Out of Scope: Workforce and economic development agencies are supposed to be business-led boards. Why would we help unions?
By pursuing a job quality approach, we made an explicit decision to raise the floor and lift the ceiling on the quality of work in our community. Unions are some of the best partners to learn from in these efforts. Not everyone on our board will agree with every strategy we put forward, but it is our responsibility to find common ground amid competing interests and drive toward outcomes for the participants in our programs.
Concerns for Diversity within Unions: Unions have their own challenges related to racism, sexism and lack of inclusivity in their workplaces.
Construction unions in particular are overrepresented by white men and continue to experience high levels of racism, sexism and other challenges related to an inclusive workplace. Like all job quality measures, outcomes will be reported by race and gender to understand any disparate impacts, and we will investigate any reports from our participants about physically or emotionally unsafe work environments. Additionally, by partnering with unions we can help to diversify their membership by placing job center clients in union positions.