From the Newark EDC:
The City of Newark, under the leadership of Mayor Ras J. Baraka, is implementing the development of employee-owned businesses as a community wealth-building strategy. Our employee ownership initiative is designed to change the economic landscape for residents of Newark, NJ through the conversion of existing businesses to employee ownership. Historically, employee-owned businesses have served as a powerful tool for addressing economic inequality by providing employees with better working conditions and the potential to increase family wealth. According to the National Center for Employee Ownership, “employee-owners were four times less likely to be laid off during the recent recession” and employees at employee-owned businesses have “2.5 times greater retirement accounts than equivalent employees elsewhere” (www.esopinfo.org/infographics). In addition, employee-owned companies experience “25% higher job growth than comparable companies.” The standard structure for employee ownership in the United States is an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP), which is regulated under federal law to protect employee assets and enjoys substantial tax benefits.
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