More worker-owners in ESOPs than unionized employees in private sector
There are close to three million more worker-owners in employee stock ownership plans than unionized employees in the private sector [7.6 million people in 2011], which suggests at the very least an institutional power base that can be further developed.
Source: Gar Alperovitz (author of America Beyond Capitalism, Lionel R. Bauman Professor of Political Economy at the University of Maryland and co-founder of the Democracy Collaborative) From interview/article: The Mayday Books and Hub Bike Co-ops in Minneapolis, MN by Neal Gorenflo published 4-9-2012 http://www.shareable.net/blog/co-op-nation-interview-with-gar-alperovitz Neal Gorenflo, "Co-Op Nation: Interview with Gar Alperovitz," Shareable, Apr. 9, 2012. http://www.shareable.net/blog/co-op-nation-interview-with-gar-alperovitz Number of unionized employees from Bureau of Labor Statistics: "Union Member Summary," United States Department of Labor, (January 2012). http://www.bls.gov/news.release/union2.nr0.htm [verified 4/25/14]