At the invitation of RMEOC, this Monday May 6 Rob Witherell of the United Steelworkers (USW) will be discussing the historic new union-cooperative model announced by the USW, Mondragon and the Ohio Employee Ownership Center in 2012.  This informal discussion will take place 10:30 a.m. in the 8th floor Board Room of The Denver Foundation, 55 Madison St., Denver, Colorado. We're excited that Rob has generously given his time for this important conversation. Please join us by RSVP to Dick Peterson, dpeterson@rmeoc.org, 303-919-1356.

In a trip initiated by the Rocky Mountain Employee Ownership Center, fifteen people from Colorado traveled to Cleveland, Ohio, in January  to learn about the Evergreen Cooperative Initiative, an economic development model being launched in low-income neighborhoods of Cleveland. Participants included representatives of the Rocky Mountain Employee Ownership Center, Denver Foundation's Strengthening Neighborhoods program,  Rocky Mountain Farmers Union Cooperative Development Center, Asset-Based Community Development Institute, Revision International, LiveWell Colorado, Extreme Community Makeover, Veterans to Farmers, Rocky Mountain MicroFinance Institute and Dunn & Phillips LLC.

Press Release: (Fort Collins, CO) – New Belgium Brewing is excited to announce that the company’s Employee Stock Ownership Program (ESOP) has purchased the balance of company shares, making it 100% employee-owned. New Belgium, brewer of a wide variety of award-winning beers including Fat Tire Amber Ale, has been a partial ESOP since 2000 with a controlling interest held by co-founder Kim Jordan and her family. This transition will put the company on a path to control their destiny into the foreseeable future.

“There are few times in life where you get to make choices that will have multi-generational impact – this is one of those times. We have an opportunity to write the next chapter of this incredible story and we’re really excited about that,” said New Belgium CEO and co-founder, Kim Jordan. “We have always had a high involvement ownership culture and this allows us to take that to the next logical level. It will provide an elegant succession framework that keeps the executive team intact ensuring our vision stays true going forward.”

 by Dick Peterson

Ever since the late 70s I have had an interest in co-ops.  During my years in real estate in Denver I formed two agent-owned real estate companies that were part of the Re/max franchise system.  These were agent rather then employee-owned because in Colorado real estate agents normally are not employees.  An ownership option was open to all agents.  I put together another agent-owned real estate company with Keller Williams Realty in the 90’s.  Two of the three have since sold out, but Re/max of Cherry Creek is still a successful real estate company that is the only agent-owned Re/max in the world.

Audie Cornish talks to Kim Jordan, CEO of the New Belgium Brewing Company in Fort Collins, Colo. Jordan is in Charlotte, N.C., at the Democratic National Convention.
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KIM JORDAN: My then-husband Jeff Lebesch and I started New Belgium in the basement of our house. So it's really one of those kind of crazy, entrepreneurial American success stories.

CORNISH: New Belgium is a Colorado-based beer company. And it's doing well, $140 million in sales last year alone.

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By Dick Peterson

Own your share of local solar energy and save money on your Xcel electric bill.

Aurora Solar Garden 1 Now Open for Subscribers in Aurora and Adams County.

Rocky Mountain Employee Ownership Center in cooperation with Solar Power Financial, Namaste Solar, and the Solar Gardens Institute is now accepting Solar Garden subscribers.

Now every homeowner, business owner, or renter who wished they could have solar energy but their roof is shaded, it is too expensive, or their HOA won’t allow it – now they can!

Sarah Deas, chief executive of Co-operative Development Scotland (CDS), attended the recent NCEO/Beyster Institute Employee Ownership Conference in Minneapolis. Also attending was Dick Peterson, who asked her for an article to submit to the Denver Post and publish on the RMEOC website. Here the UK-based business leader explains how Scotland promotes innovative business models.

It was with great interest that I recently attended the annual Employee Ownership Conference in Minneapolis, not least because of the differences in approach between our two countries. In Scotland, where my organisation, Co-operative Development Scotland (CDS) operates, we are in the fortunate position of receiving government funding to encourage companies to consider co-operative business models.

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By Bill Kirton

On the Cutting Edge of a New Economy Movement

When we launched our enterprise in 2010, we were not fully aware of the urgency and significance of what we were attempting to do. We did not realize that we would be on the cutting edge of what is being described as the emerging “new economy.” Nor were we fully aware of the long-term consequences of the so-called “down-turn,” the political paralysis at home and upheaval abroad. At this time in history, the following comment seems most appropriate: “With the government and banks unwilling or unable, it’s time we took matters into our own hands. Who else can we count on?”¹ 

by Bill Kirton

70 billion taxpayer dollars are being spent each year to entice businesses to relocate or expand in order to “create jobs” through state-funded economic development programs. These expenditures include cash grants, subsidies, tax credits and other enticements, which may or may not involve actual job creation, nor do they necessarily adhere to “good job” pay and benefit standards. According to the Good Jobs First report, the State of Colorado spends approximately $72,500,000 annually in economic development endeavors. Are these outlays actually creating employment opportunities and at what cost per job? The report gives Colorado a C grade in terms of the effectiveness of these programs.

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by Marc S. Stander

Employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) provide an excellent exit strategy for business owners while offering part or all of the company to the employees. Research shows that employee ownership alone will not increase company performance. Creating the ownership culture is very important if the employee ownership program is expected to increase profits, sales, and stock price. Employees need to be involved in workplace decisions and must act like owners or the full benefits of an ownership program will never materialize. When the corporate culture and ownership program are aligned, the employee ownership program will more likely be successful.