In a powerful bipartisan moment for worker-ownership advocates, the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committee voted unanimously on July 31 to advance two major bills promoting and protecting Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs): the Retire Through Ownership Act (S. 2403) and the Employee Ownership Representation Act (S. 1728). Together, these bills represent…
Update (July 31, 2025): The Senate HELP Committee has now unanimously passed the ESOP bills discussed in this hearing. [Read the follow-up here ā] On July 24, 2025, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) convened a powerful and bipartisan hearing under the banner: āEmpowering Workers by Expanding Employee Ownership.ā With support…
And the Senate Follows Up With a Powerful Push to Expand Employee Ownership Washington, D.C. ā July 22, 2025ā This week marked a historic moment for the employee ownership movement. On Tuesday, the House Education and Workforce Committee held a hard-hitting oversight hearing scrutinizing the Department of Laborās Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) for what…
Patricia Hetter Kelso (nee Bertsche), pioneering champion of democratic capitalism, died peacefully in her San Francisco home on Independence Day, July 4, 2025, at age 98. Born in Anderson, Indiana, Patricia dedicated her life to the development and advancement of Binary Economics, a revolutionary economic theory that aims to achieve universal capitalism. After earning degrees…
On June 11, 2025, Oregon made history for employee ownership. Governor Tina Kotek signed House Bill 3646 into law, creating a formal preference in public procurement for companies that are majority-owned by their employeesāeither directly or through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). Starting in 2026, Oregon state agencies will be able to give these…