{"id":287890,"date":"2026-07-06T11:08:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T11:08:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/287890\/"},"modified":"2026-07-06T11:08:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T11:08:09","slug":"partnership-begins-work-to-expand-fabled-esops-in-n-j-n-y-and-pa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/287890\/","title":{"rendered":"Partnership begins work to expand fabled ESOPs in N.J., N.Y. and Pa."},"content":{"rendered":"

Employee ownership, a bipartisan-supported business model that rewards owners, improves company performance, reduces employee turnover and enables workers to build wealth on top of wages, is getting a major boost in the tri-state region.<\/p>\n

Rutgers University\u2019s New Jersey\/New York Center for Employee Ownership (NJ\/NYCEO<\/a>) and the Pennsylvania Center for Employee Ownership (PaCEO<\/a>) announced July 1 a partnership focused on expanding the number of employee-owned businesses in all three states by the year 2030.<\/p>\n

Ken Baker, a national leader in developing employee ownership, is supporting the collaboration with a $1 million endowment.<\/p>\n

Baker is the former CEO of NewAge Industries in Southampton, Pa., a manufacturer of biopharmaceutical and industrial fluid transfer systems. He established employee ownership at NewAge in 2006 and co-founded the PaCEO in 2016. Today, he serves on the board for both organizations.<\/p>\n

\u201cCombining critical research from Rutgers and state-of-the-art technology and methods from the PaCEO and The Baker Project<\/a>, this partnership has the opportunity to provide a tremendous economic future for working people and communities throughout the U.S.,\u201d said\u00a0Baker.\u00a0\u201cOur goal is to change lives for the better. It is my honor to support this important endeavor.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are nearly 700 businesses based in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania\u00a0that have employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs), employing more than 1.4 million people and holding about $48 billion in stock. This includes mostly small- and medium-sized businesses and publicly traded companies. Participating workers receive an ownership stake at no cost, enabling them to share in their employer\u2019s success and build wealth.<\/p>\n

Recent ESOP transitions in New Jersey include Becht Engineering BT, an engineering and consulting firm in Warren that announced in January 2025 that it is now 100% employee-owned through an ESOP. Next Evolution, a fire suppression company and hazardous chemical recycler in Metuchen, became 100% employee-owned through an ESOP in November 2024.<\/p>\n

With a supportive culture, ESOP companies typically have higher productivity and lower employee turnover than their competitors, research shows. However, many business owners do not realize that an ESOP is a viable option for their company: a knowledge gap that is especially urgent for those who are nearing retirement without a succession plan.<\/p>\n

The new four-year collaboration between the NJ\/NYCEO and PaCEO will address this gap through education, outreach, and deployment of The Baker Project\u2019s new AI-based assessment tool, which helps business owners decide whether an ESOP is right for them.<\/p>\n

State
\nBusinesses with an ESOP
\nActive Workers Covered by ESOPs
\nEmployer Stock Held by ESOPs<\/p>\n

New Jersey
\n110
\n535,186
\n$15.5 billion<\/p>\n

New York
\n288
\n556,495
\n$16.0 billion<\/p>\n

Pennsylvania
\n289
\n363,856
\n$16.4 billion<\/p>\n

*This table is current as of 2023, the last year for which federal data are available.<\/p>\n

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