OEOC Testifies

The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) held a field hearing on August 26 at the Vermont State House in Montpelier. The hearing was chaired by Senator Bernie Sanders (VT).

Entitled "Investing in American Workers: The Benefits of Expanding Employee Ownership," the intent of the hearing was to help educate committee members and others about the potential impact of two pieces of legislation introduced by Sen. Sanders.

The first bill, the Worker Ownership, Readiness & Knowledge (WORK) Act (S.2909) would create an Office of Employee Ownership and Participation within the Department of Labor. This office would promote employee ownership and employee participation by providing education and outreach, training grants and technical support for local and state programs dedicated to the promotion of employee ownership. The bill can be accessed at http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:s2909:.

The second bill, the U.S. Employee Ownership Bank Act (S. 2914), would provide loans and loan guarantees to employees to purchase a business through an ESOP or a worker-owned cooperative. The bill can be accessed at: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:S.2914:

OEOC Program Director Bill McIntyre presented OEOC's testimony at the hearing. Click http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3BY3SuKJaA&feature=related for a Youtube video of the hearing. The full written statements of the OEOC and others who testified can be found at the Senate HELP Committee website: http://help.senate.gov/hearings/hearing/?id=7b9d96b0-5056-9502-5d4e-2599ac32ab65

For more information, contact the OEOC at 330-672-3028.