Developing Worker Opportunity to Own legislation: SF's proposed Worker Opportunity to Purchase Act
Date: Thursday, March 26, 2026Time: 01:00 PM ET / 12:00 PM CT / 11:00 AM MT / 10:00 AM PT [Prevailing Time]
Presenters: Hope Williams, Director of Legislative Advocacy, Sustainable Economies Law Center, Paola Eisner, Co-op Attorney, Tuttle Law Group, LLP
Moderator: Wayne Sine, CPA, MBA, Education Director, National Society of Accountants for Cooperatives
Learning Objectives:
• Describe current efforts to advance Worker Opportunity to Own (OTO) legislation at the federal, state, and local levels.
• Summarize the key features of proposed employee ownership legislation, including San Francisco’s Worker Opportunity to Purchase Act (WOPA).
• Discuss the policy, legal, and advocacy considerations involved in developing and advancing worker ownership legislation.
Field of Study: Business Law
Program Level: Basic
CPE Credit: 1 Credit Hour
Delivery Method: Group Internet-based
Prerequisite(s): No advanced preparation or prerequisites are required for this course.
Course Description
Hope Williams (the Sustainable Economies Law Center) and Paola Eisner (co-op attorney, Tuttle Law Group, SF) will review nationwide efforts to develop worker Opportunity to Own (OTO) legislation, including the proposed federal Employee Ownership Financing Act and Massachusetts and Rhode Island proposed OTO Acts. They will also discuss their California coalition's ongoing efforts to create and pass the Worker Opportunity to Purchase Act (WOPA) in San Francisco. The panelists will discuss WOPA's substantive provisions; as well as the ongoing political and organizing process the team is working though to get the Act passed.
Presenter and Moderator Bios
Presenter: Hope Williams, Director of Legislative Advocacy, Sustainable Economies Law Center
Hope Williams is the Director of Legislative Advocacy at the Sustainable Economies Law Center. As a black queer woman in the Bay Area she is devoted to housing rights and organizing people-power to fight the oppressive white supremacist regime. She spends most of her time making sure that the law is accessible to the people. She is a San Francisco City Commissioner and serves as a board member for both the San Francisco Community Land Trust and California Community Land Trust Network. Her background includes managing political campaigns, organizing within the boycott division of UniteHere!, organizing endorsements for Berkeley's Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act, and coalescing with tenants rights organizations. In her spare time, she secretly trains people on how to get arrested through coordinated acts of civil disobedience.
Presenter: Paola Eisner, Co-op Attorney, Tuttle Law Group, LLP
Paola Eisner provides transactional legal services to cooperatives and other mission-aligned businesses as an attorney at Tuttle Law Group (TLG). TLG is based in San Francisco, California. Paola advises different kinds of co-ops, including worker and union co-ops, agricultural co-ops, and housing co-ops. Paola also enjoys working on legislative drafting and policy development. Paola is on the board of the Co-op Professionals Guild and is on the steering committee of Cooperation Richmond. You can reach Paola at paola@cooplawgroup.com.
Moderator: Wayne Sine, CPA, MBA, Education Director, National Society of Accountants for Cooperatives
After retiring as Tax Director of a regional supply cooperative on the East Coast, Wayne Sine was asked to serve as Education Director for NSAC. As an active and long-term member of NSAC, Wayne previously served as Chair of NSAC’s Tax Committee, President of the Atlantic Chapter, and was a recipient of NSAC’s Silver Bowl Award. In addition to his work with NSAC, Wayne has also served on the Legal, Tax, and Accounting (LTA) Committee of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, Chaired the Tax Committees for both the Virginia Chamber of Commerce and the Virginia Manufacturers Association, served on the Tax Policy Committee of the Virginia Society of CPAs, and served as Region Vice President for Tax Executives Institute.
CostFree for NSAC Members / $65.00 for Non-Members
Delivery System
- All programs are delivered using the Zoom platform.
- Confirmations will include log-in instructions.
- Participants are able to participate using any device with an Internet connect (if the device does not have speakers, the participant can also dial-in) or they can participate with audio only by dialing in.
- All registrants will receive a link to the CLN’s recording by email within 48 business hours of event’s conclusion.
- There will be assistance available to help with technical and connectivity issues up to 10 minutes prior to the start of the presentation.
Registration
All registration is done on-line and each guest must provide their name and email address to participate. All NSAC members may register for free. Non-members may register for a nominal fee.
Refund Policy
NSAC will not issue refunds for CLNs. If a registrant is unable to participate in the CLN and provides notification to info@nsacoop.org 48 hours prior to the session, a credit will be provided for a future CLN. Alert the NSAC staff member monitoring the CLN if technical difficulties are encountered and technical support will be provided to eliminate problems with future CLNs.
Additional Information
Live participation is required for CPE credit and polling questions must be answered to document your active participation. All registrants will receive an email following the session with links to the slides and/or handouts, and a link to the CLN recording (unless otherwise stated). If you are unable to participate in the live session, you can still watch the recorded session, but you will not be eligible for CPE credits. Those eligible for credits will receive their certificate by email with 7 business days.
For more information regarding NSAC CLNs or administrative policies such as complaint and refund, contact the NSAC Headquarters, 7946 Clyo Road, Suite A, Centerville, OH 45459, 937-222-6707, or info@nsacoop.org.