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  5. Workplace Democracy and Employee Ownership: Inclusive Economic Practices and Imperfectly Competitive Labor Markets
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Workplace Democracy and Employee Ownership: Inclusive Economic Practices and Imperfectly Competitive Labor Markets

Paper Session

Monday, Jan. 5, 2026 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM (EST)

Philadelphia Marriott Downtown, Room 406
Hosted By: Labor and Employment Relations Association
  • Chair: Peter Norlander, Loyola University of Chicago

Worker Cooperatives and the Care Economy

Charlie Fraioli
,
ICA group

Abstract

Ahn's presentation examines how worker cooperatives strengthen democratic values and empower excluded workers. Based on work with unions, worker centers, and cooperative conversions, Anh-Thu Nguyen will discuss how worker cooperatives in the care economy “ including home care and child care" address service, cost, and quality while including workers in management and ownership.

Do ESOP Benefits Substitute for Cash Compensation? Evidence from the Health and Retirement Study

Matt Mazewski
,
Rutgers University

Abstract

Matt's presentation draws on current research using data from the University of Michigan's Health and Retirement Study, a long-running panel survey of older Americans, to assess the impact of ESOP participation on cash compensation. While one prominent critique of ESOPs is that employee ownership benefits are likely to substitute for other forms of pay in the context of a competitive labor market, leaving workers no better off or even worse off than they would be otherwise, initial findings from this work suggest that ESOPs actually tend to augment rather than replace cash wages - a result that can potentially be accounted for by positing imperfect competition in labor markets.

Benefits, Barriers, and Strategies for High Road Worker Ownership

Danny Spitzberg
,
University of California-Berkeley
David Levine
,
University of California-Berkeley
Jung Ook Kim
,
Chatham University
Gonçalo Costa
,
Harvard University

Abstract

This presentation summarizes the benefits, barriers, and strategies of High Road Worker Ownership (HRWO, pronounced hero) and wide-ranging analysis from a study of California's POWER (Promote Ownership by Workers for Economic Recovery) Act published in February 2025. Two specific strategies are highlighted: certifying HRWO businesses and advisors to create new markets, and funding umbrella groups that provide back-office services and technology support to multiple businesses. Detailed results of a study of the effect of Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) on worker outcomes (attitudes and perceptions) using data from the General Social Survey and the National ESOP Employee Survey will also be presented.

Discussant(s)
Todd Sorensen
,
University of California-Merced
Melissa Hoover
,
Rutgers University
Kate Bahn
,
Institute for Women's Policy Research
JEL Classifications
  • J0 - General