Ten of 23 regional demonstration programs funded by the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) to address the problem of skills shortages in the United States have extensive union roles, either as grantees or as partners. Many of the successful union-related applicants received technical assistance from the AFL-CIO Working for America Institute.

The Labor Department established the programs to respond to growing skills shortages in the nation through the establishment of regional consortia. The consortia serve regional labor market areas.

Grantees with union participation to date are the Labor Community Services of Los Angeles, the Farmworker Institute for Education and Leadership Development, the Chicago Federation of Labor & Industrial Union Council Workers Assistance Committee, the Florida AFL-CIO, the Rogue (Oregon) Community College, the University of Wisconsin System, SnoNet (Puget Sound Region of Washington state), the Alaska State Hospital & Nursing Home Association, the Federation of Southern Cooperatives (Alabama), and IBEW Local 3 with Cisco Systems and the City University of New York.

The Working for America Institute had a half dozen staff available to help these projects apply for this funding. The fact that so many of these projects have a very real connection to organized labor speaks well of the AFL-CIO’s efforts to build effective union roles in the workforce development system in local communities around the country.

The ten union-involved alliances are:

1. Alabama

Grantee: Federation of Southern Cooperatives, Epes, Alabama

Contact: John Zippert, 205-652-9676

Amount of Grant: $750,000

Partners: Community Services Programs of West Alabama; AFL-CIO Appalachian Council; University of Alabama; Tuskegee University; Stillman College; Shelton State Community College; Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama; Center for Business and Economic Research; Mercedes Benz Project USA.

The Plan: The West Alabama Regional Skills Consortium is a new partnership covering 17 counties from the North Alabama Shoals area to Mobile. The region is characterized by high unemployment and high poverty - the average throughout the area is 30.4 percent below the poverty rate.

This funding will expand and complement current West Alabama Chamber of Commerce activity in conjunction with statewide plans related to implementation of the Workforce Investment Act. The Consortium will execute regional research, planning and feasibility studies and design a system to prepare workers for specific local industry skill needs, with a special emphasis on overcoming barriers to employment other than skills, such as a lack of transportation and child care.

2. Alaska

Grantee: Alaska State Hospital & Nursing Home Association, Juneau, Alaska

Contact: Laraine L. Derr, 907-586-1790

Amount of Grant: $638,000

Partners: Alaska Process Industry Careers Consortium, Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, the University of Alaska System, Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, the Division of Public Health, Workforce Investment Boards, One-Stop Job Centers, School-to-Work and Alaska Human Resource Investment Council.

The Plan: The proposal addresses the same generic issues being experienced by two unrelated industries how to identify and obtain skilled workers that are and will be needed to maintain and expand two fast growing industries in the state petroleum processing and health care. The challenges of achieving this objective lead these two industries down the same path of reaching out to young Alaskans instead of routinely importing labor to fill both skilled and unskilled positions.

The project contains objectives to strengthen the workforce system: strengthen partnerships at federal, state, regional and local levels; identify jobs and openings; identify skills and competencies for those positions; identify resources for and gaps in acquiring those skills; assess skills possessed by the workforce; and create tools for sustainable assessment.

3. California

Grantee: Labor Community Services of Los Angeles

Contact: Goetz Wolff, 213-381-5611

Amount of Grant: $750,000

Partners: Los Angeles County Federation of Labor; United Way; the Entertainment Industry Development Council; Housing Authority of LA; LA Community College District; Kaiser Permanente and the AFL-CIO Coalition of Kaiser Permanente.

The Plan: The partners will establish a county-wide effort to develop a strategic regional labor market planning process that is broadly inclusive and crosses city and industry sector boundaries: analyzing labor supply and demand needs, and recommend training strategies to fit.

Potential trainees will be identified and referred to training providers through this planning process, and training program operators will be encouraged to work closely with employers. The first industry cluster to be studied is the film and television industry, particularly with a focus on new technologies. Other industries to be analyzed include private non-profit health care.

4. California

Grantee: Farmworker Institute for Education and Leadership Development (San Joaquin Valley), Keene, California

Contact: David Villarino, 661-822-5571

Amount of Grant: $750,000

Partners: Bear Creek Production Company; United Farmworkers of America; Catholic Charities; Kern County Board of Supervisors; Employment Development Department; Employers= Training Resource; University of California; Fresno State University.

The Plan: A southern San Joaquin Valley regional task force representing agribusiness, government, labor, and education, has been formed to develop an alliance called Skill Our Agribusiness Region (SOAR) to help meet the region=s agricultural employment and training needs. SOAR will examine the skills needs of employers and workers= skill shortages in three high-value crops in Kern County.

This funding will be targeted to enhance the skills of the local farm worker population, and assist in workforce investment planning SOAR will address both the skills shortage in the region=s agribusiness and the needs of farmworkers to have extended or year-round employment, skills training, and increased income.

5. Southeast Florida

Grantee: Florida AFL-CIO, Tallahassee, Florida

Contact: Marilyn P. Lenard, 850-224-6926

Amount of Grant: $535,940

Partners: Unite for Dignity; The Miami-Dade NAACP; Miami-Dade Community Action Agency Palm Beach; Broward and Miami-Dade Labor Councils; Center for Labor Research; Florida International University.

The Plan: The Florida AFL-CIO will develop a regional consortium to assess the skill needs of the nursing home industry in southeastern Florida. Despite workers= desire for more training, no systematic effort has been made to use these workers= perspectives to assess skill gaps and develop appropriate training.

This funding will support research to identify skills needed for quality nursing-home care and compare these with actual skills used by nursing-home workers. This information will be used to develop and implement training strategies and curriculum.

6. Illinois

Grantee: The Chicago Federation of Labor & Industrial Union Council Workers Assistance Committee, Chicago, Illinois

Contact: Donald Turner, 312-222-1000

Amount of Grant: $750,000

Partners: Chicago Manufacturing Institute, Center for Adult Experiential Learning, Metropolitan Planning Council, Great Cities Initiative, Urban League, Southwest Youth Collaborative, Chicago Area Workforce Investment Board and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.

The Plan: The plan is to create and develop regional skills consortia closing the gaps between the skills needed by the various industries and the skills of the current workforce.

This will be accomplished through coordination with One-Stop Centers, Youth Councils and other institutions as well as existing public and private education and training providers. Rather than creating a new infrastructure the current one will be strengthened.

7. New York

Grantee: City University of New York Research Foundation

Contact: John Montanez, 212-346-8011

Amount of Grant: $750,000

Partners: Cisco Systems, Y Software Industry Association, New York City Labor Market Intelligence Network; Bell Atlantic; NY New Media Association; International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers; the Alliance for Downtown New York.

The Plan: Many New Yorkers find themselves unable to compete for technical careers in information technology because they lack the proper skills. The Borough of Manhattan Community College, part of the City University system, will establish a broad coalition of secondary and postsecondary educational institutions, government agencies, unions, professional associations and private employers to plan a strategy for closing this critical skills gap.

The partners will develop plans to assess skills needs and skills levels, and develop a web site to report results to companies, training vendors and educational institutions.

8. Oregon

Grantee: Rogue Community College Business & Community Learning Services

Contact: Dr. V. Gerald Reed, 541-956-7115

Amount of Grant: $598,212

Partners: Job Council, Oregon Employment Department, Adult & Family Services, Apprenticeship & Training Council, Southern Oregon university, Goodwill Industries of Southern Oregon, Access, Inc., Jackson Education Service District, Southern Oregon Central Labor Council, Private Enterprises, Job Corps and Chamber of Commerce.

The Plan: The goal of this project is to create a model for rural workforce investment by forming regional consortia that will comprehensively survey and assess employer skill needs and workforce skills gaps, develop a comprehensive database and create a strategic plan to bridge this gap in the Rogue Valley.

The civilian labor force in the Rogue Valley has increased by 50 percent over the past 20 years while at the same time industry is shifting from its previous base of timber, mining and agriculture. Employment is anticipated to grow by more than 19 percent over the next 10 years with most of that growth generated in professional, technical and service occupations.

9. Washington

Grantee: SnoNet (Puget Sound Region)

Contact: Thomas Campbell, 425-921-3474

Amount of Grant: $750,000

Partners: Workforce Development Councils of Snohomish, King and Pierce counties; Washington Software Alliance; Washington State Council of the American Electronics Association; University of Washington; Technology Alliance; Bellevue, Edmonds and Pierce Community Colleges; Labor Councils of King, Washington Alliance of Technology Workers.

The Plan: Focusing on the serious skills shortages in the technology industry that has impacted the U.S. economy for five years, the regional partnership will study and address skills gaps in the Puget Sound area in existing and emerging technologies, with involvement and input from the telecommunications, software, information technology and electronics sectors.

The Central Puget Sound Consortium will link skill needs with the Workforce Investment system training programs in three counties and develop improved forecasting of needs, online tools linking planning and outreach, and a system for monitoring and continuous improvement.

10. Wisconsin

Grantee: University of Wisconsin System

Contact: John Ostheimer, 262-595-2261

Amount of Grant: $750,000

Partners: County governments of Racine and Kenosha counties; Racine County Economic Development Corporation and area manufacturers; Chamber of Commerce and Kenosha Area Business Alliance; Gateway Technical College; Carthage College; AFL-CIO Central Council; District Council of Carpenters; Urban League of Kenosha and Racine; The Spanish Center; Neighborhood Watch; Alcohol and Drug Councils.

The Plan: The partners will build a consortium in Southeast Wisconsin, where the economy has gone through numerous changes - from farming to traditional manufacturing to smaller manufacturing and retailing. Many young people are leaving the area, causing a serious shortage in high-skilled workers.

Three local colleges - University of Wisconsin Parkside, Gateway Technical College and Carthage College - will work with the other stakeholders and the local Workforce Investment Boards to assess needs and develop curriculums to meet the skills needs.