Creating Good Jobs: Lessons Learned from Worker Cooperatives, ESOPs and B Corporations

The US economy continues to add jobs at a modest, yet steady pace. While job creation is a positive sign that the economy is beginning to heal, job reports in the last few months show low-wage sectors are predominantly the industries where people are finding work. In addition to low pay, other job quality issues — such as few benefits, part-time hours, and limited training and advancement opportunities — are becoming more common in many sectors as some companies seek to maximize shareholder returns at the expense of investing in their workforce. A number of businesses, however, are trying to buck these trends and show that businesses can create quality jobs for their workers and still succeed in the marketplace. Worker-owned cooperatives, B Corps companies, and businesses with employee stock ownership programs may offer ideas about ways to improve the returns to work. These models, however, are not without their challenges. Many worker-owned cooperatives have failed and some ESOPs have ended up hurting the workers they were designed to benefit. In this event, panelists have an honest discussion about these different approaches, including what it takes for these types of business models to succeed, the impacts of these models on profits and worker success, and what we can learn from these models that can apply to creating better jobs in our economy overall. This event features Steven Dawson (Strategic Advisor, PHI), Albert Fuller (CEO and Chairman, Integrated Packaging Corporation), Jamie Raskin (Maryland State Senator; Professor, Washington College of Law, American University), Camille Kerr (Research Director, The National Center for Employee Ownership), and moderator Lydia DePillis(Reporter for “Wonkblog,” The Washington Post). This event is part of the Working in America series, an ongoing discussion series hosted by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program that highlights an array of critical issues affecting low- and moderate-income workers in the United States and ideas for improving and expanding economic opportunities for working people. For more information, visit as.pn/workinginamerica. The Economic Opportunities Program advances strategies, policies, and ideas to help low- and moderate-income people thrive in a changing economy. We recognize that race, gender, and place intersect with and intensify the challenge of economic inequality and we address these dynamics by advancing an inclusive vision of economic justice. For over 25 years, EOP has focused on expanding individuals’ opportunities to connect to quality work, start businesses, and build economic stability that provides the freedom to pursue opportunity. Learn more at as.pn/eop.