Milwaukee Jobs Initiative

In Wisconsin, the Milwaukee Jobs Initiative, a labor-community-business effort that is involved with welfare-to-work and a wide range of other labor market initiatives, has a unique problem--finding enough workers to supply the area's labor market. Manufacturers who made it through the recession of the 1980s are doing well. So well, in fact, that area unemployment remains low and there is a critical need for skilled workers.

With seven-year funding support from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Milwaukee Jobs Initiative is designed to recruit and train central city workers for skilled employment opportunities throughout the region. Unions are heavily involved in the Initiative, and union representatives make up a third of the project's tripartite board. Working in concert with the labor-management Wisconsin Regional Training Partnership (WRTP), the unions help identify places where there are job openings. Labor and management representatives sit down to identify the skill needs for the jobs.

The WRTP then works with community-based organizations and others to recruit people for those jobs and to provide training that lasts anywhere from four to twelve weeks. They also provide the external supports necessary to allow the recruits to get and keep the jobs.

Over the last two years, more than 400 participants have been placed, earning wages of $11 or more an hour, plus benefits. This compares to an average wage for welfare-to-work efforts across the country of about $7.50 an hour.

Unions use mentoring and buddy systems so that new workers are paired with experienced workers.

The Union Advantage

Union involvement in the Initiative is critical. Union members and leaders know the industries and firms where the jobs are. They know who's hiring. They also know what kinds of specific skills are required and how they can best be taught. This is far more effective than most recruitment systems, where those doing the recruitment and training often have little direct knowledge or connection to the final job.

Unions use mentoring and buddy systems so that new workers are paired with experienced workers. This can be important where there are big differences in ethnic background, age and experience between the new workers (who are mostly in the 20s and members of minority groups) and those who have been employed in the past (who are older and white). Experienced mentors help introduce the new worker to the rules and operating procedures of the plant and help them bridge the gaps.

Training

Each of the recruits under the Milwaukee welfare-to-work program receives 12 weeks of training. This includes help with basic skills and an introduction to what to expect in the workplace and the reality of holding a job.

Many of the worksites already have workplace learning centers in place, where training is provided incumbent workers as part of the Regional Training Partnership. These are being adapted to help the new welfare-to-work workers. These centers provide everything from help getting a GED to work on basic process skills and advanced training.

Gains for the Community

As a result, both community and unions benefit. Faced with a shortage of trained workers, many employers had been turning to temporary workers to fill vacancies. This threatened to undermine the union's position in the workplace. By helping employers find good workers, unions make their companies stronger and enhance their long-term competitiveness.

The program is strengthening community ties and opening doors in many communities where the union movement previously had little access. This, in turn, strengthens union voice in public policy and the economic development arena. As the new recruits learn more about unions and the benefits they provide and get more involved in union activities, they bring a new level of vitality and energy to the shop floor and to their unions.