WORKER CENTER, AFL-CIO

The Worker Center, AFL-CIO (WC) was organized in 1986 by progressive labor, religious and community groups to promote labor-community cooperation and to advance high road economic development. The Worker Center fights economic decline and works to retain good jobs in the greater Seattle area. Over the past 15 years, it has evolved into a well-respected, widely recognized affiliate of the local central labor council.

History

The Worker Center was established by community and labor organizations in response to the economic turmoil in wood products, shipbuilding and manufacturing throughout the 1980s. After its founding in 1986, the center became a focal point for employee ownership and displaced worker services. In the 1990s, the core services continued to expand into new areas as the center became a major force in the economic development arena. In 1995, following the election of Ron Judd as the King County Labor Council's principal officer, the Worker Center was integrated into the Council as its workforce and economic development arm. The center remains a not-for-profit organization governed by a labor-community board.

Goals

• To increase the King County Central Labor Council's capacity to carry out initiatives that generate high-skill, high-wage jobs;
• To improve workforce development and training systems and to deliver services for dislocated workers;
• To provide alternatives to closures, such as employee ownership services;
• To build alliances with community and environmental organizations;
• To provide a voice for workers and their families in the workplace, community and economy.

Activities

The center's activity focuses on retaining and expanding the base of high-wage jobs and creating a high road path for all sectors of the regional economy.

• Economic Development: The center catalyzed and staffed numerous coalition efforts in the region to retain shipyard and industrial jobs.
• King County Re-Employment Support Center: The center hosts on-site labor-management committees, counseling and referral, and provides a quarterly guide to job search assistance and a training and employment website.
• Project Labor Agreements (PLA): The center promotes PLAs and apprenticeship utilization requirements (AUR), with special attention paid to the needs of minorities and women.
• Trades Mentor Network: Established in 1992 the network offers ongoing support to build and retain minority and female membership in the building trades and state-certified apprentice programs.
• Employee Ownership Services: These range from feasibility studies to financing assistance.
• School-to-Work: The Worker Center educates workers about their rights, recruits union volunteers and interacts with other public and private organizations with responsibility in this area.
• Community and Technical College Liaison: The liaison provides technical assistance to labor representatives.

Results

• The center has become a recognized asset for the labor community in economic development and education and training, both as a service provider and as a voice for workers in public policy. City and county development agencies frequently consult with the center.
• A highly efficient, professional, worker-friendly program of rapid response in 1999 assisted 61 companies and more than 7,000 dislocated workers.
• In the 1990s project labor agreements and AUR increased women and minority participation in the trades. In 1997, AUR applied to $1.1 billion in projects, generating 890 apprenticeship opportunities in 26 trades. Minorities and women accounted, respectively, for 27 percent and 21 percent of all those hours, compared with their, respective, 12 and 5 percent participation in the county construction labor force.
• The Trade Mentor Network has led to a dramatic increase in retention rate among women and minority workers. 1994-1997 retention for participants averaged 70 compared with 40 for those not mentored
• By 1999, the center's school-to-work programming and mentor network had educated thousands of Seattle students and parents about workplace rights and unions.
• The center's successful activities have attracted public funding, increasing its capacity to deliver services and assist the King County Labor Council as a voice for working families in the economy.