By Danielle LeSure
February 2, 2009

The U.S. Conference of Mayors WDC Board Discuss Impact of New Administration's Economic Recovery Plan

By Danielle LeSure

Over 40 Workforce Development Council (WDC) members from across the nation met in the Washington (DC) Capital Hilton for The U.S. Conference of Mayors WDC Board and Annual Winter Meeting January 16-17. During the meeting, they explored the potential impact of the new administration and economic recovery plan on workforce development with Congressman Chaka Fattah (PA) and Congressional staffers from both the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate. "Ten million Americans are not working and need training . . . the only way to get at these problems is through workforce development," proclaimed Fattah. He mentioned how the new Office of Urban Policy, under the Obama administration, will be key in getting the economy back on track by having a voice for cities. Fattah also explained that the new economic recovery plan "is just a down payment on what we need to do - put Americans back to work."

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The following Congressional staffers also explored the economic recovery plan with WDC members in a panel discussion: Gerri Fiala, Majority Staff Director of the Senate Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety; Kelly Hastings, Minority Research Assistant for the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP); Megan O'Reilly, Labor Policy Advisor for the House Committee on Education and Labor; and Kirsten Duncan, Professional Staff for the House Committee on Education and Labor. The panelists primarily focused on the workforce outlook of the 111th Congress and discussed new legislation that will create job training funding and increased opportunities for youth engagement.

Providence (RI) Mayor David Cicilline spoke to WDC members and created a dialogue around how to build workforce efforts through green initiatives, such as GreenPrint Providence. The strategic plan seeks to enact climate protection measures to not only ensure better air quality, but to also create new jobs. He stated, "In creating a culture of compliance, we will create more opportunities for workers in our city." WDC members enjoyed his presentation because it revealed additional ways they can collaborate with their mayors to create similar workforce development opportunities in a green economy.

Kathryn Jo Mannes, Director of the Center for Workforce and Economic Development at the American Association of Community Colleges, presented ways to align workforce and adult education. She emphasized the role of community colleges in job training. She stated, "Colleges must get more creative. It's not always about getting a degree, it's also about getting the credentials and experience." This led to a dialogue around how workforce centers and community colleges can collaborate to help build long term career path for those in their cities.

John Colbert, a partner in the governmental relations firm Moss, McGhee, Bradley and Colbert, presented on the Obama/Biden transition and workforce development. During the Clinton administration, Colbert served as the Chief of Staff for the Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration. At the meeting he explored how the current recession calls for an economic recovery package because without it, an 11 percent unemployment rate is predicted by the end of 2009 and 16 million private sector job losses are predicted by 2012. He stated that Obama seeks to largely increase funding for workforce. Thus, the challenge will be to find ways to best ensure quality investments in job training by working across the system.

Newly elected WDC President Michael Gritton, Executive Director of Kentuckiana Works, shared suggestions and led a discussion on how to align the local workforce for the next economic recovery. He stated, "We need to be thinking in advance and doing things now to be two steps ahead if we receive additional workforce dollars so we can find better ways to spend money, to better serve our customers."