If you had told me I would be preparing for a sabbatical 20 years ago, I would have laughed you out of the room. Most people in this industry never get that opportunity. Time off, especially fully paid, is rare for a construction worker. But ownership changes things. At employee-owned companies, workers aren’t just employees. We’re part of the business — and the company invests in you just like you invest in it. After two decades of hard work, I’ll have the chance to step away, recharge and spend time with my family. Benefits like that aren’t just perks. They are proof that employee ownership prioritizes the well-being of its people.
In construction, it’s common to hear stories of people bouncing from company to company, always chasing the next paycheck or slightly better conditions. That’s never been my story. I’ve stayed in the same place for two decades because working for an employee-owned company feels different. You’re not just working for someone else’s bottom line; you’re building something that benefits you and your family too. That’s what kept me here year after year.
And I’m not alone. The median employee tenure at employee-owned companies is about 50% higher than at traditional businesses. It’s the day-to-day experience that most people don’t consider. For me, that means health bonuses, on-the-job training and a transparent work culture where I know I can voice my opinions and leadership will listen. Employee ownership is more than a retirement plan. It’s a reason to stay.
I didn’t fully understand what employee ownership meant when I started working at Steel Encounters. Like most people, I thought of a job as just a job. But a few years after I joined, the company transitioned to an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). That meant the company was owned by the people who helped build it: the employees. Each year, we receive shares of the company that appreciate in value over time. The better the company does, the more those shares are worth. It’s a simple idea, but it changes everything. You take care of the business like it’s your own. Because it is.
On paper, the benefits of employee ownership are clear. Employee-owners at private ESOPs have more than double the average retirement savings of workers at non-ESOP companies, and every participant has access to at least one retirement plan. That’s not something most workers can count on. Nearly half of the private sector workforce nationwide doesn’t receive retirement benefits through their jobs, and Utah is no exception. That’s close to 60 million people without a reliable way to save for their future. Employee ownership changes that.
Utah has started to embrace employee ownership. Across the state, there are 52 employee-owned companies and more than 8,500 participants, according to the National Center for Employee Ownership. The majority of those are right here in Salt Lake City, where employee ownership is helping workers build wealth, stay rooted in their communities and retire with security.
Yet, too many workers don’t realize that employee ownership is even an option, and many business owners don’t know how to make it work. That’s why we need policies to facilitate the creation of more employee-owned businesses.
One example is the recently introduced Promotion and Expansion of Private Employee Ownership Act, a bipartisan bill designed to help more companies transition to ESOPs. Simple steps like encouraging owners to transition to employee ownership and providing the technical assistance to support the transition could help build retirement security for working families nationwide.
Salt Lake City Representative Blake Moore has already signed on as a co-sponsor of this bill, and I encourage the rest of Utah’s congressional delegation to follow his lead. By supporting this legislation, Utah’s leaders can strengthen our state’s workforce and help more families build lasting financial security through ownership.
I know my story is just one example of what is possible with ownership. However, most people I talk to outside the company have never even heard of an ESOP.
Let’s change that. Let’s give more employees the opportunity to become owners and allow hardworking Americans to retire with confidence and dignity.