About Us

What is the VEOC?
Why is employee ownership beneficial?
What does the VEOC do?
What has the VEOC accomplished?
Who can benefit from employee ownership?
What services and programs do you offer?
Outreach
Technical assistance
Training and technical assistance
Revolving Loan Fund
Who is on the Staff and on the Board of Directors?
Are the Center’s services free?
How is the Center funded?

Employee ownership is a proven means of preserving local ownership of companies and the jobs they support, fairly sharing equity, boosting productivity, and improving the quality of work life. There are now over 9,000 companies in the U.S. with Employee Stock Ownership Plans or equivalent plans, hundreds of worker cooperatives, and thousands of companies with some other form of employee ownership. Introducing employee ownership into a business is a complex undertaking, and instituting the cultural changes necessary to make employee ownership meaningful requires a significant commitment of resources and energy. But since 1974, when federal legislation was passed that provided a legal framework for ESOPs, a strong infrastructure supporting employee ownership has developed. The VEOC is part of that infrastructure and we are here to support the needs of Vermont businesses and communities.

There are currently close to 40 Vermont-based companies that are at least partially employee-owned, including many with familiar names: Gardener’s Supply Company, King Arthur Flour, Merchant’s Bank, Carris Reels, Chroma Technology, Hill Associates, Hallam Associates, The Trust Company of Vermont, Homestead Design, and Lane Press.

"Extensive research has proven that employee-owned businesses out-perform and are more sustainable than their competitors in the same industries. There couldn’t be a better time to give Vermonters back control of their economic future with a proven model of business ownership: employee ownership," says the Chair of the Center’s Board of Directors, Cindy Turcot of Gardener’s Supply Company.

Education and outreach

Since 2003, the VEOC has presented annual full-day conferences on employee ownership. These are aimed at employee-owners in established employee-owned companies, business owners considering employee ownership, and people interested in the potential of employee ownership to preserve jobs and stabilize communities. Our fifth annual conference is being planned for June 5, 2007, with Corey Rosen, the Executive Director of the National Center for Employee Ownership, as keynoter. The VEOC has also presented three half-day seminars for business owners on ownership succession (December 2002; March and April 2006), and will be presenting a series of these seminars in 2007 and 2008, in partnership with the Vermont Small Business Development Center.

• The four annual conferences attracted 150, 150, 130 and 180 attendees respectively.
• Present at the annual conferences were representatives of companies considering employee ownership (i.e. not currently employee-owned): 25 at the 2003 conference, 20 in 2004, 20 in 2005 and 19 in 2006.
• Owners of 21 businesses attended the December 2002 ownership succession seminar. Owners of 19 businesses attended our pair of seminars in 2006.

Work with owners interested in selling to employees

The VEOC has provided direct assistance to owners of 44 Vermont businesses, with a total of 981 employees. As mentioned above, many other owners have attended our educational events. Some recent activity in this area:

• In 2005, Birdseye Building, a 25-employee business that we directly assisted, implemented an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP).
• In March of 2006, Pre-Tech Plastics (65 employees) implemented an ESOP. A representative of that company attended our conference in 2003.
• In November of 2006, Green Mountain Spinnery became owned by all of its nine full-time employees through a worker cooperative structure. The VEOC provided direct assistance with this ownership transition.
• In early 2007, we anticipate that a contractor in southern Vermont will implement an ESOP. Owners of this business attended our 2006 conference.
• Another business we have directly assisted, with over 100 employees, has announced to employees its intention to implement an ESOP as soon as possible.
• Several of the businesses we have assisted have been, or are likely to be, purchased by managers.

Work with employees interested in purchasing a business or starting a new one

The VEOC has provided direct assistance to groups representing a total of 354 employees in 14 companies interested in the possibility of buying the business in which they work. In addition, in 8 plant closing situations, we helped groups representing a total of 636 employees explore the possibility of a buyout. We have also provided advice in 16 cases to entrepreneurs interested in starting a company with broadly-shared ownership. Recent highlights:

• We assisted 5 employees of a construction company to re-organize as a worker cooperative that purchased the company’s assets from its founder. The new company, called Red House, now has 8 members (employee owners) and several other employees on track to become owners.
• We helped the 3 founders of a new web design firm, the Brattleboro Tech Collective, start up as a worker cooperative.
• One of the plant closing cases led to the start-up of Island Pond Woodworkers. At its peak, IPW employed over 20 people. It was sold at the end of 2005 to a Vermont investor who intends to grow the company and provide more jobs for the Island Pond area.

Future focus and emphasis

As awareness of the possibilities of employee ownership (EO) increases, and as early contacts with businesses begin to generate action, we expect to focus over the next several years on: expanded workshops and seminars, more emphasis on working with established EO companies to assure their continued success, the development of peer networks of EO companies, the completion of more business conversions to EO, greater outreach efforts and more extensive work with other economic development groups, chambers of commerce and educational institutions.

Who can benefit from employee ownership?

• Small Business Owners, who find buyers for their business and compensation for their years of hard work;
• Employees, who retain their jobs, share in future profits, and have greater control over their own destinies;
• Company Performance, which often is improved through increases in productivity due to employee ownership and participation; and
• The Community, in which the company is now more deeply rooted.

• Provide information to owners and employees of Vermont-based businesses on employee ownership options of all sorts (including Employee Stock Ownership Plans (“ESOP”) and worker cooperatives), financial and tax implications, the variety of possible legal and organizational structures, and sources of financing.
• Sponsor an annual statewide employee ownership conference highlighting best company practices, and providing nuts and bolts workshops on employee ownership.
• Target outreach to small business owners who are contemplating retirement.
• Sponsor ownership succession and other seminars.
• Educate professionals who work with small businesses about employee ownership.
• Create case studies of existing successful employee-owned companies in Vermont.
• Introduce the idea of employee ownership to students in Vermont schools and colleges.

• Conduct “Business Assessment for Employee Ownership” to provide first-cut analyses to determine whether employee ownership is advisable for particular businesses, and whether further investigation is warranted.
• If the preliminary analysis shows promise, provide referrals to technical and legal resources and to trade organizations specializing in employee ownership.
• Identify funding for feasibility studies, business plans and other soft costs.
• Coordinate transactions, particularly in cases where groups of employees are making an offer for a business.

• Facilitate peer-to-peer learning among employee-owned companies in the state.
• Help companies create and implement ownership education programs.
• Trouble-shoot problems, provide assistance, provide referrals to other Vermont companies and/or consultants who have encountered similar situations.

Jack Davidson, Chair; President of Trust Company of Vermont* Paul Millman, Vice Chair; President, Chroma Technology Corporation* Cindy Turcot, Treasurer; Chief Operating Officer, Gardener’s Supply Company* Michael Gurdon, Secretary; Professor of Business Administration, University of Vermont Bill Carris, Chairman of the Board, Carris Reels, Inc.* George Clain, President, Local 300, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Pam Greene, Executive Director, Mentoring Coordinator, Mercy Connnections Dunbar Oehmig, Founder and member, Red House, Inc.* Susan Reid, Publications Editor, King Arthur Flour Company* Bruce Seifer, Assistant Director for Economic Development, Community and Economic Development Office, City of Burlington Dawn Terrill, Chief Executive Officer, Vermont Janitorial Service       * an employee-owned company

Staff:

     Jon Crystal, Executive Director

     Don Jamison, Program Director
     Ursula Jones, Marketing and Communications Manager

• Preliminary meetings and phone consultations are free of charge. We drive all over the state to meet with employee groups and business owners. A more detailed, individualized consultation is also available for a small charge: “Business Assessment for Employee Ownership”
• The seminars and workshops are offered for a modest per-person registration fee.
• Additional services are offered on a sliding-scale fee-for-service basis.