Employee-owned business recognized, celebrated by Pa. reps

Citing their importance to local economies and area communities, employee-owned businesses were celebrated and recognized recently by Reps. Sara Innamorato, D-Allegheny, and Greg Rothman, R-Cumberland in an event at the Capitol in Harrisburg. 

 Held last week, the event helped mark October as Employee Ownership Month. 

“The guiding principle for employee ownership is recognizing the unique value brought by every person who helps these ventures grow and prosper,” Innamorato said. “Each person brings a different set of knowledge and perspectives to the table and as a result, these employees feel more secure in their roles and are encouraged to do all they can to help their businesses and fellow workers thrive.” 

Rothman introduced H.B. 2888, which is aimed at establishing the Office of Employee Ownership within the Department of Community and Economic Development to provide multiple forms of assistance to current and future employee-owned businesses. 

In a Memorandum issued on April 12, 2022, Innamorato and Rothman stated the following in H.B. 2888:H.B. 2888,  

“In the next ten years, nearly 2.5 million businesses headed by baby boomers that employ 25 million people will be looking to transfer the ownership of their company. 

“Converting these businesses to an employee ownership model could be a viable solution to allow an owner to strategize their exit while keeping the company and the jobs in the community and honoring the business owner’s legacy. “

Innamorato and Rothman said that with dedicated resources, Pennsylvania could be a leader in helping workers take over the business, gain an ownership stake, reorganize it, and navigate a successful path forward by adopting an employee-owned model.  

“Our legislation will establish the Office of Employee Ownership within the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) to do just that. The expressed goal of the office is to provide educational, financial, and technical assistance to existing employee-owned companies and those firms seeking to retain jobs by restructuring an existing business into an employee-owned enterprise.

“Keeping and growing Pennsylvania-based companies is paramount to the economic success of our Commonwealth. Through the expansion of employee ownership enterprises, we can assist in creating an economic climate that is good for workers, good for business owners, and good for the host community.”

They asked State Reps to join in assisting Pennsylvania workers in grabbing an opportunity to reorganize their workplace, salvage local businesses, and improve the economy through employee ownership. 

In last week’s event at the Capitol, Rothman remarked that, “When people own something, they care about it more. They dig deeper roots. They want to see it succeed.” 

Harrisburg, Lancaster, and York have been recognized as three of the top 25 cities in the U.S. for employee ownership by the organization Certified EO, Innamorato announced. https://www.cpbj.com/harrisburg-ranks-third-in-nation-for-employee-owned-companies/ 

“Owners of businesses are nearing retirement age, and the majority of them don’t actually have succession plans,” Innamorato said. “Employee ownership can fill that gap, and they can be a way to keep businesses open, keep them local and provide economic security for employees and the communities that host them.”