These Companies Embrace Independence With Employee Ownership

It may surprise some to learn that more than 10 million U.S. workers own a piece of their employers. Employee-owned companies paid out more than $175 billion to their teams in 2021, the most recent year for which data is available. 

Sometimes criticized as "not quite capitalism," employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) are picking up steam as a way to center companies around core values and worker wellbeing, rather than the pressure of external stakeholders. As the U.S. lights up our fireworks and lets our flags fly for the 4th of July holiday, we're saluting just a few of the employee-owned companies that took a chance on independence and reaped the rewards.

WinCo Foods

Headquartered in Idaho, budget supermarket chain WinCo Foods operates around 140 stores in Western states including California, Oregon, Washington, Texas and Nevada. With a staff of more than 20,000, it's also one of the largest employee-owned companies in the United States. 

If you thought the size of WinCo's workforce would mean employees only get a few bucks a year from their stake in the company, you'd be wrong. The online magazine Strixus published a boldly headlined profile of the company back in 2022 — "How WinCo Foods Turns Its Employees Into Millionaires" — and the stories it reported are striking. One employee named Cathy indeed amassed over $1 million in WinCo stock after working on the shop floor from the ages of 19 to 42. Though she could afford to retire, she told the publication she planned to keep working at WinCo for at least another decade. 

The company says the value of employee shares increased by an average 18 percent compounded annually since its ESOP in 1986. "That means an employee who received a company contribution of $5,000 worth of stock in 1986 now has stock worth almost $863,000 from that one year alone," WinCo's website reads. 

Along with stake in the company, WinCo offers resources like manager apprenticeship programs, free online training courses, and tuition assistance for local community colleges to help employees grow in their careers. “WinCo’s employee owners are our greatest business asset and our most potent resource for growth," a message from CEO Grant Haag on the career page of WinCo's website reads. "We want smart, motivated people who want to work hard, own the company and take us into the future.”

Black & Veatch

Black & Veatch is a global consulting, engineering and construction company that specializes in infrastructure, and it's entirely employee-owned. With more than 7,000 employee-owners, Black & Veatch has one of the largest ESOPs in the U.S.

The value of employee shares grow with the company, offering a significant opportunity for long-term wealth. Black & Veatch also provides free financial planning services for employees, along with career development and continuing education programs, wellness benefits, and volunteer matching. 

Operating under the mantra #WeOwnIt, Black & Veatch says it sees employee ownership as a way to ensure the company will continue to grow as a business while staying true to its values around community and the environment. The Black & Veatch Foundation, which is powered by gifts from the company and its employees, has donated more than $20 million to nonprofits focused on humanitarian aid, economic empowerment, and science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education, and the company is a leading donor in its hometown of Kansas City, Kansas. 

"When each of our professionals think and act like owners, they make smart decisions that drive our business forward, enrich their careers and sharpen our focus on doing the best work we can for our clients,” Steve Edwards, Black & Veatch chairman and chief executive officer emeritus, said in a statement when the company celebrated 20 years of employee ownership back in 2019. 

King Arthur Baking

With roots tracing back to 1790, King Arthur Baking is a favorite of fans across the U.S. for flours, baking ingredients and cookware — and some may have noticed the brand's signature red and blue packaging proudly proclaims, "100% Employee-Owned."

"As employee-owners, we're not beholden to outside shareholders who care only about the bottom line," the company's website reads. "We have the freedom to emphasize other values, like social and environmental responsibility, and the wellness and satisfaction of our employees." 

The company emphasizes a "culture of belonging" and offers impressive benefits like wellness incentives, donation gift-matching to nonprofits, and 40 hours of paid time off each year to volunteer. King Arthur also supports dozens of nonprofits and community groups focused on food access, sustainable agriculture, and helping young people of all backgrounds find fulfilling jobs in the food and agriculture space. Its free outreach program Bake for Good teaches K-12 students science and math skills through baking bread, and it spreads "the power of baking" by sharing family recipes from different cultures on its website.

Along with doing good in the community, the brand is pursuing aggressive environmental targets around regenerative agriculture and renewable energy, along with a 30 percent cut in supply chain emissions by 2030. 

Recology

Fun fact: The waste management provider responsible for San Francisco's 80 percent recycling rate is also 100 percent employee-owned. The company pursues "a world without waste," providing waste collection, processing and recovery services to more than 2.5 million people in California, Oregon and Washington. 

Along with stake in the company, Recology's 3,600 employees receive supplemental retirement plans alongside their 401(K) or pension. The company also runs a volunteer program for employees, and its "Waste Zero teams" provide education and outreach in the communities Recology serves with the aim of driving sustainable behavior shifts that reduce waste.

Bob's Red Mill

Founded by Bob and Charlee Moore in 1978, Bob's Red Mill grew from a purveyor of flours and specialty grains to an impressive product lineup including all sorts of pantry staples beloved by shoppers across the U.S. 

On Bob's 81st birthday back in 2010, rather than receiving gifts, he decided to give his greatest gift away: his business. He surprised all of his employees by giving them ownership of Bob's Red Mill through an ESOP. The company crossed the milestone of becoming 100 percent employee-owned in 2020. 

"It was just the right thing to do," a statement from Bob on the company's website reads. "I have people that have worked with me for over 30 years, and each and every one of them deserve this." Bob passed away earlier this year at the age of 94, but his legacy lives on in the form of generational wealth opportunities for employees and a culture rooted in the company's purpose to "inspire joy with wholesome foods made with care and consideration."

That takes the form of sourcing fair trade ingredients, publicly disclosing its carbon footprint, donating to nonprofits, and founding an environmental restoration project in its hometown of Milwaukie, Oregon, among other efforts.