This man was a national treasure.
Truly. Too much of our culture lauds people who spend their lives stockpiling wealth, with their main goal in life seemingly to reach ever high levels of wealth accumulation. Bob didn’t just focus on building a company that provides top notch products. Building a business that works for workers is a gift that will keep on giving for the community.
While not really a union, a Employee Stock Ownership Plan company does at least in theory have some of the same benefits for labor in terms of reserving seats at the table. Bob’s Red Mill was founded in my hometown of Milwaukie, Oregon so I have watched it for some of its meteoric rise. Just this morning, I had a nice big bowl steel cut oats from there. Big fan.
This is not directly union related. Please post it to a more suited community like /c/coops
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Moore, who was 94 when he died, founded Bob’s Red Mill with his wife, Charlee, in Oregon in 1978.
In the decades that followed, the couple grew their whole-grain food company into a global empire that did more than $100 million annually, selling over 200 products in more than 70 countries.
When asked why he chose an employee-owned model during an interview with Portland Monthly last year, Moore, who was Christian, cited the bible.
“The more everyone organizes and works hard, the greater the profitability of the company, and that translates into higher value of ownership,” Moore told Portland Monthly.
In 2022, when some business leaders were complaining about a labor shortage, Moore said executive greed was to blame and that more companies could adopt the ESOP model, Fortune reported.
He said employees at Bob’s Red Mill feel valued and informed, an approach other companies could learn from.
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