Corey Rosen kicks off the new Employee Ownership Notes blog with a post about employee ownership in the auto industry, drawing on his Capitol Hill experience with the Chrysler Bailout and ESOP. He notes the differences between the problems Chrysler experienced compared to the problems the auto industry faces today and the likelihood that an ESOP would be part of the bailout:

The current situation is very different. Chrysler was in trouble, but the auto industry was not, Japanese cars were viewed as cheap inferior products, and Korean cars were a long way from coming to the U.S. The UAW was willing to make concessions, something they have said they do not want to do now. A number of the large banking firms that closed had widespread employee ownership in one form or another, company stock in 401(k) plans was hammered in Enron and other companies fudging their books in the early part of the decade, and company stock in 401(k) plans is being widely attacked as imprudent in the current market collapse. The United Airlines example is also still not so far off. So getting an ESOP quid pro quo will be quite a struggle. The most likely route will be if Congress requires concessions and the UAW asks for stock in return, making it not a direct government policy.

He also reiterates that the "big, splashy ESOPs used to save companies" are not the norm, and the majority of successful ESOPs are setup in successful closely held companies:

Meanwhile, it is worth remembering that big, splashy ESOPs used to help save companies are not, and never have been, more than a fraction of a percent of all ESOPs. Almost all ESOPs are set up in successful closely held companies, ranging from very small businesses to some of the largest companies in the country. In that context, they have been strikingly successful, delivering about three times the total retirement wealth per participant as comparable companies with comparable employees do, in large part because these companies also perform substantially better. It's tempting to get caught up in large scale economic solutions, but it should only be done fully aware that if these companies fail, it will be seen as a very public, and very painful, failure for ESOPs as well.