Bill to Verify Legal Workers on Publicly-Funded Developments

Contractors working in developments funded by Allegheny County may soon be asked to verify that their laborers are cleared to work in the United States.

Allegheny County Council has passed a bill that would require contractors to run their employees’ names through a federal database, to make sure they’re working legally.

Sponsoring Councilman Ed Kress says the legislation is meant to make sure the County’s contractors don’t “cheat” by paying illegal workers less than the federal minimum wage.

The “E-Verify” bill only applies to projects using more than $100,000 in public funds.

Kress says the bill fits in with the county’s history of supporting the labor movement.

“Illegal immigration is diametrically opposed to the labor movement, because the labor movement was about improving the conditions of the workers, improving the wages. Illegal immigration doesn’t do that,” says Kress. “It suppresses the wages. It exploits the workers.”

Kress says while most employees are confirmed by the internet database within a day, anybody who isn’t has time to prove their legal working status.

Union Reps Honor Workers Memorial Day 2011

One-hundred years ago 146 workers died in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire in New York City. Today in downtown’s Market Square, union leaders joined together to say what it will take to make sure a similar disaster could never happen today.

The union representatives gathered at the Workers Memorial and expressed fear that today’s politicians are breaking down the workplace safety standards with consistent attacks on collective bargaining agreements. The unions say they rely on these contracts to achieve certain safety standards in the workplace.

Jack Shea, President of the Allegheny County Labor Council AFL-CIO says the Workers Memorial is a yearly reminder that the fight for workers rights rages on.

“You know every year on this date when we come here we mourn for the dead, fight for the living and we will continue to fight until one day we won’t have to come here anymore,” Shea says.

Frank Snyder, Secretary Treasurer of the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO also spoke at the event. He says the number of work-related deaths is more than the common person may realize.

“Think about this: Every day in this country 149 workers lose their lives as a result of their workplaces, 12 will die from injuries and 137 from diseases. Every day,” Snyder says.

According to the AFL-CIO, 166 workeRS in Pennsylvania were killed on the job in 2009.

Career Week in Pittsburgh Looks at Future

Imagine! Career Week kicked off its weeklong effort to show students throughout the region that there are many different career paths open to them with a gathering of those who create jobs and train future workers. Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board sponsors the event.

Governor Tom Corbett delivered the keynote address and called on those gathered to think of innovative ways to link area business with education providers. He told a story of a manufacturing firm in Southwestern Pennsylvania that rejected job applicant after job applicant because they did not have the needed math skills. The company turned to the local school district and offered to buy them new math books to make sure what they needed was part of the curriculum. The school district rejected the idea. Corbett said too often “we are teaching to the 20th century while living in the 21st century.”

Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware CEO Daniel Fitzpatrick agreed with the governor. He told those gathered there are jobs in the state that remain open because qualified candidates are not applying. Patrick went on to say economic development organizations and city leaders too often focus only on increasing the number of college grads in their region. “But the bottom line is we can’t forget about career training and technical skills because that is an opportunity for us as a commonwealth and as a country to catch up, so it is important that this be about academics and job training,” said Fitzpatrick.

Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board also honored several students for essays they submitted. Among them was Deer Lakes Middle School student Eric Stresky who wants to be a veterinarian when he grows up and Marcus Colella who wrote about becoming a radiologist. “Having the opportunity to help others and to help them recover is exciting,” says Colella.

Lisa Stabryla says she hopes to become a civil engineer. “It’s a male dominant field but I feel that in today’s society women are going to start coming out and doing better things,” says Stabryla. The Carrick High School senior says her dream is to design a bridge.

Pgh Ranks High for High School Diplomas, Low for Degrees

Lower unemployment than most, poorer roads than most: those are a couple of the findings of a new benchmark study comparing a 22 county Pittsburgh region with 14 other cities. The report was compiled by the Regional Indicators at Pittsburgh today dot org.
In the 2nd part of our look at this study, DUQ’s Kevin Gavin talks with the director of the Regional Indicators, Doug Heuck about some of the 10 categories including economy, arts, health, education and demographics.

Listen to the interview

Listen to Part 1

Group Aims to Diversify Workforce

The Western Pennsylvania Diversity Initiative held their monthly meeting on Tuesday. The non-profit organization works to diversify the workforce in the region.

The meeting, titled, Riveting Diversity, attracted a few dozen people. They listened to Paul Hawkins, a consultant speak about how diversity can make companies more profitable.

Neal Homles, president of the group says a diverse community doesn't necessarily equate a diverse workforce. He says he works with a few dozen companies in making sure their workforces represent the diversity of the region- including racial, religious, age, gender and socio-economic class.

He added that diversity growth is an ongoing process.

"I would never lead any company or organization to think this is something that's a one-quick fix solution. Diversity will continue to evolve," he said.

Push For Minimum Wage Boost in PA

A liberal-leaning Harrisburg think tank is urging lawmakers to increase the state's minimum wage next year.
Economist Mark Price of the Keystone Research Center says tying the rate to inflation would make a big difference for poorer Pennsylvanians.

"If you raise the minimum wage in Pennsylvania to account for inflation over the last year, that would work out to about a 12 cent increase. Which would be less than 300 dollars a year. So it's important to note we're not really talking about large sums for most people. But these are low-wage workers who make the order of about 15-thousand dollars a year. And even that small amount goes a long way."

Price says poorer Pennsylvanians are getting left behind, as the cost of living goes up...

"And a minimum wage increase that was, say, tied to the rate of inflation would help put a break on it. It's not going to end poverty in Pennsylvania, and it won't lift a lot of these workers out of poverty. But again, 300 dollars - that means a lot to a lot of low-income families."

Pennsylvania's minimum wage is $7.25 - the same as the federal rate.
A 2006 state law gradually increased the minimum wage by more than a dollar between 2007 and July 2009, when it was last increased.
The governor and legislators' salaries are tied to inflation rates, as are cabinet officials' and state judges' pay rates.

CCAC Launches new Focus on Shale Jobs

The Community College of Allegheny County says it will begin offering new degree and certificate programs specifically designed to create graduates ready to work in the Marcellus Shale fields of Pennsylvania. CCAC Allegheny County Workforce Alliance Executive Director Charles Blocksidge says the college began by looking at all the skill sets in demand in the shale gas industry and then tweaking the classes already in place to make sure they fit the needs. Blocksidge says for students already enrolled in welding or other in-demand-skills classes, graduates will be ready to take jobs in a few weeks. Others just starting such programs could have the skills in as little as 15 weeks. At the same time, the school will be building new programs to answer demand. Blocksidge says those new programs include a welding associate’s degree aimed at the skills needed to build natural gas transmission lines, a bio-remediation certificate which includes a partnership with Frac Biologics and Allegheny-Singer Research Institute, a drilling industry certificate which will be a non-credit, short-term training program addressing many of the skill sets in electronics, instruments and controls needed by mechanics and other industry personnel, and a First Responder PA DOH certification to train individuals who might be first on the scene of an industrial type emergency. Blocksidge says, “Current state and regional proposals focus on helping individuals become entry-level field workers for the industry. CCAC also wants to position itself to serve those industry employees who seek more substantial positions in the industry and to assist entry-level workers in their move up career ladders.” In all, the college identified 11 existing associate’s degrees and 10 credit certificate programs that align with industry workforce needs. Blocksidge says additional programs, both credit and non-credit, have substantial overlap with skills required by positions in the industry.

WPDI to Hold Event on Diversity in the Workforce

The Western Pennsylvania Diversity Initiative (WPDI) will hold a symposium in Pittsburgh Wednesday to talk about retaining a diverse workforce in today’s economy.
WPDI President Neal Holmes says New Jersey consultant Tiffany Taylor Smith will discuss how to retain a diverse workforce with today’s unstable economy.
Holmes says Smith will touch on points such as cross collaboration, interpersonal and group relations, networking, mentoring, and engaging more of the Pittsburgh workforce to build on maintaining its diversity.
Holmes says diversity is always at the forefront in any workforce, and is certainly an concern in Pittsburgh. “In today’s society, I think more so than ever, given the political and economical climate, it’s important to have these conversations so employers know what they need to bring not only to their workforce environment, but to the community itself.”
Holmes says the presentation will involve interactions between audience members and speakers so that individuals can have the opportunity to hear different perspectives from different work genres.
The event will be from 8:30 to 10:30 am in room 920 of the City-County building. Holmes says members and non-members can attend for free by signing up on the website, wpdiversity.org.

Pittsburgh Has Fifth Most Educated (Young) Workforce

48.1% of those 25 to 34 have at least a bachelor's degree. 21.5% have graduate or professional degrees, making the city number one in the country. Only 2.2% lack a high school diploma or equivalent--lowest in the U.S.

Using census data, Pitt's University Center for Social and Urban Research has published a report in the "Pittsburgh Economic Quarterly", which regional economist Chris Briem says reflects today's employment realities and the metamorphosis of the workforce as the economy has restructured itself. Pittsburgh's older age groups lag behind national numbers.

When blue collar jobs predominated, workers learned complex, specialized skills on the job and often kept at it their whole working lives. If they lost that job, they were relatively unprepared for other work. Young people today may expect to change employers and careers many times, and a degree helps with such transitions, making education more important than in the past.

Briem says the Pittsburgh region obsesses over migration issues because of historic population loss as many blue collar jobs disappeared, but this data proves many young graduates are staying or returning to the area.

The article is available at: