Baby-Boomer Succession Crisis, Precarious Work, & Rising Inequality
Worker-Ownership Model Offers Solution to Economic Woes
Ohio is facing an unprecedented wave of business-owner retirements, precarious conditions for workers, and severe wealth inequality, according to Building Legacies, a report from the Ohio Employee Ownership Center at Kent State University.
To help address these huge economic problems, Co-op Cincy helps retiring or exiting business owners sell their companies to their workers, building a foundation for sustainable wealth. Learn more about our transition program here.
3 Daunting Economic Challenges
As detailed in Building Legacies, Ohio is current facing 3 key economic challenges:
Baby-Boomer Business-Owners Set to Retire in Massive Numbers
In Ohio, baby boomers own 54% of businesses, or 94,000 firms employing 2.6 million people. Though more than half of these business owners plan to retire in the next decade, 80% do not have a formal succession plan. What’s more, when put on the market, only 1 in 5 businesses actually sell.
Workers Face Low Wages and Instability
Half of workers aged 18-64 earn a median annual income of only $17,950. Poorly paid, insecure employment is growing, and women and people of color are disproportionately represented in low-wage industries.
Wealth Inequality Spikes to New Highs
Since 1980, the share of income going to the bottom 50% of earners has halved, while the share going to the top 1% has doubled.
Ohio Worker Ownership Network
In 2020, organizations from across Ohio formed the Ohio Worker Ownership Network (OWoN) with the aim of supporting worker-owned businesses. OWoN increases awareness about the benefits of worker-ownership among business owners, economic development agencies, public officials, and the public. OWoN also connects stakeholders while offering training and assisting with transitions.
OWoN is composed of Co-op Cincy, the Ohio Employee Ownership Center at Kent State University, Co-op Dayton, The Fund for Employee Ownership, The Center for the Creation of Cooperation, Cleveland Owns, the CFAES Center for Cooperatives at Ohio State University, the Junction Economic Transformation Center, Co-op Columbus, and Co-op Nelsonville.
