According to the National Center for Employee Ownership, some 6,358 companies and owned by their employees. In fact, more than 14.9 million employees work for the companies in which they have ownership stakes.
About 21% of those companies are manufacturers. Another 19% fall into the category of professional, science, and tech services.
However, there are a number of trucking companies that are owned by their employees. One such company is Long Haul Trucking. The Clearwater, Minnesota company specializes in flatbed, step deck and double drop conestoga shipping, operating some 320 power units according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's SAFER database.
Long Haul Trucking became employee owned in 2013, and the company explains what it's like for drivers today:
When most young drivers first graduate from attaining their commercial driver’s license focus is drawn to the question of “What’s next?” A next load, next break, next trip home, it can become a world of sequence where the future is viewed as “What’s the next thing I’m doing.”
That's easy to understand when you devote your life, as a professional driver does, to the importance of executing the next transaction of your job, which equals money, and reward. Dangerous, however,
is being so involved in this cycle that eventually so many instances of “next” has occurred, that before you know it, the future, ready for it or not, has arrived.
At Long Haul Trucking, that cycle looks different. As an employee-owned company, every mile driven is more than just a transaction, it’s an investment in our company driver’s future. By building retirement wealth through our Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), Long Haul drivers can answer both questions: “What’s next?” and “What’s ahead?”
Meet Dale and Breyon, two company drivers for Long Haul, both at various parts of their careers and lives, who are embodiments of what employee ownership can provide.
Dale is 70 years old, with nearly five decades of experience behind the wheel and 16 years at Long Haul. Originally drawn to the company by its reputation and well-kept trucks, he soon discovered something even more valuable, ESOP.
For the past 15 years, Dale has built an ownership stake in the company through his dedication and hard work. Today, with more than 1.5 million safe miles under his belt, Dale has accumulated an ESOP balance of $281,811—nearly three times the median 401(k) balance of others in his age bracket.
“That’s on top of my pay,” Dale said. “For every mile I’ve driven with Long Haul, it’s like I earned an extra 18 cents. That adds up.”
Dales’ driving career is one that began by asking himself the question “What’s next?” when he decided to look for a different type of career remaining in the blue-collar sector.
“Many years ago, late in the fall, I found myself nailing siding on a house in Upstate New York and I hated it," he said. "I climbed in a truck soon after and have been there ever since.”
Taking the initial leap to a new career is never easy, but after 47 years of success and so many millions of miles traveled, if you ask Dale, he will tell you it is well worth it.
Breyon, at 34, represents the next generation of Long Haul drivers. With 13 years in trucking and seven years at Long Haul, he joined for the same reason Dale did, the equipment. But part of what’s kept him at Long Haul is the ESOP. With 900,000 safe miles driven, he’s already built an ESOP account worth $144,048.
“At first, I didn’t know what ESOP was,” Breyon admits. “But now I see the big picture. We’re not just driving for a paycheck -- we’re driving for our future. Knowing I’ll have that pension to look forward to changes the way I think about this job. It’s about longevity, and that’s rare in trucking today.”
Breyon is averaging an additional .16 CPM for every mile, empty and loaded, he drives for Long Haul Trucking!
For Dale, Breyon, and every employee-owner at Long Haul, the ESOP is more than a retirement account, it’s proof that the work they do today builds something real for tomorrow. It’s the difference between driving someone else’s truck and driving toward your own success story.
When Long Haul converted to an ESOP in 2013, it wasn’t just a business decision, it was a commitment to the people who make the company run, and a way to ensure the company doesn’t compromise the caliber of professional it has always aspired to hire.
Every year, shares are allocated based on years of service and wages earned, giving company drivers the power to grow both their paycheck and their ownership stake mile after mile. At Long Haul Trucking, we believe that when you own your work, you own your future.
