Thinking of employee ownership on Labor Day

By Kyle Danzo
Greater Fort Wayne Business Weekly

A few years ago, I moved to Fort Wayne in search of a better life.

I found it. Yes, I am closer to family, and the cost of living is easier to handle than California, but that’s just the start.

Over the years, I moved from job to job, never quite landing in exactly the right spot. So, I was expecting more of the same when I started looking for a new job in Indiana.

But then a family friend mentioned there was an opening at Web Industries, a local manufacturer. He said it was a good place to work and encouraged me to apply. I got an interview and the HR rep told me Web is owned by its employees through an employee stock ownership plan, or ESOP. I had never heard of an ESOP, but the interviewer explained it’s a retirement plan that allows companies to share ownership with workers. As the business grows, employees’ personal ESOP accounts do too.

I got the job, and, from the start, it was like no job I’d ever had. This Labor Day, I’m sharing my story as an example of what a job can be like when you have a voice at work. Yes, there are amazing financial benefits. I’m growing my ESOP account just by coming to work. It’s money I’m putting away for retirement without contributing a penny.

But perhaps even more than the financial benefit is the way being an employee owner makes you feel. Going to work usually feels like you are there to help someone else, but at an employee-owned company like Web, the experience is very different. We are there to make our fellow owners’ lives better now and in the future.

My job title is lead quality technician, but I am also a lead member of the “Ideas Board,” a committee of other employee owners charged with improving the workplace.

People submit their ideas to improve the plant. Some of them are small like I need a water bottle holder at my station, or a step stool to make a task easier, but more often than not the proposals lead to significant improvements — changes possible only when workers have agency over their everyday conditions.

I am most proud of one of the bigger changes the Ideas Board implemented. At my factory, we make spools of industrial equipment like cabling. We bought a new machine for a very specialized product about a year ago. After working on the new machine, one of the operators asked if we could install a crane system to help lift the product onto pallets. Within two weeks, we had a massive crane to help them. Without the crane, someone would have to lift a nearly 50-pound spool every minute. The new system was an investment, but it has led to fewer injuries, and it’s better for the operators’ health.

You hear about high injury rates in manufacturing and industrial workplaces. That usually means the company thinks of workers as just a number. At Web our mindset is completely different because we all own the company. Investments like the crane system are better for us, but they are also better for our clients. We consistently meet our targets with fewer injuries. Studies show that ESOPs generally have fewer workplace safety incidents than non-ESOPs, with one showing a decline of as much as 13%.

Since we’re all owners, there is a level of transparency and respect that my colleagues expect and share with everyone regardless of title or rank. Everyone has a say. Everyone’s word means something. I know that if I wanted to talk to the CEO, I could.

ESOPs can provide more hope, but there are only 194 in Indiana, according to the National Center for Employee Ownership. That might sound like a lot, but it represents only about 5.2% of Indiana’s workforce. More people should have access to ESOPs, which is why I’m excited to add my voice to the efforts of Expanding ESOPs, a growing coalition of nearly 100 organizations, including Web, working to dramatically expand employee ownership in Indiana and across the country. Also here in Indiana, the Indiana Center for Employee Ownership is educating business owners about employee ownership and its benefits.

As we celebrate Labor Day, I’ve been thinking about how lucky I am to have arrived in Fort Wayne and found employee ownership. I am here for the long haul. While I know I have many years to go before I hit retirement age, I am excited to come to work every day. Let’s commit to making sure every worker in America feels that way.