Re: Request for $1.5 million to fund the Employee Ownership Hub within the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development.

California Legislative Budget Leadership

The Worker-Owned Recovery California (WORC) Coalition needs your help in asking the State of California to invest in employee ownership!

We at the WORC Coalition ask that you sign on to the letter below to ask the State of California to invest in worker ownership now, to the benefit of workers, small businesses, and local economies!


Dear California budget leaders:

The undersigned organizations respectfully request your support for an investment of $1.5 million ($500,000 per year for three years) to fund the Employee Ownership Hub within the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz). When employees become owners, this creates opportunities for wealth building, community stability, union partnerships and other benefits and helps California create a more inclusive, equitable and stable economy fit for the 21st century.

The Employee Ownership Hub was created with unanimous bipartisan support through SB 1407 (Becker, 2022), the California Employee Ownership Act. The California Office of the Small Business Advocate (CalOSBA), the division of GO-Biz that will house the Employee Ownership Hub, cannot implement the Act without an initial small budget allocation to fund the Hub Manager position and essential programming for the first three years. To fully realize the intent of the Act, a higher level of funding will be needed in the future, but CalOSBA has indicated that this year’s modest request can be catalytic in facilitating the launch of the Hub, which is urgently needed and will generate positive financial returns for our state (for example, by retaining jobs during recessions).

As numerous studies have shown, the benefits of employee ownership include stronger business performance, quality jobs and wealth building opportunities for workers, and stronger and more resilient local economies. California has more employee-owned businesses than any other state in spite of limited resources. The modest funds requested here are critical for expanding and maximizing the benefits of employee ownership for California workers, businesses, and communities.




To: California Legislative Budget Leadership
From: [Your Name]

RE: Request for $1.5 million to fund the recently-established Employee Ownership Hub within the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development.

The Worker-Owned Recovery California (WORC) Coalition needs your help in asking the State of California to invest in employee ownership!

We at the WORC Coalition ask that you sign on to the letter below to ask the State of California to invest in worker ownership now, to the benefit of workers, small businesses, and local economies!

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Dear California budget leaders:

The undersigned organizations respectfully request your support for an investment of $1.5 million ($500,000 per year for three years) to fund the Employee Ownership Hub within the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz). When employees become owners, this creates opportunities for wealth building, community stability, union partnerships and other benefits and helps California create a more inclusive, equitable and stable economy fit for the 21st century.

The Employee Ownership Hub was created with unanimous bipartisan support through SB 1407 (Becker, 2022), the California Employee Ownership Act. The California Office of the Small Business Advocate (CalOSBA), the division of GO-Biz that will house the Employee Ownership Hub, cannot implement the Act without an initial small budget allocation to fund the Hub Manager position and essential programming for the first three years. To fully realize the intent of the Act, a higher level of funding will be needed in the future, but CalOSBA has indicated that this year’s modest request can be catalytic in facilitating the launch of the Hub, which is urgently needed and will generate positive financial returns for our state (for example, by retaining jobs during recessions).

As numerous studies have shown, the benefits of employee ownership include stronger business performance, quality jobs and wealth building opportunities for workers, and stronger and more resilient local economies. California has more employee-owned businesses than any other state in spite of limited resources. The modest funds requested here are critical for expanding and maximizing the benefits of employee ownership for California workers, businesses, and communities.