Wisconsin employee ownership leaders honored at inaugural Madison dinner

The Wisconsin Center for Employee Ownership held its first Celebrating Employee Ownership in Wisconsin dinner Thursday in Madison, recognizing four companies and State Rep. Darrin Madison for advancing employee ownership across the state. The event underscored how ESOPs, worker cooperatives and employee ownership trusts are being used to preserve jobs, support succession and keep wealth in Wisconsin communities.

Why it matters: - Employee ownership is increasingly being used in Wisconsin to preserve local jobs, manage business succession and keep decision-making tied to communities. - The dinner highlighted four different ownership models and a growing policy push around employee ownership conversions. - Nationally, more than 6,600 ESOPs cover about 11 million participants and hold more than $2 trillion in plan assets, according to the National Center for Employee Ownership.

What happened: - The Wisconsin Center for Employee Ownership hosted the inaugural Celebrating Employee Ownership in Wisconsin dinner Thursday evening at The Edgewater Hotel’s Red Crown Club in Madison during Employee Ownership Month. - The event honored four Wisconsin companies and State Rep. Darrin Madison for leadership in employee ownership. - The program also included remarks from Steve Storkan, executive director of the Employee Ownership Expansion Network, on the national outlook for employee ownership and Wisconsin’s potential role as a model state.

The details: - Union Cab of Madison Cooperative received the Wisconsin Employee Ownership Leadership Award. - Union Cab opened on Oct. 29, 1979, with 11 cars after drivers who lost their jobs in a strike at Checker Cab decided to build their own company. - Union Cab remains a worker cooperative owned and governed by the people who drive and dispatch its cabs. - Weinbrenner Shoe Company received the Legacy Preservation Award. - Weinbrenner was founded in Milwaukee in 1892 and has been headquartered in Merrill since 1937. - Local business leaders helped save Weinbrenner from closure in 1988 under international ownership. - Those leaders sold the company to employees through an ESOP in 2000, preserving American bootmaking jobs in northern Wisconsin. - Community Pharmacy Cooperative received the Community Impact Award. - Community Pharmacy was started in 1972 by University of Wisconsin students seeking affordable medications and a pharmacy that prioritized education over sales. - The company has operated as a worker cooperative since 1991 and continues as a locally owned, worker-governed business in Madison. - Findorff received the Emerging Employee Ownership Award. - Findorff became 100% employee-owned through an ESOP in January 2025. - State Rep. Darrin Madison received the Employee Ownership Champion Award. - Madison was recognized for efforts to pass Assembly Bill 17, which would create incentives for employee ownership conversions in Wisconsin. - WICEO said proceeds from the dinner support its free, unbiased education and resources for Wisconsin business owners exploring employee ownership. - Business owners can learn more, and companies can be considered for the 2027 awards, at the organization’s website.

Between the lines: - The awards point to employee ownership as both a business transition strategy and a community-development tool. - WICEO is signaling that it wants to widen adoption by pairing celebration with education, policy advocacy and succession planning support. - Honoring a state lawmaker alongside businesses suggests the organization sees legislation as part of the path to more conversions.

What's next: - WICEO will continue offering free education and resources to Wisconsin business owners weighing succession options. - The organization is also seeking candidates for the 2027 awards cycle. - Assembly Bill 17 remains a key marker for whether Wisconsin expands incentives for employee ownership conversions.

The bottom line: - Wisconsin’s first statewide celebration of employee ownership framed employee-owned companies as a way to keep businesses local, reward workers and preserve community wealth.