Employee-Owned Companies

A list of notable employee-owned companies in the United States. Though the concept sometimes brings to mind democratic or egalitarian systems in which all workers vote on how a company should be run, in most cases, employee ownership is more about finances and stock ownership rather than direct hands-on control. These are companies in which the staff owns a majority of the stock shares, and thus have a strong voice in management decision-making. Most are run according to what is known as an ESOP, or Employee Stock Ownership Plan, which essentially works like an employee benefit plan including shares of stock. Other companies offer what is known as a Profit Sharing Trust, or PST, or simply allow employees to buy certain shares of stock based on their term of employment.