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Your Company Your Future
What if, when your company went up for sale, you and your coworkers got the first chance to buy it — before anyone else?
From Idea to Action
The chapter proposes a “right of first refusal” policy: when a business owner decides to sell, employees get first crack at buying it — through an ESOP or co-op — before outside buyers get a look. Not a mandate, just first option.
This Already Happened — More Than Once
New Belgium Brewing (Fat Tire beer): founder Kim Jordan sold the company to her employees through an ESOP; it thrived under employee ownership until the employee-owners collectively voted to sell in 2019 — each one receiving a share of the proceeds. Bob’s Red Mill: at 81, founder Bob Moore handed the company to his employees outright. His reasoning: “These people are why we’re successful.” Republic Windows and Doors in Chicago closed in 2008, laying off 250 workers — a group of them formed a cooperative and reopened it as New Era Windows, which they still run democratically today.
How the Policy Would Actually Work
Owner decides to sell → employees get notified first, with a 60–90 day window to organize (form an ESOP or co-op, build a business plan, arrange financing) → if they can’t put together a competitive offer, the business goes to a traditional outside sale. Government-backed loans and grants would help close the financing gap.
Why It's Not Just Good for Workers
Employee-owned companies lay off fewer workers during downturns and are less likely to relocate overseas. When a plant stays employee-owned instead of getting absorbed by an out-of-state buyer, the jobs, tax base, and local economic activity all stay put too.
Talk It Through
Think of a local business — a shop, a plant, a firm you or someone you know works for. If it went up for sale tomorrow, would a right-of-first-refusal policy actually change the outcome for the people who work there? What would have to be true for the employees to realistically pull an offer together in 60–90 days?