Employee Ownership:
The Story of A Yard & A Half Landscaping Cooperative
The Timeline
Eileen Michaels founded A Yard & A Half Landscaping Company in Waltham, MA
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Eileen transitioned the company to a Worker Cooperative, transferring ownership to the workers
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The "Why"
- Eileen wanted to retire, but didn't want to just close the doors or sell off the parts
- The Worker Cooperative would preserve a locally owned, safe workplace in an industry where workers often face exploitation and dangerous working conditions
- Eileen would get paid full fair market value and preserve the jobs of her workers
The "How"
- Eileen put together a management team and began teaching them what it took to run the business
- The workers bought out Eileen, who received full fair market value for the business
- The transition was financed by a series of loans, to be paid back over time by the Worker Co-op
Within 5 years of the transition, annual revenue increased $1.2 million.
The Pittsburgh Citywide Task Force on Employee Ownership
A partnership between Pittsburgh City Council, the Mayor’s Office, Chatham University, and the nonprofit PaCEO
The PaCEO exists solely to teach people about employee ownership
