Good Jobs Initiative Events

The Biden Administration is making significant investments in the Good Jobs Initiative (GJI), providing resources to states that prioritize the creation of quality jobs across different industry sectors. Led by the U.S. Department of Labor, the GJI is focused on improving job quality and creating access to good jobs for all working people, including people with disabilities. View this exciting webinar to hear from a variety of employers and the people with disabilities they employ in good jobs about their experiences, available supports, and the ways that employees with disabilities have benefitted their businesses.

In this webinar, presenters shared strategies to support the business and the employees to ensure their joint success and promote retention and opportunities for advancement.

On May 31, 2023, Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AA and NHPI) leaders and workers engaged in discussion at the Department of Labor about issues affecting AA and NHPI workers, including worker organizing, data disaggregation, and language access. Speakers emphasized the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment and the steps the Department of Labor has taken to advance equity for AA and NHPI communities. The panel highlighted worker stories and the opportunity to create good-quality jobs, improve working conditions, and raise awareness of worker rights.

Speakers included: 

• Erika Moritsugu, Deputy Assistant to the President and AA and NHPI Senior Liaison   
• Wendy Chun-Hoon, Women’s Bureau    
• James Walker, Bureau of Labor Statistics   
• Alvina Yeh, Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA)   
• Haeyoung Yoon, National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA)   
• Eric Nguyen, a banquet cook of UNITE HERE / Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA) 
• Uma Khanal, a nanny of Adhikaar / National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA) 
• Sylvia Liang, a homecare worker of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 775

On February 21st, 2023 Black labor leaders and workers engaged in discussion with U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh and Deputy Secretary Julie Su about the importance centering equity and job quality in the implementation of historic federal investments in infrastructure, clean energy, manufacturing, and technology. Panelists also discussed the potential of these investments to expand economic opportunity and equity, and the historic role of unions and worker organizing in strengthening and expanding a Black middle class.

Speakers include:

• Marty Walsh, U.S. Secretary of Labor
• Julie Su, Deputy Secretary of Labor
• Fredrick D. Redmond, Secretary-Treasurer of the AFL-CIO
• April Verrett, Secretary-Treasurer of the Service Employees International Union

Black-owned businesses play a critical role in our economy and our communities. They are also key partners in promoting job quality. On February 7th, 2023 Black small business owners and entrepreneurs, and Secretary Walsh came together to discuss challenges and best practices for creating good jobs, the business case for investing in job quality and opportunities for public-private partnerships and greater federal support.

On June 21, 2022 the U.S. Department of Labor in collaboration with the Families and Workers Fund hosted the Good Jobs Summit, a full-day conversation on how the federal government is administering and prioritizing the creation of good jobs through federal infrastructure investments.

Participants learned how to be competitive for investment opportunities through building partnerships among government, labor, and business through case studies. The summit also dove deeper into case studies of successful projects that created good jobs through gender and racial equity and a discussion on job quality measurements and data tracking in investments.

Deputy Secretary of Labor Julie A. Su served as mistress of ceremonies with special remarks by Secretary of Labor Martin J. Walsh, Representative Robert C. "Bobby" Scott, Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm, White House Cabinet Secretary Evan Ryan, White House Infrastructure Implementation Coordinator Mitch Landrieu and many more.

• View the Good Jobs principles
• View a list of the attendees
• Download the speaker bios
• Download the agenda
• View the video of the summit

On May 13, 2022 Secretary Walsh hosted a discussion with American Sustainable Business Network President David Levine and business owners about the department's Good Jobs Initiative and how private sector employers can recruit, retain and strengthen their workforce through improved job quality.