One advantage as I understand it between a worker cooperative and an ESOP is that the worker cooperative has a one person one vote system. It avoids the issue you mention about not having voting shares. I worked at a place with an ESOP and just the managers had shares. And even there they didn’t prevent the business being sold to private equity. Sure they got paid out but now that previously family owned business is part of a monopoly in our industry.
One advantage as I understand it between a worker cooperative and an ESOP is that the worker cooperative has a one person one vote system. It avoids the issue you mention about not having voting shares. I worked at a place with an ESOP and just the managers had shares. And even there they didn’t prevent the business being sold to private equity. Sure they got paid out but now that previously family owned business is part of a monopoly in our industry.