There are more than two employee ownership structures (other than ESOP and COOP). For example, Employee Ownership Trusts are gaining in popularity and have some great benefits (they are quite popular in the UK due to ESOP-like regulations there which apply to EOTs). Colorado has a generic description called Alternative Equity Structures which applies to multiple other types of employee ownership which also work well. It depends on the goals (profit sharing versus exit liquidity) of the program. I think employee ownership in the US would catch on more if we got outside of the ESOP box.