Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | April 6, 2026 | Worcester Business Journal 15 The Future of Rent Collection & Escrow Management ZRent and ZEscrow from Cornerstone Bank. Fast | Efficient | Convenient | Cost-Effective Scan QR code to connect with us. Member FDIC | Member DIF 774-745-8698 cornerstonebank.com MANUFACTURING F O C U S Corp., a 73,000-person group of more than 100 cooperatives based in the autonomous Basque Country of Spain. Mondragon has a footprint in finance, industry, and retail. Worker-owners at Worx are rep- resented by the United Steelworkers union, which had experience with cooperatives aer signing a collab- oration agreement with Mondragon in 2009. Financial support for Worx's launch came from the Cooperative Fund of the Northeast, a community development loan program focused on socially-responsible investing. Unlike U.S. Small Business Administration loans, Cooperative Fund did not require personal guaranties. With financial support, O'Brien secured an accountant and began devel- oping a business model. Aer attending a conference on worker cooperatives in Worcester, O'Brien realized many work- er-owned businesses were failing not due to their governing structure, but the lack of a well-researched business plan. "It's so imperative to have a good business model and good market re- search on what you're trying to bring to market," he said. Support for employee ownership MassCEO uses Worx as an example of what employee ownership can offer for workers, owners, and the communi- ty at large, Kuros said. "e state's interested because em- ployee-owned businesses have proved over the time, study aer study, to be more resilient, to be less likely to lay people off in economic downturn, to have less income disparity between the highest-paid employees and the low- est-paid employees," he said. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has been a leading advocate of expanding work- er-cooperatives and ESOPs, but the idea has received support from Republicans as well. Sen. Cruz (R-TX) introduced legislation in 2024 to help ESOPs retain government contracts. e MassCEO board meets monthly to plan regional symposiums to raise awareness of employee ownership models. e 19-member board includes John Biagioni, president of employ- ee-owned manufacturer Lampin Corp. in Uxbridge, and Veronica Ortiz, director of global customer service for employee-owned manufacturer Web Industries in Marlborough. MassCEO's latest event was a Feb. 26 webinar on employee-ownership trusts. "You can sell to private equity, you can sell to a competitor, you can just shut down, or you can sell it to your employees," Kuros said. "More and more folks are really taking a hard look at sell- ing to their employees. It's a wonderful tool for succession planning." W Worker cooperatives in Central Massachusetts Massachusetts is home to several dozen active worker cooperatives, including five in Central Mass. Co-ops Type of business Future Focus Media Cooperative, Worcester Video production company Greenvitalize Urban Growers, Worcester Organization looking to address food insecurity through the promotion of urban agriculture Sudbury Valley School, Framingham Alternative, self-directed school for pre-school through high school students Worcester Roots, Worcester Economic, social, and environmental justice organization Worx Printing Cooperative, Worcester Print shop specializing in on-demand creation of merchandise Source: Massachusetts Center for Employee Ownership 2025 Annual Report PHOTO | ERIC CASEY With the ability to print products on-demand to meet customers' needs, Worx and its eight worker-owners accumulate millions in sales each year.

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