A Year of Supporting Workers in Need

Over the last year, the CWE network of community organizations and unions have supported the workers being left behind in NYC’s uneven economic recovery. In total, nearly 40,000 individuals, both union and community members, were enrolled in over 4,100 CWE funded classes and placement initiatives last year.

One group of workers in need has been front of mind for many. New York continues to welcome a historic migration of asylum seekers who need help acclimating to the city and finding stable work. CWE’s Immigration Protection Group has risen to the challenge in 2023. IPG members have been on the front lines supporting arriving migrants. Catholic Charities administered a navigation center for new immigrants. Make the Road New York distributed free cell phones and held orientation sessions to familiarize migrants with the city and their legal rights. In Brooklyn and the Bronx, New York Communities for Change (NYCC) is providing migrants with English classes that are a building block for success in the United States. 

“What CWE’s IPG partners do today is more critical than ever,” says Darly Corniel, CWE’s Director of Education. “We have a new influx of vulnerable individuals into our communities who are perfect prey for unscrupulous employers and employment agencies. We have families with language barriers, trying to understand what their rights and responsibilities are and in need of guidance navigating the city and our processes. All of this is on top of their need for legal services. Our partners do the necessary work under the most critical and difficult circumstances.”

The IPG receives funding from the City Council to provide educational services to immigrant communities that are a key part of helping new immigrants succeed in New York. Classes include English, citizenship, computer literacy, and know your rights, and are held at organizations that immigrants trust like Make the Road New York, New York Communities for Change, Yemeni American Merchants Association, the Ansob Center for Refugees, St. Jerome H.A.N.D.S. Community Center, 1199 SEIU, and the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union. The classes are available alongside the many other services that these organizations provide to immigrants. 

Black New Yorkers are also facing crisis levels of unemployment after the pandemic. The gap between Black and white unemployment rates is at historic levels.   

Phipps Neighborhoods, one of the newest CWE partners, serves the largely Black and Latino communities of the Bronx and launched a new job training program, Career Network: Building Services, with funding from CWE’s Jobs to Build On program.  

“The resources have allowed us to build our infrastructure, build our staff, and expand our impact in the community,” says Dwayne Brown, Deputy Executive Director of Workforce and Education at Phipps Neighborhoods.

In its first cohort, 18 local residents were trained in building management. Phipps Neighborhoods partnered with Hostos Community College to provide classroom learning and hands-on training for those enrolled in the five-week program. Students received eight industry-recognized certifications and on-the-job training at internships to ensure they were job ready immediately after program graduation. 

“It’s a model for how we can uplift Black people,” says Brown.

Another group of workers still struggles to find a job despite record low unemployment rates. Many companies refuse to hire workers who have spent time in prison, leaving them either unemployed, exploited by unscrupulous employers, or forced to turn to unlawful activities to make money.

“There is a mindset that says because you committed a crime, you can never be trusted,” says Mary Bedeau, Deputy Executive Director of the Center for Employment Opportunities, which was created to support these workers. “People can learn from their mistakes and never do it again. At some point, we have to ask: How much money do we want to put in the carceral system to keep people behind bars who are perfectly functional?”

Funding from the Consortium for Worker Education helps CEO provide support so these workers can overcome barriers to succeeding in work. 

These much-needed services will continue into 2024. This year, the New York City Council reinvested in New York workers by restoring funding for the Jobs to Build On, Worker Service Centers, and Immigration Protection Group programs that are administered by CWE and implemented by our network of partners.

As we celebrate the holidays and look forward to the new year, we at CWE will be honoring the work of this network of organizations striving for all New Yorkers to succeed in our city’s economy.