Employee Ownership Community to Celebrate Employee Ownership Month in October

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- This October, The ESOP Association and the employee ownership community will celebrate Employee Ownership Month, which is a tribute to the tremendous spirit of employee ownership.

Employee Ownership Month is an opportunity for ESOP (employee stock ownership plan) companies across the nation to educate employee owners, the public, and government officials about the incredible benefits of ESOPs.  Companies celebrate with picnics, roundtable discussions, and award ceremonies to honor outstanding employee owners.

"Once again, I'm proud to announce October as Employee Ownership Month.  Our members work to promote employee ownership and its benefits and deserve to be honored for their efforts," said J. Michael Keeling, president of The ESOP Association.  "In 2010, the Economic Performance Survey, which is conducted by the Employee Ownership Foundation, found that 91% of ESOP companies declared that creating employee ownership through an ESOP was 'a good decision that has helped the company.'  That's saying a great deal in these challenging times."

Facts about employee ownership in the U.S.:

• There are approximately 11,500 ESOPs in place in the U.S., covering 10 million employees (10% of the private sector workforce).
• Total assets owned by U.S. ESOPs was estimated to be $901 billion at the end of 2007.
• The 19th Annual Economic Performance Survey conducted in 2010 by the Employee Ownership Foundation found:
  • 91% of survey respondents reported that creating employee ownership through an ESOP was 'a good business decision that has helped the company.'
  • 61% of companies indicated they have created an ESOP education program or ESOP advisory committee since establishing the ESOP.
• In August 2010, The ESOP Association and the Employee Ownership Foundation released the results of a survey conducted among the Association's 1,400 corporate members which confirmed positive benchmarks for ESOPs.  The eye-opening statistics of the 2010 survey are the increase in age of the ESOP and account balances. 
• In September 2010, the Employee Ownership Foundation released the results of an extensive study it funded that evidenced that ESOPs provide more employee benefits than non-ESOP companies. The project was done by the National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO). 

For more information on ESOPs and Employee Ownership Month, please visit The ESOP Association's website at http://www.esopassociation.org.

The ESOP Association is the national trade association for companies with employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) and the leading voice in America for employee ownership.  The core cause of The ESOP Association is the belief that employee ownership will improve American competitiveness, increase productivity through greater employee participation, and strengthen our free enterprise economy.

SOURCE The ESOP Association

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