The opportunity too many Americans have never heard of

Will I ever be able to retire?

It’s a question millions of hard-working Americans are asking themselves right now. I read that the median retirement savings for working-age Americans is just $955. That’s not a typo. Rising costs, shrinking savings, and economic uncertainty have made retirement feel farther away than ever. While there isn’t a simple or singular answer to this question, I’ve come to believe there is one opportunity that too many people have never even heard about.

Just a few years ago, I was one of them.

For nearly 20 years, I worked in retail management. I loved developing people, helping teams succeed, and exceeding customer expectations. The companies I worked for had competitive benefits, medical insurance, 401(k) matching programs, and even stock purchasing options. Still, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was missing. I worked hard every day, yet retirement still felt like something I was chasing on my own. A big part of me also wanted my work to mean more than earning my next paycheck.

Then, while visiting friends and family in Montana, a conversation with a close friend changed my entire life. She worked at Pacific Steel & Recycling. There was an exciting new position they created in training and development.

She smiled and said, “When I read the job description, it was as if they were describing you.”

After some further conversation, I forwarded my resume. Before the interview, my friend’s advice was simple: “Eva, Pacific is an ESOP so do your research.” An ESOP? What’s that?

That’s where I did what most people would do: I Googled ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan). There were links, articles, definitions. Facts like ESOPs are six times less likely to lay off employees, and ESOPs improve retirement security. I also noticed some of my favorite brands like Bob’s Red Mill and Litehouse Foods are employee owned and I never knew it. By the time I closed my laptop, I felt like this had to be too good to be true.

If you’ve never heard the term ESOP, you’re not alone. An ESOP is an Employee Stock Ownership Plan, and it’s a retirement benefit that gives employees an ownership stake in the company. This ownership stake does not have to be purchased. It’s gifted. Google gave me the technical definition, but it couldn’t even begin to define how being an employee-owner feels.

A few weeks later, I was offered the position at Pacific Steel & Recycling and began my transition from employee to employee-owner.

I expected my first few months to be very similar to every other job I’ve ever had. They weren’t. Every day, I saw people who genuinely cared. They cared about doing the job well and constantly improving. There was a sense of ownership that was impossible to miss. This ownership culture showed up in the ways people treated each other, the way they solved problems, and the pride they took in their work.

At Pacific, we call it “ownership in action.” Every employee owner has a voice, the opportunity to improve the company, and the responsibility to help us succeed together. One example is a company-wide program we borrowed from Hypertherm, a longstanding New Hampshire-based ESOP company. They shared a best practice that gives employee-owners opportunities to identify improvements, solve problems, and strengthen business. One of our employee owners took that idea, made it Pacific, and implemented our Continuous Improvement Activity (CIA) program. We have implemented more than 2,200 ideas since the program started.

Employee ownership also shows up at Pacific in how we interact with the communities we serve. I’ve seen firsthand the incredible efforts our people pour into volunteering and investing in a wide variety of charitable causes.

Today, there are still far too many Americans who have never heard of employee ownership or ESOPs. There are fewer than 6,500 ESOPs in America and only 34 in Montana. Employee ownership isn’t something people should discover by accident. It deserves to be mainstream, which is why I’m glad to add my voice to Expanding ESOPs, a coalition of nearly 100 organizations working to grow employee ownership here in Montana and beyond.

This Labor Day, I hope we celebrate more than hard work. I hope we create more opportunities for Americans to become employee owners. More Americans should know how it feels to have a voice, a shared purpose, and a real stake in their companies.

Eva Villasana is a training and development specialist at Pacific Steel & Recycling, based in Great Falls.