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Solis: ‘We Can Help!’
“I’m here to tell you that your president, your secretary of labor and this Department will not allow anyone to be denied his or her rightful pay — especially when so many in our nation are working long, hard and often dangerous hours,” said Secretary Solis before an energized crowd of workers, community advocates and faith leaders at the historic setting of Chicago’s famed Jane Addams Hull-House Museum, at the University of Illinois, Chicago. “We can help, and we will help.” Thursday’s event marked the beginning of the “We Can Help” nationwide campaign — an effort spearheaded by the Department’s Wage and Hour Division to help connect America’s most vulnerable and low-wage workers with the broad array of services offered by the Department of Labor. The multilingual campaign will place a special focus on reaching employees in construction, janitorial work, hotel/motel services, food services and home health care.
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Sí Se Puede—Honoring Chávez
The rights and benefits working Americans enjoy today were not easily gained—they were won. It took generations of courageous men and women, fighting to secure decent working conditions. Few have led this charge so tirelessly, and for so many, as César Chávez. In honor of César Chávez Day, Secretary Solis unveiled a mosaic mural of the famed labor and civil rights leader at the Department’s headquarters on Wednesday. The Secretary requested that the mural to be brought to the Frances Perkins Building after seeing the student-creation at the Las Artes Arts and Education Center in Tucson, Ariz. during a visit in February.
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Department Releases Report on LEP and Hispanic Worker Initiative
On Monday, the Department hosted a Coffee House briefing on an evaluation of the Limited English Proficiency (LEP) and Hispanic Worker Initiative. DOL Chief Economist Alex Mas offered opening remarks, and Vice President of Policy and Research Deborah Santiago of Excelencia in Education Inc. provided an overview and highlights from the report. The report details both the successes and challenges of a pilot project intended to develop language and training opportunities for workers with limited English skills. It serves as a guide for future employment programs targeting individuals who are considered limited English proficient, and provides insight for employers seeking to offer occupational skills to prepare workers for jobs in high-demand industries.
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ILAB and ETA Want You!
Last week, Anne Zollner and Jermaine Leonard from the Department’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) staffed an informational booth at American University in Washington, D.C. for their job recruitment fair. The event afforded ILAB, currently looking to hire more international specialists and economists, an opportunity to acquaint new undergraduate and graduate students with career opportunities with DOL. Employment and Training Administration (ETA) staffers Joseph Jenkins and Kirk Jefferson also participated in the event.
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Women Vets @ Work Jobs Summit
The Department’s Women’s Bureau, Region III, united with public, private, nonprofit and faith-based organizations to hold the “Women Vets @ Work Jobs Summit and Resource Fair” last week in Washington, D.C. The day-long event focused on connecting unemployed or under-employed women veterans to prospective employers and service providers. Fifty women veterans participated. Many women veterans stopped to thank the Women’s Bureau for holding an event designed for them. “Thanks for not looking at us as if we’re invisible,” one of the participants noted. While another woman veteran added, “Thank you for providing this job fair for women veterans. Some of us did not know this information was available.”
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OSHA Focuses on Enhancing Latino Worker Safety and Health
Increasing awareness about workplace safety and health among Latino workers and their families is the focus of the “We Can Help” Safety Fair April 17 in Houston. This event, sponsored by DOL’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Wage and Hour Division, will offer worker training on identifying and avoiding construction hazards such as falls and electrocutions. It will also offer free information on worker rights and resources, family safety training, and health and medical services. The safety fair is a continuation of the OSHA National Action Summit for Latino Worker Health and Safety April 14-15 that focuses on reducing injuries and illnesses and enhancing knowledge about workplace rights.
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Jobs, Jobs, Jobs…in Conn. and NY
On Monday, Secretary Solis kicked off a two-day tour of the Constitution and Empire states with a visit to Bridgeport, Conn. There, she was joined by Congressman Jim Hines on a visit to “The Workplace” —a DOL grantee focused on training workers for jobs in energy efficient construction, weatherization and retrofit. Later that day, she traveled to Hartford, where she took part in a press conference, with Congressman John Larson, regarding the importance of Summer Youth Employment projects. And, that evening, she delivered the keynote address at the 10th anniversary celebration of Hartford’s Jobs Funnel, which helps Hartford area residents seeking employment in construction. The following day, the Secretary toured SpectraWatt, a company in Hopewell Junction, N.Y. that manufactures solar panels and is hiring workers for high-paying green jobs. She was joined by Congressman John Hall on the visit.
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Upcoming Deadlines & Events
EEOMBD — EEOICPA Town Hall
MSHA — Mine Inspector Job Fair
OFCCP — AAP Development and Implementation
OFCCP — Affirmative Action Plan (AAP) Workshop
OFCCP — Compliance Assistance for Construction Contractors
OFCCP — Compliance Seminar
OFCCP — Compliance Assistance for Supply and Service Contractors
OFCCP — Ready, Set, Go for Construction Contractors Webinar
OSHA — National Action Summit for Latino Worker Health and Safety
WB — Green NOW (Nontraditional Opportunities for Women) Workshop and Exhibit
WB — Los Cambios en la Mujer Trabajadora en Puerto Rico (Changes in the Women’s Workforce in Puerto Rico)
WB — Young Women, Strong Leaders Conference
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What's Hot
DOL Announces $4 Billion in WIA and Wagner-Peyser Act Funds
The Department has announced nearly $4 billion in 2010 funding for Workforce Investment Act (WIA) and Wagner-Peyser Act programs. These funds are distributed nationwide to support high quality employment and training services and to help Americans get back to work. These services are delivered largely through the Department's national network of One-Stop Career Centers. "These funds, and the employment and training services that they support, are a cornerstone of our nationwide effort to prepare America's workers for good jobs — the kind that spur the economy and pay family-supporting wages," said Secretary Solis.
$10 Million Available to Help Vets
The Department’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service has announced two grant competitions amounting to more than $10 million aimed at helping veterans. The first makes available $8.3 million for programs that provide job training, counseling and placement services (including job readiness, and literacy and skills training) to expedite the reintegration of homeless veterans into the labor force through the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program. “Reintegrating these homeless veterans into meaningful employment is a crucial step in restoring the strength of our economy. Ending homelessness among those who have donned the military uniform is also the right thing to do,” said Secretary Solis.
The second $2 million grant competition under the Veterans’ Workforce Investment Program makes funding available to assist eligible veterans with employment, training, support services, credentialing and networking information in renewable and sustainable energy. “We have an obligation to our service men and women to do everything we can to help them transition smoothly into civilian life. These grants will not only help our veterans, they will provide an invaluable service to a burgeoning part of our economy. Veterans deserve good jobs, and green jobs are good jobs.”
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National News
Balancing Work and Family
On Wednesday, President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama discussed their personal struggles with juggling work and family life, especially before coming to Washington, at the White House Forum on Workplace Flexibility. "Workplace flexibility isn’t just a women’s issue. It’s an issue that affects the well-being of our families and the success of our businesses," said President Obama. Small business owners, business leaders, policy experts, workers and labor leaders joined with senior administration officials to share their ideas and strategies on creating workplace practices that allow working families to meet the demands of their jobs without sacrificing the needs of their families. Later, Secretary Solis participated in a panel discussion and shared the perspective of lower wage workers, many of whom face difficult challenges to finding flexibility in the workplace.
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DOL Working for You
A College Success Story, 20 Years in the Making
Although it took almost 20 years, human resource expert Datasha Merritt was determined to get her college degree and thanks to Labor Department funding, she succeeded. With the death of her children’s father, Merritt had to drop out of college in the 1990’s to support her family. When that job was eliminated, Merritt enrolled in the Michigan Works! No Worker Left Behind program funded by DOL, which lead to studying and graduating last year from Davenport University, Grand Rapids, Mich., with a business management degree.
Now she works as a human resource administrator for a home health care company, and she has implemented policies to help disadvantaged workers and empower women in the workplace. The No Worker Left Behind program “gave me hope when I felt hopeless,” Merritt said.
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News You Can Use
Recovery Work Shouldn't Put You in the Recovery Room
As residents in New England recover from the damage caused by multi-day rain storms, the Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) urges workers and members of the public engaged in cleanup activities to be aware of the hazards they can encounter and the necessary steps they should take to protect themselves. OSHA maintains a comprehensive Web site on keeping disaster site workers safe during cleanup and recovery operations. The Web page contains fact sheets, frequently asked questions, safety and health guides and information bulletins, public service announcements in English and Spanish, and links to information from other sources.
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Around DOL
Join OSHA Web Chat April 7 to Weigh in on DOL’s Strategic Plan
Would you like input on developing the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) strategic plan? You can speak your mind and offer suggestions during an April 7 Web chat with OSHA Assistant Secretary David Michaels. In order to more fully engage stakeholders in the strategic planning process, OSHA is launching an unprecedented outreach effort to solicit comments and suggestions. The new strategic plan will better align OSHA's strategic direction, goals and performance measures to achieve Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis’ vision of “Good Jobs for Everyone.” The Web chat is scheduled from 1:45 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. EDT.
Other DOL agencies will also be hosting discussions on their strategic plans throughout the week.
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DOL in Action
Funds Available for Women in Apprenticeship Programs
A grant competition to fund programs preparing women for careers through apprenticeship programs is underway. Through the Women in Apprenticeship and Non-traditional Occupations program, $1.8 million will be available to organizations for delivering training in construction, advanced manufacturing, transportation and green jobs. The grants will be jointly administered by the Department's Employment and Training Administration and Women's Bureau.
DOL Secures Almost $1.8M in Back Wages for 700 DC Workers
Approximately 700 employees of Hawk One Security, a Washington, D.C., security guard contractor, will receive $1.78 million in unpaid back wages. The company failed to pay employees for work performed in late 2009. The Department announced that it had secured consent to disburse the funds earlier this week. “This week's announcement is the culmination of work by the department’s Wage and Hour Division and its Office of the Solicitor staff to secure the payment of the wages owed these workers,” said the division’s deputy administrator, Nancy J. Leppink. “The Wage and Hour Division is committed to ensuring all employees receive the wages they are entitled to under the laws that we enforce.”
First Meeting of CHIP Working Group
The Departments of Labor and Health and Human Services will hold the first meeting of the Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program and Employer Sponsored Coverage Coordination Working Group on April 26 in Washington, D.C. The group will hold two meetings to develop a model coverage coordination disclosure form for group health plan administrators and report on impediments to the effective coordination of coverage.
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Green Scene
Job Corps Heating Up
Working alongside their Home Building Institute Instructor and local contractor K&M Shillingford, Tulsa Job Corps Center Facilities Maintenance students learned how to install a new energy-efficient hot water unit that was purchased with Recovery Act funds for the center's cafeteria. "I had a lot of fun working with my classmates and instructor on this project," said Tulsa Job Corps student Marissa Justice. "We got to test out our new skills and learn about green technology at the same time. I feel better prepared for maintenance industry jobs that will require knowledge of energy-efficient equipment."
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Recovery Highlights
$1.7 Million Available to Alabamans
More than 300 workers across southwest Alabama are eligible to receive employment and training services through a $1.7 million National Emergency Grant. Awarded to the the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs, the grant will target workers who have been affected by layoffs in the manufacturing and lumber industries. Training will help these workers transition into careers in promising regional industries including aerospace, construction, healthcare, industrial maintenance, maritime and steel manufacturing.
Wisconsin Manufacturing Workers to Receive Assistance
The Department also announced a $13,614,919 National Emergency Grant to assist 2,817 workers affected by layoffs at multiple companies in Wisconsin, primarily in the manufacturing sector. Awarded to the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, this grant will be operated by a number of workforce boards statewide. Many workers eligible to receive assistance through this grant are also involved in pending Trade Adjustment Assistance(TAA) petitions. Those who are found eligible for TAA will be able to access “wrap-around” and supportive services, including dependent care and transportation assistance.
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Opportunities are Open: WHD Can Help!
This week, Secretary Solis announced a national campaign, "We Can Help," committed to bringing justice to the nation’s working poor. This is one step the Department is taking to renew its emphasis on assisting workers who often find themselves denied their rightful pay and underscore that wage and hour laws apply to all workers, regardless of status. DOL is shoring up our Wage and Hour Division nationwide to help in this effort! Explore the WHD positions below or view all the rewarding openings at DOL.
- Positions in Richmond, VA
Wage & Hour Compliance Investigator — GS-1849-09/09
DE-10-PHIL-WHD-0057
Close: 04/13/2010
- Position in Washington DC Metro Area
Program Assistant (OA) — GS-0344-06/07
DE-10-ESA-WH-34
Close: 04/05/2010
- Position in Washington DC Metro Area
Information Technology Specialist (CLR) — GS-2210-13/13
DE-10-ESA-WH-41
Close: 04/09/2010
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