee ownership researcher
Nonprofit Quarterly and Hoodline both highlighted efforts to promote worker ownership in Los Angeles
The National Center for Employee Ownership Released its 2023 Employee Ownership 100 List

Just for Fun, Our Most-Viewed Posts from 2023

Dr. Hand discussed the legal details behind perpetual purpose trusts, the Native roots of American democracy and some examples of workplace democracy in action
Reid covered the bipartisan support behind employee ownership
Tiffany shared the story of a group of employees who were attempting to save their company — by buying it themselves
Megan reviewed changes to the UK’s employee ownership legislation proposed by the Centre for Employee Ownership