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Searching for the good in capitalism: an investigation of employee ownership

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Content SEARCHING FOR THE GOOD IN CAPITALISM:
AN INVESTIGATION OF EMPLOYEE OWNERSHIP
by
Adriane Julia Clomax
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
(SOCIAL WORK)
August 2024
Copyright 2024 Adriane Julia Clomax

ii
Dedication
To Vincent (VeeBee) Brown
"Don’t worry, I got my new computer.”

iii
Acknowledgments
Completing this Ph.D. program is an accomplishment I share with an army of people who
cheered from the sidelines while providing support, refuge, and love. I do not have the words to
adequately thank all of you properly for the phone calls, care packages, visits, dinners, brunches,
Beyonce concerts, Zoom study sessions, yoga classes, and tearful phone calls. I am incredibly
grateful for those I came into this journey with and those I picked up along the way.
First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my chair and mentor,
Dr. Michalle Mor Barak. Your unwavering support and guidance have been instrumental in my
academic growth. Under your tutelage, I have become a scholar and researcher and learned the
importance of community building and gracious leadership.
My heartfelt thanks go to the staff and faculty at the USC School of Social Work.
Malinda, you are the heart and soul of the school, and I am grateful for your kindness and
patience, especially when it came to keeping me on track. Dr. Michael Hurlburt, thank you for
advocating for all students and joining my dissertation committee. Dr. Carl Castro, you have
been an unofficial mentor to me. I am grateful for the opportunity to work with you on the ARI
project, which has opened numerous doors for me as a qualitative researcher. Dr. Sarah Kintzle,
your advocacy and support during my challenging qualifying exam were invaluable. I want to
thank Dr. Tom Valente for serving as an outside member of my committee and providing insights
into how I can improve my work.
Thank you to Dr. Daphne Berry, Dr. Tonya Smith Brice, Dr. Joesph Blasi, Dr. Adria
Scharf, Dr. Adrienne Eaton, Dr. Douglas Kruse, Dr. Robynn Cox, Melissa Hoover, and the
Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing for welcoming me to the
Institute and providing ongoing support.

iv
I have collected all the goodness in the world in my friend groups. Thank each one of you
for taking responsibility for me when life “was life-ing” and doing your best to keep me going.
To my mentors, Dr. Airies Davis, Dr. Marquitta Doresy, and Dr. Lanese Aggrey, thank you for
your support throughout this process, especially for being a role model and showing me what I
can be when I finally join your ranks. To my USC friends and my cohort, Graham, Leslie,
Jaiming, Jessinia, and Erika, thank you for creating a family environment between us. We all
made it through! Special thanks to Erika Salinas and the Salinas family for the extra love and
support ( AND THE SWORD!!). To Jessica Dodge, you went from classmate to coauthor to
friend. I appreciate you greatly. To Ronna Bandada, Lucinda Adjesiwor, and Meghana Nallajerla
for keeping the student support systems alive and well. I had the privilege of meeting and getting
to know a few people through this process. Thank you, Daphne Baldassari, for being so generous
with your time and resources and creating a safe space. To Valerie Gomez, thank you for seeing
me and reminding me of what I have to offer and that I am not alone. To the BKC Race, Tech,
and Media group, thank you for welcoming me and continuing to challenge me and broaden my
imagination. To Dr. Amber McKenzie, the Queen of Chicago, our work has just started, and I
look forward to what we accomplish next.
To my RPCV sisters: Ebonee Ragins, Samantha Adhikari, Yara Sulivan, and Dr. Laurenia
Mangum: We have shared many great times and struggled through the not-so-great times. Thank
you for constantly reminding me of the light at the end of the cave. To my AppShen sisters: This
group's combined love, support, and humor have kept me going when I did not think I would
finish. Thank you: Jasmine Brooks, Bibi Gnagno, Evelina Cousins, Keila Simons, Karla Renee
Williams, Francine Bailey Hall, and Ruthie Braithwaite—special thanks to Karla Renee Williams
and the entire Williams Family for their love and support. To Karla Renee: thank you for always

v
having my back and helping me understand why things are how they are—also, introducing me
to “Step-Brothers” in 4D. Thank you to Keila Simons and the Simons Family. To Keila: Thank
you for getting me through everything from bio-chem through my dissertation. To Amber
Knowles, thank you for always believing in me and seeing me better then I see myself.
To my D and D crew, Sejal Ghandi, Francine Bailey Hall, and Saira Shirazi: Thank you
for bringing me joy daily. You three make life more fun and colorful. First came Beyonce; I
cannot wait for Usher! Special thanks to Saira Shirazi and the entire Shirazi Family. Thank you
for always supporting, caring for, and loving me and my family. To Saira: thank you for being
one of my closest friends and most trusted confidants. To Fatima and Sadia, thank you for always
supporting and thinking of me. I hope Sleepy made you proud. To Sabina Ferrar Mullin, thank
you for being such a great friend. Thank you for always considering me, reminding me to take
care of myself, and making the decisions that need to be made. To Meredith Brooks, I have
admired you since the 9th grade. Thank you for being a great friend, no matter the distance.
To Alda and Tu, we have been engaging in shenanigans for a long time. Thank you for
showing up for me when I needed it most, whether on road trips, somewhere to live for the
summer, or helping me pack to move. To Kirsten Kraft: thank you for everything, especially
helping me make healthy choices when I just wanted to stay in bed. Thank you, Carly Baroh, for
holding space for me to be vulnerable on and off the mat. To Dr. Rhea White, Tee Lam, and
Danielle Hester: I am so proud of us! We have all come such a long way. Thank you for your
support during this time. Thank you, Ebony Campbell, you are a true class act. Thank you for
continuing to be my friend (even when it may not have been popular) and reminding me to
breathe. To Aneisha Dunmore, you are the best mentee. It has been a pleasure watching you
grow. Thank you for supporting me, especially when I was struggling.

vi
To Angela Ali, thank you for being the best therapist in the world. You were right about
everything. To Bria Reiley Dooley, thank you for having my back and providing reality checks
when needed. I appreciate your thoughtfulness and kindness.To April C. Walker, our friendship
means the world to me. You have pulled me off the cliff more than twice. Thank you for always
being honest with me and showing me what it looks like when you bet on yourself.
To my family: We have all been through so much in the past few years. Thank you to my
cousins: Jennifer Gates, Donald Gates, Anthony Kyte Jr., Lauren Kyte, Eddie Kyte Jr., Courtney
Kyte, Marrietta Williams, Jamilia Smalls, Kourtney Palomore, Sharod Smith, and Dr. Tiffany
Clomax. I love you all dearly. To my uncles Anthony Kyte Sr. and Hilrie Kyte. Thank you for
always being there and caring for me from the beginning. Thank you to my little brothers,
Malcolm Brown and Emery Clomax. To Malcolm, I am so proud of you and how far you have
come. I cannot wait to see what you do next. To Emery, keep being funny and continue to try
daring things. To my step-mother, Paulette Cleghorn, thank you for kindness and support. I
admire your joy and strength throughout all the ups and downs. Thank you for taking care of me
and keeping everything afloat.
Last but not least, I want to thank and send love to my mom, Addie Clomax. It had been
the two of us for most of my life. Thank you for your endless sacrifices so that I can be the
person I am today. Thank you for being a sounding board and contributing to my conclusion.
This dissertation is for you.
Finally, thank you to those who have gone on to ancestor status: my grandmother, my
aunt Anna, my father, John H. Clomax, and my stepdad, Vincent Brown.

vii
Table of Contents
Dedication ....................................................................................................................................... ii
Acknowledgments.......................................................................................................................... iii
List of Tables.................................................................................................................................. ix
List of Figures..................................................................................................................................x
Abstract ............................................................................................................................................1
Chapter 1: Introduction and Conceptual Framework.......................................................................2
Literature Review.......................................................................................................................7
ESOPs and Cooperatives......................................................................................................7
EO and Inequality.................................................................................................................9
COVID-19..........................................................................................................................10
Introduction to Dissertation......................................................................................................11
Paper 1: Employee Ownership and the
Social Good Movement:
Health Care Cooperatives During COVID-19 ..................................................................11
Paper 2: Sorting and Homophily:
Are ESOP Jobs Accessible to Black Job Seekers?.............................................................12
Paper 3: Race, Inclusion, and Equity:
Do ESOP Jobs Deliver for Black Workers?.......................................................................12
Data Set ....................................................................................................................................13
The National Longitudinal
Study of Youth 1997...........................................................................................................13
Chapter 2: Employee Ownership and
the Promise of Being Inclusive and Democratic:
A Case for Social Good..................................................................................................................15
Introduction ..............................................................................................................................16
Literature Review.....................................................................................................................18
Introduction to Case Studies ..............................................................................................18
A Model of Worker-Owned Cooperatives..........................................................................21
Theoretical Framework: Organizational Justice.......................................................................22
Procedural Justice...............................................................................................................24
Interactional Justice............................................................................................................26
Distributive Justice.............................................................................................................28
Conclusion................................................................................................................................31
Implications for Social Work ...................................................................................................33
Chapter 3: Sorting and Homophily:
Are ESOP Jobs Accessible to Black Job Seekers?.........................................................................35
Introduction ..............................................................................................................................36
Literature Review.....................................................................................................................38

viii
Job Search Behaviors.........................................................................................................39
Social Capital as a Theoretical Framework..............................................................................42
Conceptual Model ....................................................................................................................43
Methods....................................................................................................................................45
Data and Methodology .......................................................................................................45
Descriptive Statistics..........................................................................................................46
Results......................................................................................................................................47
Discussion and Conclusion ......................................................................................................52
Limitations and Recommendations..........................................................................................53
Chapter 4: Race, Inclusion, and Equity:
Do ESOP Jobs Deliver for Black Workers?...................................................................................54
Introduction ..............................................................................................................................55
ESOPs and the COVID-19 Pandemic ......................................................................................57
Wages, Non-wage Benefits, and Race......................................................................................58
COVID-19 and Black Workers................................................................................................60
Theoretical Framework ............................................................................................................62
Conceptual Framework ............................................................................................................63
Data Set and Methodology.......................................................................................................65
Results......................................................................................................................................66
Discussion and Conclusion ......................................................................................................73
Limitations ...............................................................................................................................75
Chapter 5: Conclusion....................................................................................................................76
Summary ..................................................................................................................................76
Discussion ................................................................................................................................77
Conclusion................................................................................................................................78
Glossary..........................................................................................................................................83
References......................................................................................................................................83

ix
List of Tables
Table 1 Notable Legislation Passed in the 1960s............................................................................. 4
Table 2 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997- Round 20 (collected 2021-2022)
Demographics.................................................................................................................................13
Table 3 Table of Health Care Cooperatives....................................................................................20
Table 4 Economic Policy Institutes Table of Median Earnings for White and Black
Professionals Earnings 2017–2019 ................................................................................................42
Table 5 Descriptive Statistics for the Analytic Sample by Race and Gender (Means and
Standard Deviation)........................................................................................................................49
Table 6 Logistic Regression Models Estimating Informal Job Search Behaviors by Race and
Gender............................................................................................................................................50
Table 7 Logistic Regression Models Estimating Formal Job Search Behaviors by Race and
Gender............................................................................................................................................50
Table 8 Race, Gender, and Occupation ........................................................................................551
Table 10 Logistic Regression Estimates of Outcomes for ESOP and Non-ESOP workers by
Race and Gender ............................................................................................................................70
Table 11 Means of Descriptive Variables for ESOP and non-ESOP workers by Race and
Gender............................................................................................................................................71

x
List of Figures
Figure 1 Conceptual Framework of the Dissertation .....................................................................14
Figure 2 Model of Employee Ownership...................................................................................2222
Figure 3 Dimensions of Organizational Justice ............................................................................. 23
Figure 4: White workers will be more likely to utilize their personal network or informal
searches to find an ESOP job than Black workers .........................................................................44
Figure 5 Black workers will be more likely to use a combination of formal and informal job
search behaviors to find their ESOP job than White workers .......................................................44
Figure 6 Black workers will more likely find ESOP jobs in the occupations that Black
workers are most likely to work, and they will make lower wages compared to White ESOP
workers...........................................................................................................................................44
Figure 7 ESOP Expectation Prediction Framework (White Workers)...........................................63
Figure 8 Non-ESOP Expectation Prediction Framework (White Workers)...................................64
Figure 9 ESOP Expectation Prediction Framework (Black Workers) ...........................................64
Figure 10 Title Non= ESOP Expectation Prediction Framework (Black Workers).......................65

1
Abstract
Throughout history, employee-owned businesses have allowed marginalized workers to make
money. Companies that offer employee ownership allow workers to own a portion of their
company's profits and wages. Research has concluded that employee-owned companies and
organizations have seen a sizable reduction in the wealth gap between employers and employees;
nevertheless, questions remain about how Black workers are faring in businesses that offer
ESOPs. Due to racial injustices that date back to slavery, the income earnings gap between White
and Black workers has endured over decades. When compared across economic sectors and work
environments, Black workers tend to stall in jobs that pay lower wages at a greater rate than their
White counterparts. This dissertation investigates employee-ownership outcomes during the
2020-2021 COVID-19 pandemic. The first essay is a conceptual paper about worker-owned
cooperatives in the health field and how employee ownership can provide a social good. The
second and third papers use data from the US Department of Labor to investigate the
accessibility and stability of ESOP jobs. This paper finds that White ESOP workers are more
likely to find their jobs through their friends and family, and Black ESOP workers are more
likely to hold occupations that pay less than the occupations that White ESOP workers hold. The
third paper finds that millennial ESOP workers experienced more favorable outcomes during the
COVID-19 pandemic than non-ESOP millennial workers. Nevertheless, the income gap between
White and Black ESOP workers persists. In conclusion, employee ownership provides higher
wages and more favorable benefits, but employee-owned businesses have to address the
organizational mechanisms that cause inequalities.

2
Chapter 1: Introduction and Conceptual Framework
The racial wealth gap between Black and White workers directly results from “three tiers
of injustice … slavery, Jim Crow, and ongoing racial inequality and racism” (Darity & Mullen,
2022, p. 28).
Supporters and critics of employee ownership (EO) have referred to it as “capitalism
done right” or “a solution when markets fail” (Kroncke, 2017; Reibstein & Hanson, 2023).
Employee-owned firms, companies, and organizations are democratic, giving employees a say in
day-to-day operations. Broad-based EO refers to a business model where employees can earn a
share of the company’s profits by complete ownership or through shares gifted by the company
(Boguslaw & Brice, 2022). Two forms of EO, ESOPs and worker-owned cooperatives, offer
employees competitive wages, profit sharing, and capital gains. Employee-owned businesses
have given women, formerly incarcerated, and workers of color autonomy and professional and
personal growth opportunities (Cox, 2020; Weissbourd et al., 2021). Workplaces encouraging
worker participation allow for more collaboration, leading to greater job satisfaction. Also, EO is
tied to increased workers’ engagement as they align their economic interests with the
performance of the business (Kruse, 2022). Employee ownership allows workers to dictate
workplace culture and goals, creating an environment where workers receive more work-related
training, scheduling flexibility, and worker safety protocols (Kruse, 2022; Mygind & Poulsen,
2021).
Employee ownership has a history of providing opportunities for Black workers when
race determines their value in the labor market (Nembhard, 2004, 2023). After the Civil War and
emancipation, Black workers established, owned, and operated worker-owned cooperatives to
protect their jobs against working-class White workers who feared that Black workers would

3
take all their business (Darity & Mullen, 2022; Nembhard, 2004). Worker-owned cooperatives
allowed Black workers to participate in the capitalistic parts of society when policies and laws
did little to protect them from violence and discrimination, which is an example where society
dictated the terms of capitalism, which excluded Black workers (Darity & Mullen, 2022;
Lavalley & Johnson, 2022; Nembhard, 2023).
The systemic and structural policies that influence inequality in the United States have
existed since colonial times (Lavalley & Johnson, 2022; Ralph & Singhal, 2019). For example,
in the decades after the end of slavery and the Civil War, the United States rebuilt itself, partly
with government policies and social structures that used race and ethnicity to determine who was
eligible for rights and protections as American citizens (Lavalley & Johnson, 2022; Logan &
Temin, 2020). Laws that governed voting, wages, buying property, and getting an education did
not include rights for non-White people or citizens at the bottom of the racial hierarchy until the
1960s (Craemer et al., 2020; Darity & Mullen, 2022; Derenoncourt et al., 2022). The upper class
established the racial hierarchy during colonial times to control the people they felt were of a
lower class (Lavalley & Johnson, 2022; Ralph & Singhal, 2019). During this time, the term
“race” was used to distinguish wealthy people from Europe who were labeled as “White”
(Lavalley & Johnson, 2022). Anyone who did not fit this description was excluded from
participating in high society (Lavalley & Johnson, 2022).
In time, southern enslavers used race to justify slavery because enslaved Africans were at
the bottom of the racial hierarchy (Lavalley & Johnson, 2022). The racial hierarchy was
convenient when other immigrant groups came to America because as new immigrants
assimilated, they would also participate in racial divisions, which was ideal for White people
(Darity & Mullen, 2022; Piketty & Goldhammer, 2020). After all, it deterred groups from

4
organizing with Black people and revolting against the ruling class (Darity & Mullen, 2022;
Lavalley & Johnson, 2022; Piketty & Goldhammer, 2020).
In the 1960s, several policies by the government had an enduring effect on the wages and
wealth of Black workers: The Civil Rights Act of 1964, The Voting Rights Act of 1965, and The
Fair Housing Act of 1968 (Table 1; Darity & Mullen, 2022; Derenoncourt et al., 2022; Piketty &
Goldhammer, 2020). These policies allowed Black workers to earn decent wages, buy homes,
and get an education. The law that played a significant role in Black workers’ economic gains at
this time was the 1966 Fair Labor Standards Act, which gave Black workers access to minimum
wage coverage (Derenoncourt et al., 2020). Recent research has shown that the 1966 Fair Labor
Standards Act provided a minimum wage of $1 for jobs excluded from the New Deal legislation,
including jobs that employed over a third of Black workers (Derenoncourt et al., 2020). Over the
next 20 years, Black workers’ income grew faster than White workers’ income for the first time,
and the wealth gap decreased by 1.5% per year (Derenoncourt et al., 2020, 2022).
Table 1
Notable Legislation Passed in the 1960s
Legislation
(year passed)
Action
Civil Rights Act (1964) Prohibits employers from using race, gender, religion, or color when
making decisions about hiring, firing, or promotion (U.S.
Department of Labor, n.d.).
Voting Rights Act
(1965)
Ends discriminatory voting practices that kept non-White citizens
from exercising their legal right to vote (U.S. National Archives,
2021)
Fair Housing Act
(1968)
Prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, religion, nationality,
and ability from buying, renting, selling, and financing housing
(U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, n.d.)
Through the 1970s, Black workers saw their income grow 20% faster than White
workers, and with this income, they could save money and purchase homes (Kuhn et al., 2020).

5
Building equity through home ownership was the best way for Black workers to build wealth
until the 1980s. At that time, White workers began to invest in the stock market, earning capital
gains (Craemer et al., 2020; Derenoncourt et al., 2022). While most Black workers invested their
income in their homes, White workers supplemented their income with earned capital gains,
increasing their wealth and increasing the income and wealth gap between White and Black
workers (Craemer et al., 2020; Derenoncourt et al., 2022). This trend continued, and Black
workers currently make 17 cents for every White dollar, and capital gains account for about 70%
of the income of top-income earners (Derenoncourt et al., 2022).
If all things were equal (savings, income, and capital gains), Black workers would still
lag behind their White counterparts due to not being fairly compensated for slavery, income
inequality, and labor market discrimination (Craemer et al., 2020). There are widespread
misconceptions about the racial wealth gap and how Black Americans can close it (Darity et al.,
2018). “There are no actions that Black Americans can take unilaterally that will have that much
of an effect on reducing the racial wealth gap” (Darity et al., 2018, p. 4).
History has shown that policy interventions can benefit Black workers’ economic
outcomes. Research on the current minimum wage finds that Black workers are “significantly
more likely” to be paid less than a living wage than White workers (Derenoncourt et al., 2020,
p. 6). Reducing or eliminating the income gap will require federal policy change and changes to
how Americans earn income (Darity & Mullen, 2022; Derenoncourt et al., 2022). Workers
would have to earn higher wages and equity from their employers (Kruse, 2022). There are
several ideas and schools of thought on closing this gap, including financial reparations from the
government and redistributing land and stock so Black workers can earn more capital gains
(Craemer et al., 2020; Darity & Mullen, 2022; Derenoncourt et al., 2022).

6
Recently, the National Defense Authorization Act of 2021 encouraged the development
of ESOPs. Employee-owned companies offer ESOPs or retirement plans (Blasi et al., 2013; Cox,
2020; Kruse, 2022). Jared Bernstein, chair of the U.S. Council of Economic Advisers, said of
ESOPs, “I place ESOPs in context with various other policies that are intended to reduce
inequality, like minimum wages or job creation policies. I argue that ESOPs can reduce both
wealth and wage inequality” (Bernstein, 2016 p. 1).
In the spring of 2020, governments worldwide forced a work stoppage and required
workers to stay home to slow the spread of the disease. Workers in frontline jobs were required
to continue working, and workers in the lower-tiered frontline jobs experienced more job
precarity and exposure to the virus. Black women workers were at the highest risk of contracting
the COVID-19 virus (Duong et al., 2023). This dissertation consists of three essays focusing on
person-centered outcomes in EO during the 2020–2021 COVID-19 pandemic. The first essay is a
conceptual paper about worker-owned cooperatives as part of the social good movement in that
they create opportunities for small groups to start businesses. The second and third papers use
data from the U.S. Department of Labor to investigate the accessibility and stability of ESOP
jobs. The first essay will use job search behaviors to assess how ESOP workers find their jobs
and if higher-paying jobs are available to all workers. The third paper explores the working
conditions in an ESOP during the COVID-19 pandemic. If capitalism was wrong during
COVID-19, was EO correct? The aim is to discover whether EO can overcome systemic barriers
to success and create a work arrangement to overcome inequalities.

7
Literature Review
ESOPs and Cooperatives
Employee ownership in the United States is not a modern idea. George Washington, the
country’s first president, believed EO was necessary to combat inequality in the 13 colonies
(Blasi et al., 2018). A lawyer and economist, Louis Kelso brokered the first Employee Stock
Option Plan in 1956 (Blasi et al., 2013; Blasi et al., 2018; Swaine, 1993). Kelso wrote the
Capitalist Manifesto about worker capitalism and wealth redistribution (Swaine, 1993). He
claimed that socializing workers into the worker-owner role would reduce management-labor
conflict and increase productivity and growth. In 1956, the owner of the Peninsula Newspaper in
Palo Alto, California, was nearing retirement and did not have a succession plan. The
newspaper’s employees contacted Kelso to help them buy the newspaper without incurring a
large debt (Swaine, 1993). With Kelso’s help, the Peninsula employees could buy the newspaper
with a line of credit presented as an employee benefit plan (Swaine, 1993). Empowered by this
victory, Kelso took this idea to Senator Russell Long, who was the chairman of the U.S. Senate
Finance Committee (Blasi et al., 2018; Swaine, 1993). Long liked Kelso’s ideas of wealth
sharing and began promoting Kelso’s ideas to other senators and congresspeople.
The ERISA passed in 1974 solidified ESOPs as qualified retirement plans and made EO
easier to grant (Blasi et al., 2013; Blasi et al., 2018; Swaine, 1993). An organization, business, or
firm establishes trust by buying securities and stock from the company or its stakeholders (Blasi
et al., 2013; Blasi et al., 2018; Swaine, 1993). The trust reallocates the stock to employees’
accounts, and they can cash out when they retire or leave the organization (Blasi et al., 2013;
Blasi et al., 2018; Swaine, 1993). As of 2024, 6,500 ESOPs covered “14.7 million participants
and holding over $2.1 trillion in assets” (NCEO, 2023, p. 1). Businesses that offer ESOPs are in

8
several industries, including construction, manufacturing, and retail. As of October 2021, three of
the five largest businesses that offer ESOPs are supermarkets: Publix, WinCo Foods, and
Brookshire Brothers (NCEO, 2023). Also, companies that contract with the Department of
Defense and are ESOPs are eligible for follow-up contracts (NCEO, 2023).
Benjamin Franklin established the first cooperative business, a mutual fire insurance
company, in 1752 (Pitman, 2018). Throughout the 19th century, workers in several industries
established cooperatives, including agriculture and dairy (Pitman, 2018.). After the Civil War,
workers saw cooperatives as a way to protect their professional interests. The Alliance and the
Society of Equity worked diligently in the southern states to help farmers in debt. Jim Crow laws
prohibited Black farmers from joining The Alliance, so a separate chapter, the Colored Farmers’
National Alliance and Cooperative Union, was formed in 1886 (Pitman, 2018).
Jim Crow was a set of laws and policies that enforced racial segregation and
discrimination against Black Americans in the late 1800s (Lavalley & Johnson, 2022). These
laws barred Black Americans from schools, restaurants, public spaces, employment
opportunities, and housing designated for White citizens. They were segregated into their own
spaces with limited resources (Lavalley & Johnson, 2022; Nembhard, 2023). Scholar and civil
rights activist WEB Dubois argued that cooperatives are an exercise in “racial economic
cooperation” that would create a “group economy” that would empower Black citizens to have
some control over their income (Nembhard, 2004, p. 301). Cooperatives played a significant role
in Black Americans’ economic history, providing jobs, access to goods and services, and
bringing stability to segregated communities (Nembhard, 2004). These cooperatives provided
education, leadership training, economic security, and living wages to Black communities
(Nembhard, 2004). However, the lack of access to networks and economic resources presented

9
challenges and some failures; nevertheless, successful organizations were essential to the
development of Black Americans’ lives post-slavery (Nembhard, 2004; Pitman, 2018).
After the Great Depression, cooperatives played a major part in the New Deal legislation
to stabilize and set produce prices and provide financial support to farmers at the end of the
Great Depression (Pitman, 2018). Cooperatives were also part of the Rural Electrification Act of
1937, which brought electricity to rural areas. The 1960s and 70s brought in cooperatives that
aimed to make organic foods more accessible (Pittman, 2018).
EO and Inequality
Research shows that offering ESOPs can help reduce the wealth gap between employers
and employees (Weissbourd et al., 2021). However, it is important to note that companies with
ESOPs are not without flaws (Boguslaw & Schur, 2019; Weissbourd et al., 2021). Non-White
workers do not see the same growth in their ESOP accounts as their White counterparts
(Weissbourd et al., 2021). According to Weissbourd et al. (2021), Latinx and Black employees
who have ESOPs tend to have retirement savings that are 12 and three times higher, respectively,
compared to the national average. However, research by Boguslaw and Schur (2019) and
Boguslaw and Brice (2022) shows that women of color who work in ESOP jobs receive lower
pay than White ESOP workers. Carberry (2010) found that women and Black workers are less
likely to participate in the ESOP, which could result from occupational sorting when education,
tenure, and wages are constant. Due to the legal restraints on who can participate in the ESOP,
this disparity was most likely due to part-time employment (Carberry, 2010).
In their 2023 paper, Inequalities in Democratic Worker-Owned Firms by Gender, Race,
and Immigration Status: Evidence From the First National Survey of the Sector, Reibstein and
Hanson found that across sectors, women, women of color, and immigrants were making less in

10
wages than White men (Reibstein & Hanson Schlachter, 2023). They found that these disparities
extended to hours worked, participation in the cooperative, and autonomy levels (Reibstein &
Hanson Schlachter, 2023). Other authors have found that gender inequalities persist in workerowned cooperatives (Meyers, 2022)
COVID-19
In 2020, due to the spread of the COVID-19 virus, governments worldwide enforced
universal social distancing and shelter-in-place policies that had a catastrophic effect on the
American labor market. The work stoppage disproportionately affected Black workers (Fairlie et
al., 2020). Black women lost more jobs than any other group because they were more likely to be
employed in retail and service jobs than any other group (Holder et al., 2021). During the 2020–
2021 COVID-19 shutdown, the world experienced an unprecedented work stoppage (Fairlie et
al., 2020). Many workers lost their jobs as the COVID-19 public health crisis and worldwide
shutdown exposed job insecurity and underemployment as public health and economic issues (J.
O. Lee et al., 2021). During the height of the pandemic between January and August 2020,
employee-owned businesses were some of the first firms to supply their workers with protective
measures (Blasi et al., 2021). Only a third of employee-owned companies reported cutting
worker hours and were less likely to cut worker pay. Most notably, firms that offered ESOPs
were less likely to experience employment declines (Blasi et al., 2021). Workers attributed their
firm’s ability to respond quickly to the COVID-19 crisis to being employee-owned (Rodgers,
2021).
Cooperatives also displayed stability during the COVID-19 crisis (Billiet et al., 2021).
This stability is attributed to the high levels of trust between workers, which made quick

11
decision-making possible. Cooperatives could adapt their operations to meet the new demands of
their customers and depend on community partners for assistance(Billiet et al., 2021).
If inequalities in EO persist, does that negate their reputation as capitalism done right?
The three essays in this dissertation contribute to discussions on how broad-based EO can
promote economic inclusion for Black workers by identifying mechanisms that can create
inequality in employee-owned organizations. All workers should have access to good jobs. The
U.S. government defines “a good job” as one where workers of all levels are eligible to receive
full benefits and opportunities to be promoted; workers can start unions; workers are entitled to a
safe and healthy workplace; workers should feel included and respected; and workers should
earn a fair wage on a predictable timetable (U.S. Department of Commerce & U.S. Department
of Labor, 2022).
Introduction to Dissertation
While it is too early to assess the full extent of the effects of the COVID-19 global
pandemic, it is possible to investigate how employee-owned organizations remained stable while
keeping their workers employed. This dissertation investigates if employee-owned businesses
were more stable and offered their communities and employees options that improved over
conventional firms when some scholars decried that capitalism failed. The three papers will
focus on opportunity, stability, and access.
Paper 1: Employee Ownership and the Social Good Movement: Health Care Cooperatives
During COVID-19
Paper 1 is a conceptual paper that addresses the first theme, opportunity, using case
studies on home healthcare cooperatives during the COVID-19 health crisis to investigate if
worker-owned cooperatives provide a social good by providing high levels of professional care

12
to their clients while paying fair wages to their workers. Social good focuses on goods and
services that benefit the greater good (Garlington et al., 2020; Mor Barak, 2019). This paper will
use organizational justice theories as a guide to dissect how worker-owned cooperatives work,
allowing women of color to improve their pay, shape organizational culture, and do their jobs
under stable circumstances.
Paper 2: Sorting and Homophily: Are ESOP Jobs Accessible to Black Job Seekers?
The second paper presents a quantitative analysis addressing access to jobs that offer the
ESOP benefit, using data from the Department of Labor Studies to identify ESOP workers’ job
search behaviors to find formal or informal jobs. Formal activities include filling out resumes
and responding to job postings, while informal activities include contacting close friends and
family for information about employment opportunities. Social capital theory says social
relationships are valuable resources that can provide information about jobs and other important
opportunities. The findings suggest that White workers in ESOP jobs found out about their jobs
through family and friends. Black workers work in ESOP jobs in the same occupations where
Black workers are traditionally employed. These findings suggest that although ESOPs pay
more, they are not immune to occupational sorting.
Paper 3: Race, Inclusion, and Equity: Do ESOP Jobs Deliver for Black Workers?
The third paper used quantitative data from studies by the U.S. Department of Labor to
determine if ESOPs were more stable and offered better working conditions than the average
organization during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study used four variables (the likelihood of a
work stoppage, wages and benefits, and the likelihood of being diagnosed with COVID-19) to
determine whether working at an organization that offered an ESOP was worth the risk during
COVID-19. The findings show that organizations that offer an ESOP were less likely to

13
experience a work stoppage during the COVID-19 pandemic. Workers in these organizations
earned more wages and benefits than non-ESOP organizations.
Data Set
The National Longitudinal Study of Youth 1997
The NLSY97 is the ideal dataset to review this issue because it contains 19 waves of
survey data between 1997 and 2021 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, n.d.). In 1997, 8,984 male
and female youths ages 12-17 began the first round of surveys on several topics, including job
and labor outcomes, family background, education, military experiences, incarceration, family
characteristics, and health outcomes (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, n.d.). The second and third
papers will use data collected in round 20 of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997.
Round 20 is the most current round of data collection, collected between 2020 and 2022 (U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, n.d.). The participants were in their mid-30s to early 40s and had
been in the workforce for many years. There will be participants who have completed school,
gotten married, and had children, which are some variables that will be included in the dataset.
Table 2
National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997- Round 20 (Collected 2021–2022) Demographics
Round 20
Demographics
Total Non-Black,
non-Hispanic
Black,
non-Hispanic
Hispanic
or Latino
Mixed
6,713 3,375 1,863 1,419 56

14
Figure 1
Conceptual Framework of the Dissertation

15
Chapter 2: Employee Ownership and the Promise of Being Inclusive and Democratic: A
Case for Social Good
(Paper 1)
Abstract
This conceptual paper uses case studies on healthcare cooperatives during the COVID-19 health
crisis to investigate whether worker-owned cooperatives provide a social good by providing high
levels of professional care to their clients while paying fair wages to their workers. Social good
can encompass ideas, social movements, and initiatives that focus on social justice, community
development, fair access to resources, and the overall well-being of society (Garlington et al.,
2020; Mor Barak, 2019; Brimhall & Saastamoinen, 2020). It also has three dimensions, one
being diversity, inclusion, and equity. Using the organizational justice theories as a guide, this
paper dissects how worker-owned cooperatives allow women of color to improve their pay,
shape organizational culture, and do their jobs under stable circumstances. The findings suggest
that, with proper resources, marginalized populations can improve their circumstances while
employed in a worker-owned cooperative. However, the case studies also reveal that some
groups have more barriers to success than others.

16
Introduction
The goals and values of worker-owned cooperatives closely align with those of the social
good movement. Social good wants to advance the best interests of humankind (Garlington et al.,
2020; Mor Barak, 2020). Social good could be actions, initiatives, services, or programs that
promote the improvement and well-being of society, equal access to resources, and large-scale
impact or change (Brimhall & Saastamoinen, 2020; Garlington et al., 2020; Helu-Brown &
Barrio, 2020; Mor Barak, 2020). The social good movement aims to allocate resources to spur
collective action to create positive change and improve society (Garlington et al., 2020; Mor
Barak, 2020). The principles of social good are fairness, equity, inclusivity, and the promotion of
social change (Helu-Brown & Barrio, 2020; Mor Barak, 2019, 2020). A worker-owned
cooperative is a business, organization, or firm in which the employees combine their resources,
make decisions by voting, and are guided by cooperative principles (Gordon-Nembhard, 2023;
Reibstein & Hanson Schlachter, 2023; Schlachter & Prushinskaya, 2021).
According to the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA), the cooperative principles are
voluntary and open membership, democratic member control, member economic participation,
autonomy, independence, education, training, information, cooperation among cooperatives, and
concern for the community (ICA, n.d.; Gordon-Nembhard, 2023). Since the 1800s, workerowned cooperatives have been “collective economic enterprise” and “a strategy [that] promotes
comradery rather than competition; democratic engagement rather than hierarchical
management; full participation and membership rather than sole propriety; equity rather than
opportunity; and collective wealth rather than profit” (Gordon-Nembhard, 2023 p. 528). Worker
ownership with democratic control is attractive to marginalized groups because they have a say

17
in wages and organizational operations (Reibstein & Hanson Schlachter, 2023; Schlachter &
Prushinskaya, 2021).
In the 2022 paper, Gendering Platform Co-operative: The Rise of Women-owned Rider
Cooperatives in Brazil and Spain, Salvagni and colleagues reported on women-founded digital
cooperatives in Spain and Brazil. The interviewees said that the opportunity to start their
cooperative gave them economic freedom (Salvagni et al., 2022). Reibstein and Hanson
Schlachter (2023) reported that women and workers of color in U.S. cooperatives make between
$18 and $23 an hour (Reibstein & Hanson Schlachter, 2023). Nevertheless, the authors also
reported significant wage disparities across cooperatives (Reibstein & Hanson Schlachter, 2023).
Worker-owned cooperatives owned by White men earn more money than cooperatives run by
women and women of color (Reibstein & Hanson Schlachter, 2023). A domain of the social good
framework is diversity and inclusion (Mor Barak, 2019, 2020). The social good framework
recommends developing novel tools to promote social justice in organizations, including
considerations for individuals of all sexes, races, genders, and abilities to participate (Mor Barak,
2019, 2020).
This paper introduces a conceptual model of worker-owned cooperatives to investigate
whether they can provide a social good. Using the organizational justice theory, it analyzes case
studies on healthcare cooperatives in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. The
paper provides a conceptual model of worker-owned cooperatives’ processes and effects based
on the EO model (Pierce et al., 1991). The model is analyzed using the three components of
organizational justice: distributive, procedural, and interactive justice.

18
Literature Review
Worker-owned cooperatives are more than businesses; they are worker-owned
democratically controlled associations (Fairbairn, 2004). Cooperatives sell goods and services,
and the control is nested in the labor instead of the capital (Safri, 2020). Workers in a
cooperative own the organization, which requires full participation in decision-making,
management structures, and profit distribution (Safri, 2020). Worker-owned cooperatives want to
create a more ethical and democratic organization that prioritizes the well-being of the workers
and community (Haynes & Nembhard, 1999; Safri, 2020; Sutton, 2019). They have been
concentrated in sectors like agriculture, fishing, and professional services and have been known
to remain stable during economic downturns (Cheney et al., 2014).
Cooperatives first emerged in the 19th century as a way for farmers to protect themselves
from labor exploitation (Haynes & Nembhard, 1999; Pitman, 2018; Sutton, 2019). At the height
of segregation, Black farmers formed the Colored Farmers’ National Alliance and Cooperative
Union, which promoted economic freedom and protection from violence and exploitation by
White farmers (Gordon-Nembhard, 2023). Cooperatives were a means for Black workers to
create dignified working conditions and to participate in the economy (Sutton, 2019). As of
2018, there were 415 worker-owned cooperatives in the United States, employing 6,454 workers
and grossing over 5 million annually (Schlachter & Prushinskaya, 2021).
Introduction to Case Studies
The case studies came from the 2023 book Just Health: Case Studies of Worker
Cooperatives in Health and Care Sectors by Minsun and colleagues. The research team
conducted semi-structured interviews between December 2021 and June 2022 with healthcare
cooperatives across the United States. This study featured nine organizations; one organization

19
consisted of five cooperatives (Table 3; Minsun et al., 2023). The case studies focus on how
these cooperatives governed themselves and organized (Minsun et al., 2023). The organizations
varied in size and structure but had several commonalities (Minsun et al., 2023). First, they all
paid worker-owners at or over market rate for their services. Marginalized workers reported
feeling safe and included in the workplace. Community relationships are imperative to
organization stability, and they all use the “one person, one vote” rule (Minsun et al., 2023).

20
Table 3
Table of Health Care Cooperatives
Cooperative Founded Location Hourly Membership Worker Demo Revenue Members/
wages requirements (2021–2022) workers
Golden 2011 Brooklyn, NY 22-25 $100 monthly Immigrant 6/6
Steps fee women
Five 2009, 2016, Bellingham, Port $19–20 Varies Low-income $25k–300k 74 members/96
Washing Home Ca 2018, 2020, Townsend, caregivers workers
Co-ops: Circle of 2021 Olympia, Port combined
Life Peninsula Angeles, across the five
Capital, Ridgeline Anacortes in cooperatives
Heartsong Wash.
PT360 2012 Four sites in $17–48 Pay member Physical undisclosed 18/36
Chittenden Share Therapists
County, Vt.
Alliance 2018 Queens and $40 No buy-in Social $220K 6/6
Collective Brooklyn, Workers and
N.Y. Therapists
CHCA 1981 Bronx, N.Y. $20 $1000 a share Low-income 56.9M 800/1,800
caregivers
Note. From Just Health: Case Studies of Worker Cooperatives in Health and Care Sectors by J. Minsun, C. Kerr, S. Pinto, A. Scharf,
& A. Eaton, 2023, p. 16. Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing. (https://cleo.rutgers.edu/articles/justhealth-case-studies-of-worker-cooperatives-in-health-and-care-sectors/)

21
A Model of Worker-Owned Cooperatives
Understanding the construct of worker-owned cooperatives is essential to understanding its
alignment with the social good movement. Worker-owned cooperatives are more likely to reduce
the pay gap between the highest-paid and the lowest-paid workers (Schlachter & Prushinskaya,
2021). They also provide dignified jobs and participate in community building and civic duties
(Schlachter & Prushinskaya, 2021). The literature illustrates that EO requires a solid
organizational culture, psychological ownership, and organizational commitment (Pierce &
Jussila, 2010). Workers develop their ownership identities once they establish themselves in the
organizational community (Pierce et al., 1991). Psychological ownership develops a group level,
meaning employees believe that the organization is collectively theirs (Pierce & Jussila, 2010).
The original model focuses on how relationships are at the core of the worker-ownership
experience (Pierce et al., 1991). The model in this paper focuses on fairness and organizational
commitment as drivers of worker-owned cooperative success.

22
Figure 2
Model of Employee Ownership
Theoretical Framework: Organizational Justice
Organizational justice is a multi-dimensional theory defined as the perception of fairness
in the workplace (Akram et al., 2020; Le et al., 2020; Yean & Yusof, 2016). High levels of
organizational justice result in increased job performance, trust between workers, and
organizational citizen behavior (Yean & Yusof, 2016). There are three dimensions: interactional,
procedural, and distributive (Figure 3). In the literature, procedural justice occurs when
employees perceive the organization’s policies and procedures as fair (Yean & Yusof, 2016). In a

23
worker-owned cooperative, the members set the policies and procedures and can vote and change
them if needed (Schlachter & Prushinskaya, 2021). In the context of worker ownership,
interactional justice is when employees perceive they receive respectful treatment at work
(interpersonal) and have access to crucial organizational information (informational; Yean &
Yusof, 2016). The theory of interactional justice has two parts: perception of respect and access
to critical organizational information, which also psychologically affects the process of feeling
like an owner (Pierce & Jussila, 2010; Yean & Yusof, 2016). Distributive justice is the
perception that allocating resources, financial rewards, and assets is fair (Yean & Yusof, 2016).
Member economic participation is a cooperative principle and a priority in a worker-owned
cooperative.
Figure 3: The Dimensions of Organizational Justice
Ref for Figure 3: (Akram et al., 2020; Sun et al., 2022; Yean & Yusof, 2016; Bilal et al.,
2015; Gimenes et al., 2022)

24
Below is the explanation of the propositions outlined by the dimensions of organizational justice.
Procedural Justice
Procedural justice is the perception of fairness in an organization (Sun et al., 2022; Yean
& Yusof, 2016). In a cooperative, procedural justice requires transparency policies, opportunities
for worker-owner voice, and shared decision-making responsibilities (Sun et al., 2022).
Adherence to these policies increases trust between workers and the expectation that all workers
will follow the rules. Procedural justice is the foundation of the organizational culture in a
worker-owned cooperative. Organizational culture is the shared values, beliefs, and behaviors
that shape workplace policies and work attitudes (Mor Barak, 2022; Mor Barak et al., 2022;
Mujanah et al., 2019). In worker-owned cooperatives, the organizational culture is a mindset that
the worker-owners share, and it dictates the way they interact with each other and the community
(Mujanah et al., 2019). The organizational culture is the cooperative’s identity (Mujanah et al.,
2019).
Proposition 1: The Cooperative Ownership Principles, along with the philosophy and
motivation of the worker-owners, will be the foundation of the organizational culture.
Proposition 2: Motivation to start the cooperative, membership requirements, worker-owner
expectations, and community expectations will likely significantly impact the organizational
culture in a work-owned cooperative.
Proposition 2b: The expectations of the Worker-owner are influenced by the motivation to
start the cooperative.
“Cooperation between cooperatives” is a cooperative principle, and it is the motto of the
five home health care cooperatives in Washington State (Scharf, 2023b). Each cooperative
(Circle of Life, Peninsula, Capital, Ridgeline, and Heartsong) serves communities in different

25
areas across the state (Scharf, 2023b). With the support of the Northwest Cooperative
Development Center, the five cooperatives support each other through one network of small
home healthcare cooperatives (Scharf, 2023b). By sharing caregivers to cover staffing shortages,
sharing resources, conducting training together, and engaging in strategic planning sessions,
these five cooperatives survived the challenges of COVID-19 and larger competitive
organizations (Scharf, 2023b). Most of their caregiver staff members are women working for
meager wages for larger chain organizations (Scharf, 2023b).
This model of sharing resources and not competing for market share has influenced the
five cooperatives and their organizational cultures. They are less competitive and more workercentered. The five cooperatives were started by women who were home care aides and did not
like the low pay and poor treatment in their former organizations (Scharf, 2023b). They felt
disillusioned from working for established chains that did not allow their employees to voice
concerns (Scharf, 2023b). The Ridgeline Homecare Cooperative has three well-established
competitors who offer signing bonuses to new caregivers (Scharf, 2023b). After working for the
competitors, caregivers often came to Ridgeline because they did not like the scheduling and the
pay (Scharf, 2023b). The caregivers say that the competition organizations do not care about the
workers (Scharf, 2023b).
The five cooperatives pay their caregivers between $19.50 and $20.00 an hour (Scharf,
2023b). Workers also receive profit payouts as patronage, which is excess business profit paid to
the worker-owners in years when the company makes a profit (Scharf, 2023b). Leaders in all five
cooperatives implemented a system for employee voice, and they have protocols to include
caregivers in decision-making (Scharf, 2023b). The Peninsula Homecare Cooperative involves
all cooperative members voting on all major organizational issues (Scharf, 2023b). At Capital

26
Home Health Care, membership is not optional. After an initial 6-month probationary period,
workers must apply to be members, and membership dues are $100 (four $25 stocks in the
agency) (Scharf, 2023b).
The social good framework examines how things are done and seeks ways to improve
those systems to serve the greater good (Mor Barak, 2020). The goal of the five cooperatives is
to model that there is enough work and workers for everyone. Working as a unit allows them to
share resources and provide better client service (Scharf, 2023b).
Interactional Justice
Interactional justice is the worker-owners perception of fairness in the interpersonal
interactions in the organization (Bilal et al., 2015; Gimenes et al., 2022; Yean & Yusof, 2016). In
cooperatives, interactional justice is essential in building mutual respect between worker-owners
because it requires open communication and constructive feedback and creates a safe
environment for information sharing (Gimenes et al., 2022). This level of trust can ultimately
lead to commitment between the worker-owners and the cooperative. There are conditions under
which “formal ownership leads to psychological ownership and an integration of the employeeowner into the ownership experience” (Pierce et al., 1991, pg 122). Workers develop their
ownership identities once they have established themselves in the organizational community
(Bilal et al., 2015; Pierce et al., 1991). The indicators of psychological ownership are feelings of
responsibility, control, and organizational commitment (Bilal et al., 2015; Pierce et al., 1991).
Organizational commitment is a sense of loyalty and attachment to the organization (Brimhall et
al., 2022; Mujanah et al., 2019). Organizational commitment is important for retention and job
satisfaction (Brimhall et al., 2022; Mujanah et al., 2019).
Proposition 3: Psychological ownership is contingent upon the responsibilities of

27
membership, the level of trust the worker-owners have in each other.
Proposition 4: The level of psychological ownership that a member experiences in a
worker-owned cooperative positively affects organizational commitment.
The Golden Steps is a cooperative founded by immigrant women from South and Central
America (Pinto, 2023b). The founders struggled to find work due to a language barrier and rules
around employment and citizenship (Pinto, 2023b). Creating and providing community is a large
part of the organizational culture, even though it is difficult (Pinto, 2023b). During the COVID19 pandemic, Golden Steps lost members who left the cooperative to form another: Steady
Hands (Pinto, 2023b). The case study did not specify the reasons behind the split. However,
Gloden Steps struggled to provide training opportunities, consistent clientele, and other support
to their cooperative members (Pinto, 2023b).
Golden Steps is a democracy, referring to social interactions where individuals are
considered equal and, in doing so, share the responsibilities of values-driven decision-making
and authority (Frega, 2021). Democracy in the workplace increases workers’ wages and wealth
by allowing them to own a percentage of their organization (Schlachter & Prushinskaya, 2021).
The women who work at Golden Steps have many responsibilities to the cooperative, including
bi-monthly organizational meetings, smaller committee meetings, and some clerical work. These
commitments can be time-consuming, especially for members who have caregiving duties at
home.
The Golden Steps case study illustrates the need for research on infrastructure and
support for small cooperatives serving vulnerable populations. It can be inferred that the lack of
organizational foundation and staffing took its toll on the organization, and several members left.
Worker-owned cooperatives founded by women face many challenges, including a lack of

28
resources and financial support (Salvagni et al., 2022). They often have to charge more for their
services, which makes it challenging to attract and maintain customers (Salvagni et al., 2022)
Golden Steps is one of several worker-owned cooperatives providing domestic work for
immigrant women (Minsun et al., 2023). These cooperatives could be a catalyst in changing the
prospects for women who immigrate to the United States.
Distributive Justice
Distributive justice considers need, merit, and contribution when fairly distributing
resources and sometimes responsibility throughout the organization (Yean & Yusof, 2016).
Within the context of the community, distributive justice promotes equity and equality in the
world. In a cooperative, distributive justice focuses on how the worker-owners perceive the
fairness of the organizational outcomes and is a crucial element in maintaining trust and
cooperation between the worker-owners (Akram et al., 2020; Grimes et al., 2019; Yean & Yusof,
2016).
Proposition 5: Worker-owners’ commitment to the organization will result in positive
organizational outcomes.
PT360 is the largest privately owned physical therapy clinic in Vermont and the only
employee-owned physical therapy cooperative in the United States (Scharf, 2023c). The
organization offers several services, from orthopedic therapy to post-op and cancer patients
(Scharf, 2023c). It was started in 2010 by a group of 12 former co-workers. The group did not
like how their former employer compensated them for their work and the lack of flexibility in
their schedules (Scharf, 2023c). They established a worker-owned cooperative and strategically
staggered their exits (Scharf, 2023c). In its decade of business, PT360 has been turning a profit
and operates four facilities across Vermont (Scharf, 2023c). It has 36 employees, most of whom

29
are White and 18 of whom are owners (Scharf, 2023c). For the past five years, PT360 has paid
out patronage to its members. Including patronage, physical therapists make between $68,000
and $99,000 a year with complete benefits (Scharf, 2023c).
PT360 operates by the motto “Work hard, play harder.” (Scharf, 2023c). They encourage
a fun and friendly work environment where workers enjoy and are committed to their jobs
(Scharf, 2023c). PT360 is democratically governed and managed by hierarchy (Scharf, 2023c).
There is a president and clinic directors to manage the day-to-day issues (Scharf, 2023c).
Workers initiate and vote on policies and practices they want to change. PT360 is an example of
what is possible with support and financial support (Scharf, 2023c).
Proposition 6: In a worker-owned cooperative, organizational commitment is positively
related to community outcomes because, according to cooperative principles, the
community’s needs are equally important to the workers’ needs.
The Cooperative Home Care Associates (CHCA) is the largest worker-owned
cooperative in the United States (Pinto, 2023a). Established in 1985, most of the care workers at
CHCA are Black and Latina women (Pinto, 2023a). The CHCA has been lobbying for fair wages
and improved job quality for decades, carrying the banner of “quality jobs, quality care” as a call
to action for government agencies to improve payment schedules, training, and benefits for home
healthcare workers to address worker shortages (Pinto, 2023a). Over 90% of CHCA’s profits go
to payroll, but government reimbursement rates have stifled CHCA’s ability to raise their
employees’ wages (Pinto, 2023a).
Proposition 7: The personal outcomes of the worker-owners in a worker-owned
cooperative are positively related to their organizational commitment and psychological
ownership.

30
Proposition 7b: The personal outcomes of the worker-owners in a worker-owned
cooperative are influenced by the cooperative’s organizational outcomes.
The cooperative model has initiated changes in the field of social work (Scharf, 2023a).
The Alliance Collective in New York is a worker-owned clinical therapy cooperative owned by
six clinical social workers and therapists that is not hierarchical (Scharf, 2023a). The members
believe they created an organizational culture promoting trust and a shared vision (Scharf,
2023a). All organizational decisions are made by consensus (Scharf, 2023a). The members are
driven by the idea that no one is better or more important than anyone else in the organization.
Conflict is resolved by consensus, a decision that the worker-owners say has built trust between
the worker-owners—the collective consults between LCSWs and LMSWs in place of clinical
supervision (Scharf, 2023a). Collectively, the worker-owners are intentional about serving
working-class clients (Scharf, 2023a). The collective believes they can provide more
transparency with their patents, which translates to improved service delivery (Scharf, 2023a).
Before COVID-19, Alliance saw clients in person but has since switched to a telehealth
format (Scharf, 2023a). To remain autonomous from the state of New York and its strict laws
around health care providers and ownership, all owners are classified as contractors, except the
organization’s founder (Scharf, 2023a). The worker-owners are predominately women of color,
and there is no cost to purchase shares for membership (Scharf, 2023a). There is no prestige tied
to a job title. All employees make the same hourly pay of $40 an hour out of solidarity (Scharf,
2023a).
Social good encourages the implementation of new norms and organizational structures.
The social workers at Alliance believe they created a working environment closer to the values
and ideas that attracted them to social work. The Social Work Code of Ethics states that clients’

31
health and well-being come before profit (National Association of Social Workers, n.d.) The
social workers at Alliance say that their cooperative structure creates an environment where they
can service their clients authentically and align with their core values (Scharf, 2023a).
Conclusion
This paper aimed to use a model of processes and effects in a worker-owned cooperative
to investigate whether worker-owned cooperatives provide a social good. The case studies
revealed that worker-owned cooperatives could provide a social good if that is the goal. The
theoretical framework helps to illustrate that some worker-owned cooperatives in the case studies
can be strong in some areas and not as strong in others, particularly in giving back to the
community. The founders' motivations of the worker-owned cooperatives dictated the
organization's intentions. Individuals’ motivations for starting a worker-owned cooperative vary
widely.
Cooperatives in healthcare, especially home healthcare, can prioritize worker well-being
by providing fair wages, benefits, and predictable schedules (Berry & Bell, 2018). Women of
color disproportionately hold these jobs, and cooperatives work to redistribute wealth and
resources (Berry & Bell, 2018). In the case of home health care, distributive justice includes the
greater community. The five cooperatives in Washington were started because their founders
recognized a need for more home healthcare workers, but they wanted to create an organization
that treated workers with dignity (Minsun et al., 2023). The Golden Steps cooperative was
established out of necessity (Minsun et al., 2023). Women who immigrated from Central and
South America to New York City needed safe jobs with good wages (Minsun et al., 2023). To
operate, these cooperatives use community support and the small resources they can access
(Minsun et al., 2023).

32
On the other hand, PT360’s 12 founders started their cooperative with an initial
investment of $400,000 secured through their family, friends, and personal funding (Minsun et
al., 2023). They grew quickly and exemplify how worker-owned cooperatives can be profitable
and grow quickly (Minsun et al., 2023). In the case of PT360, the interelational goals weighted
more then the more social justice focus aims. The goals and intentions of the Golden Steps and
PT360 are different, so is it fair to say that one provides a social good and the other does not?
One domain of social good is diversity and inclusion, and prior research states that workerowned cooperatives are diverse and inclusive within organizations but not across organizations.
A factor in this disparity is access to resources.
The social good framework argues that society should focus on actions and initiatives
encouraging solidarity and promoting social change (Brimhall & Saastamoinen, 2020;
Garlington et al., 2020). The CHCA is an example of shifting resources to services that promote
community well-being. The CHCA was founded with an initial investment of $485,00 from the
Community Services Society of New York in 1985 (Minsun et al., 2023). It uses its social capital
to partner with union branches to offer dignified home healthcare jobs with decent wages at
scale, addresses social problems, and lobbies local and federal officials for a fairer distribution of
resources (Minsun et al., 2023). The social good movement calls for collective action to create
positive change and improve society (Garlington et al., 2020). The CHCA brought together
stakeholders to create a training program called PHI that also researches how to improve home
healthcare (Minsun et al., 2023). The CHCA exemplifies providing a social good with intention
while scaling up.

33
Implications for Social Work
There is an emerging opportunity to include cooperatives in social welfare research
(Peeters et al., 2019). Social workers can help organizations like CHCA and advocate for fair
resource distribution to start worker-owned cooperatives. They can help marginalized groups
access opportunities to start worker-owned companies (Boguslaw & Brice, 2022). Using the
social good framework, the field of social work can create a positive social impact by studying
the history of cooperatives and how they are a vehicle for women of color to gain economic
agency (Berry & Bell, 2018). In the 2020 paper, The Practice and Science of Social Good:
Emerging Paths to Positive Social Impact, Mor Barak emphasized that social work research
should use the social good framework to address social problems and find novel solutions
emphasizing social justice (Mor Barak, 2019). The Golden Steps case study touches on many
social work issues, including immigration, fair wages and working conditions, elder care, and
community support (Minsun et al., 2023). The organizational struggles that Golden Steps
incurred are ripe for social justice research to further the knowledge in the field and assist an
organization that tends to older adults’ well-being.
Cities are designating funding to support worker cooperatives (Sutton, 2019). Top-down
mandates, including laws and resolutions, also encourage the development of cooperatives
(Sutton, 2019). Since the end of the Civil War, cooperatives have provided communities with
opportunities to create their financial realities, creating social good. As the world moves on from
the post-COVID-19 recession, there is an opportunity to develop these ideas further and create a
fairer society. Worker cooperatives have a code of ethics but no predetermined form, which
makes them malleable to the needs of different cultures and communities (Safri, 2020). Workerowned cooperatives are not perfect. There are gender and racial inequalities, some of which this

34
paper discussed (Meyers, 2022; Reibstein & Hanson Schlachter, 2023). Therefore, further
research is needed to identify the mechanisms perpetuating these inequities and how to overcome
them (Meyers, 2022; Reibstein & Hanson Schlachter, 2023). Together, social work and social
good can open new avenues to promote social justice by studying worker cooperatives and how
they can lead to economic justice.

35
Chapter 3: Sorting and Homophily: Are ESOP Jobs Accessible to Black Job Seekers?
(Paper 2)
Paper 2 is a quantitative paper that addresses the second theme of EO, access, by using
data from the Department of Labor Studies to identify ESOP workers’ job search behaviors to
find their jobs: formal or informal. Formal activities include filling out resumes and responding
to job postings, while informal activities include contacting close friends and family for
information about employment opportunities. Social capital theory says social relationships are
valuable resources that can provide information about jobs and other important opportunities.
The findings suggest that White workers in ESOP jobs found out about their jobs through family
and friends. Black workers are employed in ESOP jobs that are in the same occupations where
Black workers are traditionally employed. These findings suggest that although ESOPs pay
more, they are not immune to occupational sorting.

36
Introduction
A person’s behavior in finding a job can impact their job quality and starting wages (Bae
& Mowbray, 2019). Research shows that information about jobs with higher pay and prestige is
often transmitted through social networks or connections that can be measured (weak or strong)
between people (Erickson, 2017; Fryczyńska & Ivanova, 2019; Valente, 2010). Social Networks
are “measured and defined as connections among people, organizations, political entities, and/or
other units” (Valente, 2010, p. 3). Social networks influence behavior and measure “who knows
who or who is communicating with whom” (Valente, 2010, p. 4). Social network strength is a
measure of social capital (Fryczyńska & Ivanova, 2019). Social capital is a person’s connections,
relationships, and social networks that can provide valuable information about job openings and
prospects. Workers who use more formal job search behaviors like sending out resumes and
replying to online postings tend to have weaker social capital and are likelier to have a more
prolonged job search and land jobs that pay less (Van Hooft et al., 2021). Workers with more
robust social capital and who utilized informal job search behaviors, meaning they found
employment by contacting friends, family, someone who works at the organization, or college
networks, are more likely to have a shorter job search and obtain jobs that pay more (Pedulla &
Mueller-Gastell, 2019; Van Hooft et al., 2021).
Millennial workers, born between 1981 and 1996, are currently the largest working
generation and perceive a lack of good jobs available (Bae & Mowbray, 2019; Gale et al., 2022;
Wingfield, 2021). In 2022, the Departments of Labor and Commerce released The Good Job
Principles, which are a list of elements that make up a good job (The Department of Commerce
& The Department of Labor, 2022). A few of these elements are actively recruiting applicants
from underserved communities and evaluating them without bias or discrimination, providing

37
complete and part-time workers with benefits (health insurance, retirement plan, and workfamily benefits), a commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in the
organization, job security and safe working conditions, inclusive organizational culture, stable
and predictable living wages, and to provide skills and career advancement (The Department of
Commerce & The Department of Labor, 2022). Millennial workers perceive these jobs as more
challenging to find and secure (Wingfield, 2021).
Scholars have pointed out that jobs that offer ESOPs are good jobs (Boguslaw & Brice,
2022, 2022; Boguslaw & Schur, 2019; Boguslaw & Taghvai-Soroui, 2018; Weissbourd et al.,
2021; Wiefek et al., 2019). ESOPs allow companies to use tax credits provided by the
government to purchase business shares (assets) for their employees (Boguslaw & Schur, 2019;
Cox, 2020; Weissbourd et al., 2021; Wiefek, 2017). Companies allocate the shares to their
employees based on several factors, including job responsibilities, hourly income, and tenure
over time (Bernstein, 2016; Carberry, 2010). ESOP jobs are more reliable, pay higher income,
offer robust benefits, and report low employee turnover (Blasi et al., 2013; Blasi et al., 2017;
Kruse, 2022; Kurtulus & Kruse, 2018; Weissbourd et al., 2021).
However, studies that focus on ESOPs and inequalities come to similar conclusions: nonWhite ESOP employees continue to lag behind White ESOP employees regarding wages and job
prestige. (Boguslaw & Schur, 2019; Boguslaw & Taghvai-Soroui, 2018; Carberry, 2010).
Homophily and social networks affect job search behaviors and job quality (Fang & Saks, 2021;
Fang & Tilcsik, 2022; Kossinets & Watts, 2009). One theory in the literature for this disparity is
that women and workers of color are sorted into lower-paying ESOP jobs (Boguslaw & Schur,
2019; Carberry, 2010). Findings from the literature on job or occupational sorting report several
reasons for this phenomenon, including social class (Fang & Saks, 2021; Fang & Tilcsik, 2022),

38
race, gender (Darity et al., 2015; Penner, 2008), and educational communities (Kossinets &
Watts, 2009).
This paper used a national database to investigate how ESOP workers learned about their
jobs. The goal of this inquiry was to identify the impact of informal job search behaviors, social
networks, and social capital on finding an ESOP job.
Literature Review
In the 2016 paper Who Benefits from Shared Capitalism, Carberry reports that women
and workers of color are less likely to hold management positions and are more likely to
experience “close supervision” (Carberry, 2010, p. 343). The study results showed that the
disparity in earnings between White workers and non-White workers in businesses that offer
ESOP could “stem from existing mechanisms of occupational segregation” (Carberry, 2010, p.
319).
Occupational segregation or job sorting by race and gender during hiring could affect a
worker’s starting salary and significantly contribute to the racial wage gap (Penner, 2008; V.
Wilson et al., 2021). Job or occupational sorting widely exists in the scholarly literature about
class, race, and employment (Darity et al., 2015; Ertug et al., 2022; Kossinets & Watts, 2009;
Penner, 2008). Job or occupational sorting results from bias in the labor market (Darity et al.,
2015) and is a form of statistical discrimination when employers make judgments about the
abilities of a whole group of people and refuse to offer them higher-paying jobs (Jackson, 2021).
Occupational segregation and sorting by race is a systemic problem that maintains the
overrepresentation of Black workers in jobs that are less technical and require less education
(Darity et al., 2015). Occupational segregation or job sorting by race and gender during the initial
onboarding for a job could affect a worker’s starting salary and is a major contributor to the

39
racial wage gap (Penner, 2008; V. Wilson et al., 2021). Homophily creates a “small-world effect”
where people know few others outside their social networks (Valente, 2010). The small word
effect keeps information insolated within networks (Valente, 2010). Black job seekers can be
strategic with their social networks and utilize them to investigate possible employers and if they
would provide an inclusive work environment (Pedulla & Pager, 2019). They are more likely
than White job seekers to apply to a more extensive variety of jobs and occupations to counter
expected job market discrimination (Pager & Pedulla, 2015). Once Black job seekers decide to
pursue a job opportunity, they are less likely to find a job through their social networks than
White job seekers because their social networks are less likely to have enough power and
influence over the job search outcomes (Pedulla & Pager, 2019).
White workers lean heavily on their social networks and familiarity with management in
their target organizations when seeking employment (G. Wilson et al., 1999). In employment,
social networks are essential for transferring information about opportunities, offering support,
and possibly influencing worker outcomes (Castilla et al., 2013; Chen & Volker, 2016; Hasan,
2019; Jackson, 2021). Network connections are helpful for employers who need quality
information about prospective applicants (Hasan, 2019).
Job Search Behaviors
Researchers define job search behaviors as a process where job seekers dedicate time and
effort to identify, apply to, and gain employment (Fang & Saks, 2021; Van Hooft et al., 2021;
Wanberg, Ali, et al., 2020). Social networks are often a result of people’s social circles and the
value of their social capital (Kossinets & Watts, 2009). They are influenced by social class,
specifically family background, education, and area of residence (Chetty et al., 2020). Job
seekers who are White men with higher educational attainment, parents with high education

40
attainment, and middle-class salaries are likelier to have a higher-paying job than women and
workers of color (Addo, 2022; Chetty et al., 2020; Fang & Tilcsik, 2022).
Previous studies have categorized job search behaviors into formal and informal (Van
Hooft et al., 2021). Formal job search behaviors are when job seekers use non-network sources
(the internet, job boards, recruitment offices) to find employment, and informal job search
behaviors rely on information provided by personal social networks and contacts (Pedulla &
Pager, 2019; Van Hooft et al., 2021; Wanberg, Van Hooft, et al., 2020). Job seekers depend on
their social networks for information about job vacancies, and homophily affects the type of jobs
workers consider applying to (Pager & Pedulla, 2015; Pedulla & Mueller-Gastell, 2019). People
tend to seek the types of jobs available to them through their network (Pager & Pedulla, 2015).
As an uncertain process, it can be competitive and take weeks to months to find success (Van
Hooft et al., 2021). This study primarily focuses on the methods that White and Black workers
used to find jobs in ESOP firms.
H1: White workers will be more likely to utilize their personal network or informal
searches to find an ESOP job than Black workers.
H2: Black workers will be more likely to use a combination of formal and informal job
search behaviors to find their ESOP job than White workers.
Job seekers measure a successful employment outcome as getting a job that offers fair
wages, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment (Van Hooft et al., 2021). Informal job
search behaviors can not only provide job seekers with information about the job, but they can
also signal to employers the quality of the worker (Pedulla & Pager, 2019). Employers who are
over-reliant on network referrals risk limiting their labor pool to people they are familiar with,
which can keep members of other groups from job opportunities (Ely & Feldberg, 2016; Methot

41
et al., 2018; Pedulla & Pager, 2019). Homophily undermines “network-altering diversity
practices” (Methot et al., 2018, p. 741). When human resource managers look outside traditional
networks for high-profile positions, this can message other workers about the possibilities for
advancement despite their weaker social networks (Jackson, 2021).
H3: Black workers will more likely find ESOP jobs in the occupations that Black workers
are most likely to work, and they will make lower wages compared to White ESOP
workers.
The Economic Policy Institute defines occupational segregation as a “severe
underrepresentation” of workers of color in high-wage professional jobs (V. Wilson et al., 2021,
p. 1). This is a cause of wage inequality, which is expected to increase as jobs become more
automated (Autor, 2019; V. Wilson et al., 2021). Black workers are more likely to gravitate
toward government and military jobs because of the federal antidiscrimination policies and
promotional practices (B. L. Moore, 2020; Wilson et al., 2021). However, professional jobs pay
more than public sector jobs, and White workers occupy 70% of those jobs (V. Wilson et al.,
2021). Sometimes, private sector professional jobs are out of reach for Black workers even when
controlling for education (G. Wilson et al., 1999).
Black workers (men and women) are most likely to work in the following fields:
community and social service (20.5%), health care and technical jobs (10.9%), computer and
mathematical science (10.5%), and education, training, and library (10%) (V. Wilson et al.,
2021). In the professions where Black workers are more likely to work, they lag behind White
workers in weekly wages (Table 4; V. Wilson et al., 2021). In the ESOP literature, there is
evidence to suggest that Black women who work in ESOP jobs are more likely to work in

42
positions that pay less, specifically in the home health and medical services sector (Boguslaw &
Brice, 2022; Boguslaw & Schur, 2019; Boguslaw & Taghvai-Soroui, 2018).
Table 4
Economic Policy Institutes Table of Median Earnings for White and Black Professionals
Earnings 2017–2019
White
professionals’
earnings
Black
professionals’
earnings
Occupations with the highest percentage of Black workers
Community And social service $942 $865
Healthcare and technical jobs $1,251 $1,117
Computer and mathematical science $1,404 $1,138
Education, training, and library $1,036 $923
Note. Wilson used the Economic Policy Institute Current Population Survey Extracts, Version
1.0.15. They calculated weekly earnings over 36 months (2017, 2018, 2019). From Racial
representation in professional occupations: By the numbers by V. Wilson, E, Miller, & M. Kassa,
2021, Economic Policy Institute. (https://www.epi.org/publication/racial-representation-profocc/)
This study used a national dataset to identify if there are racial differences in how ESOP
workers found out about their jobs and which jobs Black ESOP workers are most likely to
gravitate toward. If this is the case, it would support the argument that social capital and social
structures may keep Black workers in lower-paying jobs.
Social Capital as a Theoretical Framework
Social capital is a network of positive relationships that provide valuable information
within a community or organization (Swanson et al., 2020). The value of one’s social network
can determine promotion outcomes, mentorship, and job performance (Swanson et al., 2020). A
positive relationship is marked by mutual trust, frequency of interactions, and support (Castilla et

43
al., 2013; Chetty et al., 2022). Social capital is complex and can be obtained through numerous
sources. Nevertheless, people from the same socioeconomic background are more likely to
connect (Chetty et al., 2022). These connections are associated with levels of economic stability
(Chetty et al., 2022).
Segregation of communities and neighborhoods also affects social capital (Chetty et al.,
2022). Spatial segregation occurs when certain groups and communities are concentrated in one
area in a city or town (Otero et al., 2022). These separations can result from historical
segregation, discriminatory housing policies, or cultural preferences (Otero et al., 2022). In large
cities, spatial segregation can result in an unequal distribution of resources between
predominantly Black communities and White communities, which hurts the quality of social
capital (Chetty et al., 2022; Otero et al., 2022). This type of segregation dictates the jobs
available to community members (Carberry, 2010; Chetty et al., 2020). Workers can be relegated
to specific jobs based on access to education and certain jobs (Carberry, 2010; Chetty et al.,
2020; Darity & Mason, 1998). Spatial segregation can also result from class divisions (Chetty et
al., 2020, 2022; Otero et al., 2022). Wealthier communities tend to have better schools, more
commercial development, and increased civic engagement among the residents (Chetty et al.,
2020, 2022). This is how social capital circulates between individuals of the same socioeconomic
status (Chetty et al., 2020).
Conceptual Model
Figures 4 through 6 present the conceptual models.

44
Figure 4 White workers will be more likely to utilize their personal network or informal searches
to find an ESOP job than Black workers
Figure 5 Black workers will be more likely to use a combination of formal and informal job
search behaviors to find their ESOP job than White workers.
Figure 6: Black workers will more likely find ESOP jobs in the occupations that Black workers
are most likely to work, and they will make lower wages compared to White ESOP workers.

45
In Figure 4, Social capital affects all job search behaviors, but it substantially affects
informal job search behaviors. Hypothesis 1 states that White job seekers only used informal job
search behaviors to find their ESOP job. In Figure 5, Hypothesis 2 states that both formal and
informal job search behaviors could lead to an ESOP job for Black workers. In Figure 6,
Hypothesis 3 asks if Black workers’ ESOP job prospects are based on their social network or
factors related to structural racism.
Methods
Data and Methodology
This paper uses a dataset created using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997
(NLSY97). The NLSY97 is a nationally representative dataset managed by the Bureau of Labor
Statistics (Addo, 2022). The NLSY began surveying the participants born between 1980 and
1984 when they were between 12 and 16 (Abeling-Judge, 2021). The BLS collected the data
every year between 1997 and 2011 and then biannually after that (Bares et al., 2021). The initial
sample was 8,984, which has seen a 30% attrition through 2016 (Bares et al., 2021). To ensure
representative demographics, Black and Hispanic youth were oversampled (Bares et al., 2021).
The majority of the interviews took place in person. The survey covers experiences with school,

46
employment, friends and significant others, incarceration, and attitudes and expectations for life
(Bares et al., 2021).
This analysis focuses on Black and White workers who indicated they worked in an
organization that offers an ESOP benefit to its employees. It compares White and Black workers’
job search behaviors when finding ESOP jobs. It also examines whether Black ESOP workers
are working in higher-paying occupations or occupations that Black workers traditionally find
work. This study used the 2021 wave of data. In the 2021 wave (Round 20), the respondents
were surveyed between September 2021 and July 2022. In this round, there were 2,271 noninterviews. The final sample (Table 5) was 1,140 ESOP workers who were, on average, 38 years
old at the time of being interviewed.
The statistical comparisons were made using linear regression models, specifically logit
models and ordinary least squares regression. In terms of reporting, average margin effects are
listed. For Hypothesis 1, the average margin effects and standard errors for the two models are
reported. The independent variables of interest are job search behaviors, race, and gender. The
second model includes controls for social capital (log of household income in 1997, region of
residence, urban or rural, and education attainment). The average margin effects and standard
errors for the two models are reported for the second hypothesis. The independent variables of
interest (occupation, race, and gender). The second model includes controls for social capital (log
of household income in 1997, region of residence, urban or rural, and education attainment). Two
models will explain social capital’s role in job search behaviors and occupational sorting in
ESOPs.
Descriptive Statistics

47
Table 5 gives a summary of the variables that influence social capital. The sample has
983 observations. Everyone in the sample is the same age (38.9 years old). White workers come
from households with higher household incomes ( White men: 11.19, White women: 10.8, Black
men: 9.94, and Black women: 9.59), and their parents tend to have more education. Overall,
White workers, men, in particular, have the markers for social capital in youth. White women
and White men are more likely to have more than a college degree, but the majority of the
sample has a high school diploma. Black women are more likely to live in an urban area and less
likely to live in a rural area. Black workers are more likely to live in the southern region of the
United States. Compared to Black workers, White workers are more likely to live in the northcentral region of the United States.
Results
Tables 6 and 7 report the results for Hypotheses 1 and 2. Table 6 indicates that Black
ESOP workers were 13% less likely to find out about their ESOP jobs through their friends and
family compared to White ESOP workers. However, these results become statistically
insignificant once the controls for the log of household income in 1997, education, region of
residence, and urban or rural living are added to the model, indicating that the social capital
variables may affect how Black ESOP workers find out about their jobs. This finding is
congruent with previous research stating that Black workers are less likely to learn about their
jobs through informal social networks. Table 7 reports the findings from models testing to
identify if Black workers are more likely to find out about their ESOP job through formal job
search behaviors. The findings show that Black workers were 17% more likely to find out about
their ESOP jobs through placing or answering ads compared to White workers. These findings
prove that half of Hypothesis 2 is correct.

48
Table 8 shows the results of Hypothesis 3. The findings indicate that Black workers are
likelier to find ESOP jobs in occupations where Black workers are most likely to work. These
findings indicate that ESOP jobs are not impervious to job sorting. As for weekly wages, Black
workers are making less in wages than White workers in ESOPs in these jobs and still less than
White workers not in ESOPs.

49
Table 5
Descriptive Statistics for the Analytic Sample by Race and Gender (Means and Standard
Deviation)
2021 ESOP Workers N: 983
White N: 577 Black N:406
Variable Male Female Male Female
N .59 (.44) .40(.44) .51(.69) .49(.69)
Age 38.9 (1.2) 38.9 (1.4) 38.9 (1.9) 38.9(.2.1)
log of household income in 1997 11.19(1.2) 10.8(1.7) 9.94(1.9) 9.59(2.3)
Region of residence
Northeast .18(.34) .17(.34) .11(.41) .09(.43)
North Central .27 (.39) .26(.40) .11(.42) .18(.55)
South .35(.43) .38(.45) .67 (.62) .68(.67)
West .19 (.35) .16(.34) .10(.40) .04(.29)
Urban .77(.38) .77(.39) .86(.46) .89(.44)
Rural .23(.35) .23(.39) .12(.44) .10 (.44)
Education
Less than high school .12 (.29) .11(.29) .21(.64) .12(.48)
High school graduate or
equivalent
.49(.45) .45(.46) .54(.66) .50(.72)
Associate degree .25(.39) .26 (.40) .16 (.49) .22 (.59)
Bachelor’s degree .09 (.26) .14(.32) .08(.36) .12(.47)
Higher than a college degree .04 (.18) .034 (.17) .004 (.08) .02 (.23)

Table 6 50
Logistic Regression Models Estimating Informal Job Search Behaviors by Race and Gender
ESOP workers Contacted Employer directly Contacted Private Employment
Agency
Contacted Friends and relatives
Not Controlled Controlled Not Controlled Controlled Not Controlled Controlled
Black
(ref:White)
-.09(.059) -.02(.09) -.049 (.026) .02(.02) -.13(.41)** .011 (.07)
Female
(ref:male)
.603 (.358) .14(.09) .0007(.042) .03(.04) -.0025 (.069) -.02 (.08)
Table 7
Logistic Regression Models Estimating Formal Job Search Behaviors by Race and Gender
Sent Out Resumes or Filled Out
Applications
Checked Unions or Professional
Registers
Placed or Answered Ads
Not Controlled Controlled Not Controlled Controlled Not Controlled Controlled
Black -.07(.08) -.10(.09) -.013(.03) .02(.05) .02(.04) .17(.06)**
Female .09(.07) .06(.08) -.03(.03) .01(.05) -.07(.04) -.04(.04)
** .05 level *** .01 level( controls for: log of hourly wages, educational attainment, region of residence, urban and rural, occupation,
children in the home, and marital status)

Table 8
R51
ace, Gender, and Occupation
Education, Natural
Race and
gender
(ref: White
and Male)
Management,
Business, and
Financial
Occupations
Computer,
Engineering,
and Science
Occupations
Legal,
Community
Service, Arts,
and Media
Occupations
Service
Occupations
Sales and
Office
Occupations
Resources,
Construction,
and
Maintenance
Occupations
Production,
Transportation,
and Material
Moving
Occupations
Transportation
and Material
Moving
Occupations
Black -0.64*(.032) -.071*(.034) .046* (.022) -.010 (.03) .036(.028) -.030(.019) -.011(.026) .052*(.018)
Female .068(.034) -.108(.022)*** .154(.025)*** .0001(.93) .105(.027)* -.09***(.015) -.031(.021) -.088***(.016)
Legend: * p<0.05; ** p<0.01; *** p<0.001
Note. Reported are the average marginal effects. All statistical models included controls for log income in 1997, education, region of
residence, and urban or rural living.
White professionals’ earnings Black professionals’ earnings
Occupations with the highest likelihood of Black ESOP workers
Management, Business, and Financial Occupations $1,244 $940
*Computer, Engineering, and Science Occupations $1,195 $951
Education, Legal, Community Service, Arts, and Media Occupations $1,263 $959
Transportation and Material Moving Occupations $1,354 $1009

52
Discussion and Conclusion
The results of this paper show that there is evidence that social capital plays a role in
obtaining a job in an ESOP organization. Social capital measures a person’s social connections
and networks and plays a significant role in employment outcomes(Castilla, 2012; Chetty et al.,
2020). Factors like a person’s race and the community they grew up in affect the quality of their
social networks (Chetty et al., 2020). Black workers may encounter barriers to improving their
social capital, such as a lack of family connections and racial discrimination (Addo, 2022; Addo
& Darity, 2021; Darity et al., 2018). Wealth and class in childhood are correlated with having a
professional occupation as an adult (Addo & Darity, 2021). White workers have higher labor
force participation and occupy more professional jobs (Addo & Darity, 2021).
This literature and this study’s results are important because some scholars believe that
EO can improve employment and wage opportunities for Black workers (Boguslaw & Brice,
2022). This study states that Black workers can build wealth with wages and capital gains from
selling their ESOP stock when they retire (Boguslaw & Brice, 2022). They will receive
advancement opportunities like career training and education reimbursement to build economic
security (Boguslaw & Brice, 2022). However, Black workers have to overcome several barriers
to good jobs. A third of Black women work in jobs with low pay and no benefits, and they are
more likely to face discrimination in hiring (Biu et al., 2023). The study’s results do not negate
these ideas; however, they show that social capital is one barrier to obtaining an ESOP job.
In conclusion, ESOP jobs are not immune to the social structures that sustain inequalities
and disparities in the American labor market. These disparities could limit or prohibit Black
workers from accessing and enjoying the benefits of an ESOP job (Carberry, 2010). These results
contribute two things to the study of employee ownership. First, they give a plausible

53
explanation for why Black workers continue to make less money and have smaller ESOP
accounts than White workers in ESOP jobs. Black workers may be applying for jobs where they
have stronger social network ties and feel more confident about getting hired. The fact that the
organization could be less of a consideration. Second, it enforces the previous research by
Carberry (2010) that occupational sorting is a barrier to Black workers enjoying the benefits of
employee ownership (Carberry,2010).
Limitations
Although these findings provide valuable insights, there are some limitations. One,
because the NLSY97 only asks the job search questions to workers who have started new jobs
since the last time they were interviewed, more ESOP workers in the dataset were not included in
the analysis. The NLSY97 does not ask descriptive questions about the respondent’s supervisor
and relationships at work, so it was impossible to test for racial homophily or how homophily
affects promotions and on-the-job rewards. The data also did not have variables that would make
it possible to control self-selection and cost of living.
Recommendations
In the future, researchers can build on these findings by performing social network
analysis within ESOP firms to provide evidence for how homophily and sorting work within an
organization and provide insight into how women and workers of color are sorting into jobs with
lower pay. It would also be helpful if future researchers could identify any unmeasured factors
leading to occupational sorting in ESOP jobs. This research supports the claim made in Reibstein
and Hanson’s paper, which states that to promote equity in ESOPs, future researchers will need
to “acknowledge the impact of worker sorting be ascriptive characteristics” (Reibstein & Hanson
Schlachter, 2023, p. 18). Finally, future research can take these results and compare wages for
Black ESOP workers to those of Black non-ESOP workers.

54
Chapter 4: Race, Inclusion, and Equity: Do ESOP Jobs Deliver for Black Workers?
(Paper 3)
Abstract
This paper investigates whether ESOPs closed the wage gap and provided better benefits
for millennial workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The four factors that will be the focus
are wages, non-wage benefits, COVID-19 outcomes, and risk of catching COVID-19. The
sample size of this study is 4,417, and logit regressions were used to analyze data from Round 20
of the National Longitudinal Study of Youth, collected in 2021. The study found that ESOP jobs
provide higher wages and more non-wage benefits than non-ESOP jobs. ESOP workers were less
likely to experience a work stoppage during the COVID-19 pandemic. There were no significant
differences in the risk of catching COVID-19. Scholarship focuses on ESOPs’ ability to close the
wealth gap between Black and White workers. While ESOPs do provide better wages than nonESOP jobs, there is a large disparity between the wages of Black and White ESOP workers.

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Introduction
Millennials are the largest group of workers in the labor market. By 2025, millennials
will be 75% of the workforce (Morrell & Abston, 2018). In the 2021 paper, Will America Work?
Racial and Economic Equity in a Post-COVID World, Wingfield described millennials as the
following:
Millennials, born at the turn of the century and coming of age during two major economic
recessions, a once-in-a-lifetime global pandemic, and confronting a far less robust social
safety net than many previous generations, perhaps unsurprisingly are more critical of
capitalism and show more support for government action to redress some of the problems
they associate with it. (Wingfield, 2021, p. 524)
As a result of two major economic recessions, millennial workers have less income,
fewer assets, and less wealth than previous generations (Gale et al., 2022; Kurz et al., 2019).
Weary of capitalism, millennial workers are likelier to change jobs every 5 years and report
being less engaged and committed to their jobs (Morrell & Abston, 2018; Wingfield, 2021). They
are looking for good jobs while trying to avoid bad ones. Bad jobs are unstable jobs that offer
low wages and few benefits and do not offer growth opportunities (Wingfield, 2021). In contrast,
a good job offers robust benefits, competitive wages, retirement benefits, job satisfaction,
flexible work hours, and job security (Morrell & Abston, 2018; Wingfield, 2021).
The characteristics of a good job are found in employee-owned businesses. One type of
employee-owned business offers ESOPs (Blasi et al., 2018; Blasi et al., 2013; Blasi et al., 2017;
Kroncke, 2017). ESOPs allow companies to use tax credits to purchase business shares (assets)
for their employees (Boguslaw & Schur, 2019; Cox, 2020; Weissbourd et al., 2021; Wiefek,
2017). In the 2017 report, Employee Ownership & Economic Well-Being Household Wealth, Job

56
Stability, and Employment Quality among Employee-Owners Age 28 to 34, the thesis is that
policymakers on both sides of the aisle should consider EO as an economic and labor policy that
could “provide the upward mobility” that the U.S. economy was once known for (Wiefek, 2017,
p. 2). The report used the 2017 data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, a data set
from the Bureau of Statistics that samples millennial workers between the ages of 28 and 34 in
2017 (W. Moore et al., 2000; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, n.d.; Wiefek, 2017). The report
documents impressive results, such as that employee-owners have 92% higher median household
income and 33% higher wages than their non-employee-owner counterparts (Wiefek, 2017).
The report also mentions that employee-owners of color are seeing incredible financial
gains, with average wages from income being $35,000 compared to $27,000 for their nonemployee-owner counterparts (Wiefek, 2017). Along with a robust suite of non-wage benefits
(tuition reimbursement, full medical, maternity leave, sick and family leave, and retirement plans
other than social security), EO statistically could improve the lives of workers of color (Wiefek,
2017).
The once-in-a-lifetime global pandemic that Wingfield mentioned is COVID-19
(Wingfield, 2021). In 2020, due to the spread of the COVID-19 virus, governments worldwide
enforced universal social distancing and shelter-in-place policies that had a catastrophic impact
on the American labor market. The work stoppage disproportionately affected Black workers
(Fairlie et al., 2020). Black women lost more jobs than any other group because they were more
likely to be employed in retail and service jobs than any other group (Holder et al., 2021).
While it is too soon to judge how the global pandemic will affect millennial workers’
labor outcomes moving forward, comparing how workers in good jobs during COVID compared
to millennial workers in jobs that do not offer ESOPs is possible. Black workers were more

57
likely to be employed in low-wage jobs during COVID-19, so this study compared outcomes for
White and Black workers. Can ESOPs be as impactful on Black ESOP workers during the 2020
COVID-19 shutdown? This study investigated whether working in an ESOP job during the
pandemic provided more rewards (wages and benefits) than risks (catching COVID-19).
ESOPs and the COVID-19 Pandemic
During the 2020–2021 COVID-19 shutdown, the world experienced an unprecedented
work stoppage (Fairlie et al., 2020). Many workers lost their jobs as the COVID-19 public health
crisis and worldwide shutdown exposed job insecurity and underemployment as public health
and economic issues (Lee et al., 2021). Many employee-owned firms were in sectors classified
as essential, so they were required to provide goods and services during the shelter-in-place order
(Blasi et al., 2021). Most notably, firms that offered ESOPs were less likely to experience
declines in employment (Blasi et al., 2021). Workers attributed their firm’s ability to respond
quickly to the COVID-19 crisis to being employee-owned (Rodgers, 2021).
Due to the classification as essential, a number of these firms were eligible for
government assistance and Paycheck Protection Program loans (Blasi et al., 2021). With this
support, employee-owned businesses could remain in business, and only a third reported cutting
worker hours and were less likely to cut worker pay (Blasi et al., 2021). They were more likely
to implement workplace safety protocols and practices for employees, like making a schedule
and office orientation changes to promote social distancing in the workplace (Blasi et al., 2021).
H1: Workers in organizations that offer ESOPs are less likely to experience a COVID19-related work stoppage than those that do not offer an ESOP.

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Wages, Non-wage Benefits, and Race
Labor force participation is the primary means for most people to gain financial stability
and earn wages (Thompson & Dahling, 2019). Wages are monetary compensation that workers
earn through productivity, and to accurately assess workers’ productivity and gauge fair wages,
human capital markers are used as a proxy (Paul et al., 2022). When human capital is held
constant (education, job roles, and industries), there is a 25% difference in annual wages between
Black and White workers in the United States (Bartscher et al., 2022; Derenoncourt &
Montialoux, 2020). The wage gap came close to closing in the 1970s with the passing of the Fair
Labor Standards Act of 1966, which required jobs, specifically service jobs, to pay all workers a
minimum wage (Altonji & Blank, 1999; Derenoncourt & Montialoux, 2020). This legislation
increased wages for Black workers, who could only find work in service jobs (Derenoncourt &
Montialoux, 2020). Even with the increase in wages, Black workers have been
disproportionately affected by unstable working schedules, unpredictable work hours, fewer
opportunities for advancement, and wage stagnation (Bartscher et al., 2022; Darity et al., 2015;
Darity & Mullen, 2022; Hardy & Logan, 2018; Weissbourd et al., 2021). Even when Black
workers find jobs, they are overrepresented in the helping professions and underrepresented in
higher-level jobs with higher pay (Altonji & Blank, 1999; Budig et al., 2021; Kossek & Lautsch,
2018; Rosette et al., 2018).
Non-wage benefits or non-cash compensation can include health insurance, paid leave,
tuition reimbursement, and retirement savings (Howell & Kalleberg, 2019; Kossek & Lautsch,
2018; Mok & Siddique, 2012; Ouimet & Tate, 2023). Each company can choose which benefits
to offer their workers, which workers are eligible to receive benefits, and the date that employees
can start using their benefits (The Aspen Institute, 2023). Due to this variation in the labor

59
market, some employees enjoy a robust suite of worker-provided non-wage benefits, while
others receive few to none (The Aspen Institute, 2023; Boyens et al., 2022). According to a
report by The Aspen Institute, 70% of American workers have access to medical benefits, 81%
have paid time off (holidays), and 77% can take paid sick leave (The Aspen Institute, 2023).
Only 15% of American workers have retirement savings as a workplace-offered benefit (The
Aspen Institute, 2023).
The number of employers offering non-wage benefits has declined steeply over the last
decade (Kristal et al., 2020; Wingfield, 2021). There are a few reasons for this, one being that
workers earning lower wages may deem non-wage benefits less important than keeping more of
their earnings (Kristal et al., 2020; Mok & Siddique, 2012). Workers with higher education
attainment are eligible for better jobs with higher wages and access to employer-provided
benefits (Schudde & Bernell, 2019; Wingfield, 2021). Workers with higher education and more
desirable skills are offered non-wage benefits from their employers as a way for employers to
stay competitive in the labor market (Ouimet & Tate, 2023).
Due to legislative loopholes and restrictions, workers who make lower wages are often
not protected under the Family Medical Leave Act and may be unable to take time off when they
are sick or have to care for a sick family member (Kossek & Lautsch, 2018). Women workers are
particularly at risk when non-wage benefits like flexible schedules and parental leave when
employers do not offer them. They are more likely to quit their jobs and are less likely to make
up for the wages they lose due to the wage gap between men and women (D’Angelis, 2023).
Some employers offer woman-friendly benefits to recruit women (Liu et al., 2022). Using data
from the NLSY97, Mok and Siddique (2012) found that non-Hispanic whites have a higher
likelihood of having non-wage benefits than Black workers.

60
H2: Workers in organizations that offer an ESOP will be more likely to receive a robust
benefits package and higher wages during COVID-19, regardless of occupation, than
workers in organizations that do not offer an ESOP.
COVID-19 and Black Workers
COVID-19, a respiratory illness ranging from undetected to severe illness and fatalities,
has infected over a million people worldwide (Duong et al., 2023). COVID-19 is spread through
water droplets in the air after an infected person coughs, sneezes, or breathes (Duong et al., 2023;
Raphael & Schneider, 2023). Due to its infectious nature, COVID-19 spread quickly, causing
national governments to institute shelter-in-place policies, which required many employees to
work from home, if possible (Holder et al., 2021; Raphael & Schneider, 2023). Some industries
could not support workers during this period and laid off or fired their workforce (Fairlie et al.,
2020; Holder et al., 2021). Even industries that could support workers working from home were
more likely to lay off women of color compared to White men (Gezici & Ozay, 2020). The
unemployment rate for Black women ballooned from 4.8% in February 2020 to 16.4% in April
2020 (Gemelas et al., 2022; Gezici & Ozay, 2020; Holder et al., 2021). White women, in
comparison, had an unemployment rate of 15% in April 2020 (Holder et al., 2021). Black women
removed themselves from the labor market by about 60% by April 2020 (Holder et al., 2021).
Industries considered “essential” during these times required workers to work on-site, and most
of these jobs were in industries that were more likely to employ Black women at lower wages
(Holder et al., 2021). Black women workers are highly likely to be employed in healthcare,
social services, education, retail, food services, and public administration (Holder et al., 2021).
The pandemic heavily impacted these industries (Holder et al., 2021).

61
Per Duong et al. (2023), Black people were at higher risk for contracting COVID-19
infection than White people in 2020 (rr, 2.08 95% CI, 1.60-2.71). Black workers in occupations
more likely to be considered essential were at higher risk for contracting the COVID-19 virus
(Brown, 2023; Duong et al., 2023; Goldman et al., 2021; Yearby & Mohapatra, 2020). Black
workers are overrepresented in occupations considered lower status and associated with higher
COVID-19 rates, like custodial, transportation, retail, and personal care (Brown, 2023). These
jobs are less likely to offer benefits like health insurance and paid time off, so these workers had
to go to work even when sick (Yearby & Mohapatra, 2020). They are also less likely to have
access to workplace safety protocols and practices at the same rate as White workers (Brown,
2023; Yearby & Mohapatra, 2020). Women were disadvantaged due to childcare centers and
schools being unavailable during this time (Gezici & Ozay, 2020).
Researchers identified structural racism and health disparities as culprits for the higher
rates of exposure to COVID-19 infection during the height of the pandemic (Raphael &
Schneider, 2023; Yearby & Mohapatra, 2020). Resources required to treat COVID-19 were not
evenly distributed to lower-income communities (Raphael & Schneider, 2023). Black workers
are less likely to have access to quality health care in their communities (Raphael & Schneider,
2023; Yearby & Mohapatra, 2020). Discrimination and job sorting contributed to a higher
probability of women of color losing their jobs in 2020 (Gezici & Ozay, 2020; Sell, 2020).
H3: Working in an ESOP will not lower the likelihood of Black workers catching the
COVID-19 virus.
Previous research shows that the risks and rewards of working during the COVID-19
pandemic were different for different demographics of workers. This study focused on the

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differences between Black and White workers when measuring the risks and rewards of working
during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Theoretical Framework
The social exchange theory (SET) assumes that human behaviors and social interactions
are motivated by expectations, benefits, and risks (Ahmad et al., 2023; Cao et al., 2022;
Davlembayeva & Alamanos, 2023). In the workplace, SET focuses on trust and reciprocity (Cao
et al., 2022). Workers weigh the benefits and the risks of their relationship with the
organizations, then input their labor, and the organization reciprocates with wages and benefits.
The distribution of power can affect the outcomes of the exchange, and the dependence on others
can dictate who has the power (Cook, 2015). When there is an equal exchange of resources,
workers are better engaged and have increased organizational citizen behaviors and job
satisfaction (Cao et al., 2022).
During the COVID-19 pandemic, organizations were expected to adhere to workplace
safety practices and protocols to keep workers safe (Vu et al., 2022). When workers considered
returning to work, they had to consider the risks and the rewards, with the most considerable risk
being catching the COVID-19 virus (Vu et al., 2022). Adherence to workplace safety practices
increases trust and commitment because they could lower the perceived risk of catching COVID
(Vu et al., 2022). Workplace safety protocols and practices during COVID-19 helped employers
provide stable employment and increased workers’ trust and commitment to their jobs (Vu et al.,
2022).

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Conceptual Framework
This conceptual model is based on the 2021 Data-Driven Expectation Prediction
Framework by Cao et al. This framework describes the thought process before executing
behavior during the exchange. In this amended version of the framework, workers weigh the
risks and benefits of working during the COVID-19 pandemic. Employees engage in a costreward analysis based on past experiences with a particular behavior or interaction
(Davlembayeva & Alamanos, 2023). Workers are more likely to engage in a behavior if they
have been previously rewarded for that action (Davlembayeva & Alamanos, 2023). Social
structures and social capital play a role in the cost-reward analysis because racial hierarchies and
sexism affect the risk level and the reward’s magnitude (Davlembayeva & Alamanos, 2023).
Figure 7 ESOP Expectation Prediction Framework (White Workers)

64
Figure 8 Non-ESOP Expectation Prediction Framework (White Workers)
Figure 9 ESOP Expectation Prediction Framework (Black Workers)

65
Figure 10 Non-ESOP Expectation Prediction Framework (Black Workers)
Data Set and Methodology
This study used a dataset from the 20th wave of the National Longitudinal Survey of
Youth 1997 (NLSY97). The NLSY97 is a nationally representative data set of the millennial
generation in the United States (Addo, 2022; Mok & Siddique, 2012). The sample consists of
people born between 1980 and 1984. The goal of the dataset is to follow the development of the
participants from adolescence through adulthood. When data collection started in 1997, the
participants were between 12 and 16. In the most recent round, the participants were between 36
and 42. The data were collected by the NLSY researchers every year until 2011 and biannually
after that. The dataset oversamples Black and Hispanic youth to ensure representative
demographics and statistical comparisons. To do this, the researchers targeted areas with large
Black and Hispanic populations. The first round included interviews with the youth and their
parents to obtain information about the participants and their families. The participants’ parents
were no longer included in data collection in subsequent rounds. The survey has information on
many topics, including education attainment, family, dating, and expectations. The majority of
the interviews took place in person. The NLYS97 experienced about 30% attrition through 2016.

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This study used the 2021 wave of data. In the 2021 wave (Round 20), the respondents were
surveyed between September 2021 and July 2022. In this round, there were 2,271 noninterviews.
The statistical analysis focuses on a subpopulation of Black and White workers who
answered the survey question “worked full-time in an organization that offers an ESOP benefit to
its employees,” either in the affirmative (ESOP workers) or negative (non-ESOP workers). The
study investigated the effect of race, gender, and ESOP employment on several outcomes. There
were three types of dependent variables: working during COVID; the log of wages, employeroffered benefits (flexible schedule, medical insurance, unpaid maternity/paternity leave, paid sick
leave, paid family leave, paid vacation, and retirement plan (in addition to an ESOP); and the
likelihood of Black workers to catch COVID-19. The regression model included control
variables (log of hourly wages, educational attainment, region of residence, urban and rural,
occupation, children in the home, and marital status). The analyses compare the outcomes of
women to men and Black workers to White workers. Statistically, these comparisons were
accomplished using logit models. In terms of reporting, the significant results of the logit models
will be reported in average marginal effects and standard errors.
Results
The sample included 983 workers in organizations that offer ESOPs and 2,817 in
organizations that do not. Overall, the sample included more men (1,906) than women (1,894)
and more men with ESOPs (520) than women (463). White workers with ESOPs (577)
outnumbered Black workers with an ESOP (406). The mean age of the sample was 38, although
it was 39 for Black men who work in organizations that do not offer an ESOP. All workers are
more likely to live in the southern region of the United States, with over 65% of Black ESOP

67
workers living in the southern region. There is a sizable portion of White workers in the northcentral region of the United States. A more significant percentage of the entire sample lived in
urban areas. However, White workers were more likely to live in rural areas than Black workers.
Most of the sample had less than a post-secondary education; nevertheless, women workers were
likelier to have a bachelor’s degree. In this sample, there were more Black women in ESOP
organizations working in managerial organizations than all the workers who do not work in an
ESOP organization. White workers were more likely to be married with children.
H1: Workers in organizations that offer ESOPs are less likely to experience a COVID19-related work stoppage than those that do not offer an ESOP.
In Table 10, workers in organizations that offer ESOPs were seven percent less likely to
experience a work stoppage due to the COVID-19 pandemic than those in organizations that do
not offer an ESOP. These findings suggest that organizations that offer ESOPs were more stable
employment during the pandemic. Women in organizations that do not offer ESOPs were one
percent more likely to have stopped working due to COVID-19 compared to men in
organizations that do not offer an ESOP. These findings are similar to those of previous research.
H2: Workers in organizations that offer an ESOP will be more likely to receive a robust
benefits package and higher wages during COVID-19, regardless of occupation, than
workers in organizations that do not offer an ESOP.
The results in Table 10 show that organizations that offer ESOPs are more likely to offer
a robust benefits package than those that do not. Specifically, ESOP organizations were 30%
more likely to offer a retirement plan than an ESOP. Black workers in organizations that do not
offer ESOPs were six percent less likely to have a retirement plan than White workers.

68
ESOP organizations were also 36% more likely to offer tuition reimbursement than
organizations that do not offer an ESOP. Black non-ESOP workers were four percent less likely
to have medical insurance compared to White workers in non-ESOP jobs. Women in ESOP jobs
are three percent less likely to have medical insurance compared to their male counterparts, and
women in organizations that do not offer an ESOP are six percent less likely to have health
insurance than their male counterparts. ESOP jobs provide better non-wage benefits than nonESOP jobs, which is a significant finding in a labor market looking for ways to cut non-wage
benefits, especially for workers who make lower wages. More than half the female ESOP
workers did not have a college degree, yet they are making higher wages than their counterparts
in non-ESOP jobs. They also have access to paid family leave, a benefit that non-ESOP
employers use as a competitive tool to entice workers with college degrees (Ouimet & Tate,
2023), is essential because family responsibilities more often fall on women (Kossek & Lautsch,
2018).
Table 11 shows that workers in organizations that offer ESOPs outearned workers who
did not work in ESOPs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Black women in ESOP organizations
earned White women, Black men, and Black women in non-ESOP organizations. Black men in
ESOP jobs outearned White women, Black men, and Black women in non-ESOP organizations
during the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings suggest that workers in ESOP organizations
were more stable and in a better economic position than workers not working in ESOP jobs. The
retirement benefit is also significant because millennial workers are less likely to have retirement
funds than older generations (Chetty et al., 2020; Emery, 2019; Wingfield, 2021). It is important
to note that the retirement benefits ESOP jobs offer are in addition to the equity they earn from
being an employee-owner.

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H3: Working in an ESOP will not lower the likelihood of Black workers catching the
COVID-19 virus.
The findings for this hypothesis were nonsignificant, but there was a negative association
between Black workers and being told that they had COVID-19 compared to their White
counterparts. Women in non-ESOP jobs are seven percent more likely to have had COVID-19
than their male counterparts.
Overall, Black and White ESOP workers are making better wages and better non-wage
benefits than their non-ESOP counterparts. Black women without a college degree have the best
outcomes when they work for ESOP jobs. Black workers without a college degree were the most
vulnerable during the COVID-19 pandemic, losing their jobs (Moen et al., 2020).

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Table 10
Logistic Regression Estimates of Outcomes for ESOP and Non-ESOP Workers by Race and Gender
Workers ESOP BlackESOP FemaleESOP Black NonESOP Female nonESOP
(ref nonESOP) (ref: White) (ref:maleESOP) (Ref: White (Ref: male
ESOP nonESOP) nonESOP)
Due to covid outbreak: stopped -.074 .015 (.047) .039 (.046) .022 (.037) .10 (.030)***
working (.029)**
He/she has been told he/she had .018 (.021) -.037 (.033) .034 (.040) -.027(.022) .07 (.02)**
covid.
Flexible schedule .15 (.027)*** .01 (.039) -.06 (.22) .032 (.05) -.018 (.023)
Medical insurance .28 (.042)*** -.013 (.015) -.03 (.014)** -.04 (.021)** -.061 (.020)**
Paid leave for own illness or .25 (.029)*** .038 (.027) -.013 (.029) .018(.029) -.019 (.023)
medical care
Paid leave for family member .23(.023)*** .013(.037) -.014(.024) .009 (.034) .038(.042)
illness or medical care
Paid leave for vacation or .24(.033)*** .006 (.017) .005 (.016) -.009(.018) -.044 (.021)**
personal time
Retirement plan .30 (.03)*** -.020 (.022) .0012 (.019) -.06 (.024)** .0012 (.019)
Tuition reimbursement .36 (.022)*** .027(.037) -.031 (.035) -.040 (.029) -.030 (.035)
** .05 level *** .01 level( controls for: log of hourly wages, educational attainment, region of residence, urban and rural, occupation,
children in the home, and marital status)

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Table 11
Means of Descriptive Variables for ESOP and Non-ESOP Workers by Race and Gender
2021 ESOP Workers N: 983 2021 NonESOP Workers N:2,817
Variable White Black White Black
Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female
N .59 (.44) .40(.44) .51(.69) .49(.69)
Age 38.9 (1.2) 38.9 (1.4) 38.9 (1.9) 38.9(.2.1) 38.9(1.4) 38.9(1.3) 39.0(1.9) 38.9(2.1)
Region of residence
Northeast .18(.34) .17(.34) .11(.41) .09(.43) .20(.36) .14(.32) .12(.43) .13 (.49)
North Central .27 (.39) .26(.40) .11(.42) .18(.55) .29(.40) .27(.41) .18(.50) .17(.53)
South .35(.43) .38(.45) .67 (.62) .68(.67) .30(.41) .35(.44) .62(.64) .64(.69)
West .19 (.35) .16(.34) .10(.40) .04(.29) .19(.35) .22(.38) .09(.37) .05(.32)
Urban .77(.38) .77(.39) .86(.46) .89(.44) .71 (.404) .73(.40) .83(.48) .87(.47)
Rural .23(.35) .23(.39) .12(.44) .10 (.44) .28(.40) .26(.41) .16(.48) .11(.45)
Education
Less than high school .12 (.29) .11(.29) .21(.64) .12(.48) .15(.32) .11(.28) .29(.60) .16(.52)
High school graduate .49(.45) .45(.46) .54(.66) .50(.72) .49 (.45) .38 (.45) .53(.66) .48 (.71)
or equivalent
Associate degree .25(.39) .26 (.40) .16 (.49) .22 (.59) .23(.37) .29(.42) .15(.47) .21(.58)
Bachelor’s degree .09 (.26) .14(.32) .08(.36) .12(.47) .10 (.27) .18 (.36) .02 (.19) .13(.48)
Higher than a college .04 (.18) .034 (.17) .004 (.08) .02 (.23) .03(.16) .04 (.19) .01 (.13) .03 (.23)
degree
Family structure
variables
Marital status
Yes .65 (.42) .53(.45) .39(.64) .31(.67) .61(.43) .59(.45) .32 (.61) .29(.65)
No .35 (.42) .47 (.46) .61 (.64) .69 (.67) .39(.43) .41(.45) .68(.62) .71(.65)
How many Children 1.8 (.90) 1.7 (.83) 1.1 (1.4) 1.6 (1.7) 1.7 (.97) 1.7 (.90) .98 (1.5) 1.8 (1.6)
Work-related
variables
Hourly wages 40.7 (23.7) 35.7 (43.8) 29.9(63.9) 29.7 (75.7) 35.0 (30.4) 29.5(24.6) 27.8 (65.9) 24.3(24.8)

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2021 ESOP Workers N: 983 2021 NonESOP Workers N:2,817
Variable White Black White Black
Occupation
Management, .22(.37) .29(.42) .12(.42) .22(.60) .21 (.36) .21 (.38) .10(.40) .15(.51)
business, and
financial occupations
Computer, .17 (.33) .04(.19) .03(.24) .03(.25) .07 (.23) .03 (.16) .06 (.32) .03 (.25)
engineering, and
science occupations
Education, legal, .04 (.17) .22(.38) .08(.37) .22(.59) .11(.28) .38(.45) .07(.33) .36(.69)
community service,
arts, and media
occupations
Sales and office .08 (.25) .20 (.37) .16(.49) .20(.58) .07(.23) .17(.34) .10(.39) .16(.53)
occupations
Natural resources, .11 (.28) .002(.04) .09(.37) .003(.08) .20(.35) .008(.08) .13(.44) .006(.11)
construction, and
maintenance
occupations
Production, .11 (.28) .08 (.25) .12 (.412) .06 (.33) .07(.24) .03(.14) .08(.36) .02(.21)
transportation, and
material moving
occupations
Transportation and .09(.27) .02(.13) .22(.55) .05(.32) .08(.24) .01(.11) .18(.50) .02(.22)
material moving
occupations
Note. Total 3,800

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Discussion and Conclusion
For workers in organizations that offer an ESOP, the risk of going to work during the
COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a reward of higher wages and a robust benefits package than
workers in organizations that do not offer ESOPs. Research on ESOPs and employee-owned
businesses reports that these types of businesses put their workers above profit (Blasi et al.,
2021; Boguslaw & Schur, 2019; Weissbourd et al., 2021). During the COVID-19 pandemic,
these organizations acted quickly to provide workplace safety protocols to continue servicing
customers and not laying off workers (Blasi et al., 2021).
These findings are promising for millennial workers who started the pandemic feeling
economically behind other generations (Wingfield, 2021). While millennials, as a group, can
look forward to living longer, working longer, and waiting longer to inherit wealth from their
parents, Black millennials are less likely to inherit anything from their parents (Gale et al., 2022).
This study’s results indicate that millennial workers who can find a job in an organization that
offers an ESOP will have a “good” job. They will have stable jobs that offer full benefits and
higher wages. Black workers can earn higher wages, save for retirement, and utilize tuition
reimbursement. Black families are likelier to lack substantial savings and are less likely to
participate in work-sponsored 401K plans (Darity et al., 2015; Hardy & Logan, 2018). Wealth
distribution trends reveal that Black families have much lower levels of accumulated wealth and
continue to lose access to wealth with each generation because of structural barriers that limit
access to financial resources (Bartscher et al., 2022; Chetty & Hendren, 2018; Killewald, 2013).
This study also shows that Black workers in organizations that offer ESOPs closed the
wage gap with White workers who did not work in an organization during the COVID-19
pandemic. During the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, organizations across all sectors

74
reduced their number of employees and froze hiring (Gabriel et al., 2021). The U.S.
unemployment rate was 14.7% in the spring of 2020 (Yoon, 2021). By the fall of 2020, the job
market had rebounded, and every racial and ethnic group saw a recovery in jobs, except for
Black workers (Yoon, 2021).
The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the inequalities and structural racism that exist in the
labor market (Sell, 2020). The focus on profit over people resulted in workers choosing between
the risk of going to work and catching COVID-19 or losing their jobs and income (Sell, 2020).
Previous research shows that ESOPs were able to provide workplace safety policies and
practices, and the results of this paper show that ESOPs continued to provide competitive pay
and robust benefits to their employees during this time. After the COVID-19 recession,
organizations offering ESOPs are examples of what it would look like to rethink organizations to
create a more equitable world.
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted what happens when workers who are making low
incomes are not given sick leave or medical insurance (Raphael & Schneider, 2023; Sell, 2020).
These workers are more likely to contract the virus and are at higher risk for death (Gezici &
Ozay, 2020; Raphael & Schneider, 2023; Sell, 2020). Racial hierarchies and systemic racism
were cited as being responsible for workers of color being concentrated in the most precarious
jobs (Sell, 2020; Yearby & Mohapatra, 2020). Going forward, there should be more research on
organizations that offered ESOPs during the pandemic. There is an opportunity to learn more
about responding to crisis by putting the needs and health of the workers first. Organizations that
offer ESOPs can minimize the risks to their employees by not cutting jobs, working with
organizations to distribute personal protective equipment to all workers to mitigate the risk of

75
catching COVID-19 and offering sick time and benefits needed for workers to stay healthy (Blasi
et al., 2021).
Limitations
The most significant limitation when using secondary data is the inability to control the
questions asked. The NLSY97 is not a data set about EO, so there is no information about ESOP
accounts and wealth from capital gains from work. The data were collected in late 2020 and early
2021, so it was not the beginning of the pandemic. The NLSY97 does not ask ESOP workers
about the amount of equity they have earned, so it would be informative to add that number to
the wages and non-wage benefits story. According to this data, the ESOP workers had a tenure of
about 7 to 8 years. It would be helpful to see how much equity a worker has earned within that
time.

76
Chapter 5: Conclusion
To conclude this dissertation, Chapter 5 revisits its purpose and research aims. Then, it
presents a summary of the findings, followed by a discussion of the whole dissertation, and
finally, recommendations are made for employee-owners.
Summary
The three papers in this dissertation aimed to examine two types of employee-owned
companies, cooperatives and companies that offer ESOPs, and identify how they can be a
mechanism for a work life that includes fair wages and dignified jobs. The first paper updated
Pierce et al.’s (1991) conceptual model for EO. The model presented in this paper aims to
illustrate how worker-owned cooperatives provide a social good by creating an organizational
justice system focused on workers’ fairness and providing resources to the community. The paper
found that providing a social good requires intent and resources.
The second paper used quantitative data to discover how Black and White workers in
ESOP organizations found out about their jobs and if Black workers were sorted into the typical
jobs. The findings were that Black workers are less likely to use their social networks to find
their jobs, and they are sorted into the same occupations, regardless of whether the job is an
ESOP or not.
The third paper used quantitative data to investigate whether ESOPs had better workplace
outcomes during the COVID-19 global pandemic than workers who did not work in an
organization that offered an ESOP. The findings report that ESOP organizations that offer ESOPs
were more likely to avoid a work stoppage during the pandemic. Workers in organizations that
offer ESOPs were more likely to offer their workers benefits; most importantly, the data show

77
that organizations that offered ESOPs closed the wage gap between Black ESOP workers and
White workers who did not work in ESOPs.
Discussion
Black workers have endured generations of barriers to economic stability. They were
never compensated for slavery (Darity & Mullen, 2022; Derenoncourt et al., 2022). Jim Crow
laws legalized segregation and discrimination against Black workers in the labor market. Policies
were created to bar Black workers from higher-paying jobs and opportunities for advancement
(Derenoncourt et al., 2022; Lavalley & Johnson, 2022). During the Civil Rights Era, activists
advocated and fought for equal rights and the end of discriminatory labor practices (Darity &
Mullen, 2022; Derenoncourt et al., 2022; Lavalley & Johnson, 2022). With all this history, race
still plays a role in the labor market in the present day (Addo & Darity, 2021; Castilla, 2012;
Chetty et al., 2020; Paul et al., 2022). Black workers experience a lower rate of economic
advancement compared to White workers (Chetty et al., 2020). The legacies of slavery and Jim
Crow continue to persist, even after being outlawed, weaving racism and discrimination into
every system in the United States and making it difficult for Black workers to gain economic
footing (Chetty et al., 2020; Craemer et al., 2020; Darity et al., 2018; Derenoncourt et al., 2020;
Paul et al., 2022).
With all these barriers, Black workers continue to look for opportunities to get ahead.
Worker-owned cooperatives have been pivotal in advancing Black economic interests
(Nembhard, 2004). ESOPs have been proven to be more stable and provide benefits for jobs for
which other organizations will pay less than minimum wage. Employee ownership has its
upsides, but there is a duality to employee ownership. This duality keeps ESOPs and, to a lesser
extent, cooperatives from closing the wage and wealth gaps. They provide their workers with

78
higher wages than non-employee-owned companies, but internally, employee-owned companies
continue to adhere to an organizational status quo that perpetuates inequity. In organizations,
inequality regimes dictate the best use of resources through formal and informal relationships
and ideology based on the organization's culture (Acker, 2006; Avent-Holt & Tomaskovic-Devey,
2019). If workers who share the same characteristics lead the organization, then the culture is
also based on the thoughts and needs of those workers (Avent-Holt & Tomaskovic-Devey, 2019;
R. Ely & Feldberg, 2016). This culture creates a natural hierarchy built around status and
assumptions of the skills and attributes of leaders of the organization and those who share their
characteristics (Avent-Holt & Tomaskovic-Devey, 2019; R. Ely & Feldberg, 2016).
For Black workers to prosper, efforts must address the racial hierarchy in the labor
market by enacting more policies against discrimination, promoting equal access to education,
and creating more inclusive workplaces (Paul et al., 2022). Jobs and occupations can be tools for
social justice (Haynes & Nembhard, 1999; Lavalley & Johnson, 2022).
Conclusion
Although there are significant barriers to quality employment for Black workers, EO can
vastly improve the economic outcomes of Black workers and workers of color. Despite the
challenges with access to resources, women of color have successfully started and managed
worker-owned cooperatives. Black women without a college degree are most likely to have a
low-paying job (Biu et al., 2023), but when they work in organizations that offer ESOPs, they are
more likely to receive a robust benefits package that includes funding for training and education
advancement. Their retirement benefit is also significant because millennial workers are less
likely to have retirement funds than older generations (Chetty et al., 2020; Emery, 2019;
Wingfield, 2021). It is important to note that the retirement benefits ESOP jobs offer are in

79
addition to the equity they earn from being an employee-owner. ESOP jobs provide a better
living than non-ESOP jobs, especially for workers who do not have a college degree. While this
will not close the wealth and wage gaps, it is notable that ESOP jobs continue to provide quality
employment and excellent benefits when other jobs are looking to cut benefits to their workers.

80
Glossary
1. Capitalism: an economic system characterized by key elements like free markets, free
enterprise, and competition (Chiapello, 2013; Harris & Delanty, 2023). Capitalism is also
a social system where individuals can own property and wage labor is used to produce
goods and commodities (Harris & Delanty, 2023). Capitalism has been named
responsible for income inequality and worker exploitation (Weissbourd et al., 2021).
2. Capital gains: the profits earned from selling a stock asset, such as stocks or bonds, at a
higher price than initially purchased (Boguslaw & Schur, 2019; Weissbourd et al., 2021).
3. Cooperatives: are entirely owned and operated by their employees. The workers often
vote for policies and management styles (Reibstein & Hanson, 2023; Weissbourd et al.,
2021).
4. Democratic Workplaces: Democratic workplaces follow the "one worker, one vote" ethos
(Reibstein & Hanson, 2023). This ethos creates an environment where workers are
invited to participate in the governance process. The democratic nature of the workplace
"nurtures prosocial values like altruism, empathy, and reciprocity" (Schlachter &
Prushinskaya, 2021, p. 10 ). Workers also report an improved quality of work life because
they are paid fair wages (Reibstein & Hanson, 2023; Schlachter & Prushinskaya, 2021).
5. Disparity: a significant difference between two or more things (Weissbourd et al., 2021).
A disparity can exist in education, health care, and income (Weissbourd et al., 2021).
6. Equity: an individual's ownership stake in a company or property (Boguslaw & Schur,
2019).
7. Employee Ownership: a situation where employees of a company have an ownership
stake and, in some cases, complete control of the organization or company where they are
employed (Blasi et al., 2017; Boguslaw & Brice, 2022). Numerous types of employee

81
ownership exist, including worker-owned cooperatives and employee stock option plans
(Boguslaw & Brice, 2022).
8. Employee Stock Option Plans: retirement benefits that require the company to create a
trust that buys and holds company stock on behalf of the employees. The employees are
allocated shares based on the pay rate and service length (Blasi et al., 2017; Boguslaw &
Schur, 2019; Weissbourd et al., 2021).
9. Great Depression: an economic downturn that lasted from 1929 to the 1930s (Bianchi,
2020; Derenoncourt, 2022). It started in the United States and led to a decline in
economic growth in other countries. A decline in production and consumer activity
characterized the Great Depression (Bianchi, 2020).
10. Jim Crow: a set of laws and state-sanctioned policies that enforced racial segregation and
discrimination against Black workers in the southern states of the United States (Lavalley
& Johnson, 2022).
11. Minimum wage: wages set by the government and is the lowest wage that businesses are
legally allowed to pay their workers (Derenoncourt & Montialoux, 2020).
12. Occupational sorting: the process of grouping individuals into specific jobs based on
social characteristics and contributes to inequalities based on race and gender (Hirsch &
Schumacher, 1992; Penner, 2008).
13. Organizational culture: the shared beliefs and practices in an organization (Mujanah et
al., 2019).
14. Organizational commitment: a worker’s psychological commitment to their workplace
15. Profit sharing: a compensation agreement in which a company distributes a portion of its
profits to its employees based on tenure and wage s(Kruse et al., 2008).

82
16. Social Good: goods, services, initiatives, and actions that promote the betterment of
community and society (Mor Barak, 2019). Social good is achieved through various
means, such as philanthropy, community development, and social justice initiatives (Mor
Barak, 2020).

83
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Abstract (if available)

Abstract Throughout history, employee-owned businesses have allowed marginalized workers to make money. Companies that offer employee ownership allow workers to own a portion of their company's profits and wages. Research has concluded that employee-owned companies and organizations have seen a sizable reduction in the wealth gap between employers and employees; nevertheless, questions remain about how Black workers are faring in businesses that offer ESOPs. Due to racial injustices that date back to slavery, the income earnings gap between White and Black workers has endured over decades. When compared across economic sectors and work environments, Black workers tend to stall in jobs that pay lower wages at a greater rate than their White counterparts. This dissertation investigates employee-ownership outcomes during the 2020-2021 COVID-19 pandemic. The first essay is a conceptual paper about worker-owned cooperatives in the health field and how employee ownership can provide a social good. The second and third papers use data from the US Department of Labor to investigate the accessibility and stability of ESOP jobs. This paper finds that White ESOP workers are more likely to find their jobs through their friends and family, and Black ESOP workers are more likely to hold occupations that pay less than the occupations that White ESOP workers hold. The third paper finds that millennial ESOP workers experienced more favorable outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic than non-ESOP millennial workers. Nevertheless, the income gap between White and Black ESOP workers persists. In conclusion, employee ownership provides higher wages and more favorable benefits, but employee-owned businesses have to address the organizational mechanisms that cause inequalities.

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Asset Metadata

Creator Clomax, Adriane Julia (author)

Core Title Searching for the good in capitalism: an investigation of employee ownership

School Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work

Degree Doctor of Philosophy

Degree Program Social Work

Degree Conferral Date 2024-08

Publication Date 06/20/2024

Defense Date 03/26/2024

Publisher Los Angeles, California (original), University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag Capitalism,employee ownership,equity,OAI-PMH Harvest,Race

Format theses (aat)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Mor Barak, Michalle (committee chair), Hurlburt, Michael (committee member), Valente, Thomas (committee member)

Creator Email clomax@usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-oUC113996WTK

Unique identifier UC113996WTK

Identifier etd-ClomaxAdri-13134.pdf (filename)

Legacy Identifier etd-ClomaxAdri-13134

Document Type Dissertation

Format theses (aat)

Rights Clomax, Adriane Julia

Internet Media Type application/pdf

Type texts

Source 20240620-usctheses-batch-1172 (batch), University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the author, as the original true and official version of the work, but does not grant the reader permission to use the work if the desired use is covered by copyright. It is the author, as rights holder, who must provide use permission if such use is covered by copyright.

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA

Repository Email cisadmin@lib.usc.edu