Работник строительной компании Южной Каролины рассказал, как участие в программе ESOP изменило его финансовую стабильность и карьеру

After graduating from the construction program at Clemson University, I was on the hunt for a job in commercial construction. At a packed career fair in Clemson’s Madren Conference Center, I found so much more. During the hiring process, I learned my new employer, Choate Construction, was 100 percent employee-owned through an employee stock ownership plan. It’s a retirement plan that allows companies to share ownership with workers. As the business grows, our personal ESOP accounts do, too, without us contributing a cent. This Labor Day, I’m sharing my story as an example of what happens when companies chart a different path, one that improves employees’ lives now and in the future. The benefits of employee ownership didn't really sink in until I got my first shares a little over a year later. Logging into my account that first time and seeing my employee stock ownership plan statement was life changing. I put all of the data into a spreadsheet and projected share price increases over the next 30 years. That exercise gave me a glimpse into the future and made me appreciate what employee ownership means for my family's financial stability. Now I am 31 and in my ninth year at Choate. Working at a large corporation can feel like you're grinding away for somebody else’s benefit, but at an employee-owned company everyone is working for each other. That accountability makes me want to succeed not just for myself, but for all of my coworkers. As a result, we have a culture where we are encouraged to collaborate and improve on every project we build. I have worked on a variety of projects here, from a resort golf clubhouse to a paint production facility to a tennis stadium. I learned so much and felt like part of a team. But probably the most impactful moment was hearing the story of a longtime colleague as she prepared for retirement. Earlier in her career, she was told by a financial advisor that retirement might never be realistic. Becoming part of an employee-owned company allowed her to retire and completely changed what retirement would look like for her. There are just 57 employee stock ownership plans in South Carolina despite decades of research that show they build worker wealth and stronger companies. But across the country, people are joining together to change that. Via Expanding ESOPs, more than 100 organizations are working to grow employer ownership here in South Carolina and beyond. Interviewing to work at an employee stock ownership plan at that hotel nine years ago changed my family’s path. By becoming an owner, I know my young son will grow up with the same financial stability I had as a kid. As we celebrate Labor Day, instead of another round of disappointing headlines about precarious futures, let’s build the momentum for more South Carolinians to have a story like mine. Corey VerHage is a project manager at Choate, a general contractor commercial construction company, with offices in Charleston and across the South.