Upcoming Events
For too many Americans, their hard work does not provide them with family-sustaining wages, benefits, safety, or hours that allow them to take care of both their work and home responsibilities. Workers from underserved communities are more likely to face such challenges. If we want our middle class to thrive and grow, a focus on connecting people to good jobs, and not just any job, is a necessity.
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Job Quality Academy, designed and operated in partnership with Jobs For the Future (JFF) and other national partners, presents a unique opportunity to help the workforce system focus on enhancing good jobs and opportunities for workers. This may be achieved via new types of partnerships that support industry sectors that are challenged in the area of job quality. The Academy seeks to provide teams with the knowledge and expertise to build the principles of a good job into their policies and programs.
The Job Quality Academy is accepting applications until March 14th, 2023. To find out more about the Job Quality Academy please click here.
Past Events
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.