Introducing our new President
Marco Carrión is the new president of the Consortium for Worker Education. He assumes leadership of the city’s foremost workforce development organization at a moment when the nature of work and needed skills are rapidly changing and workers need innovative support to succeed.
Carrión was born and raised in the Bronx. The son of a dedicated union teacher and a community activist, he learned the dignity of work and the power of collective action. “Always give back to your community -- that was instilled in me early on,” says Carrión.
Carrión’s career has taken him between roles in labor unions, neighborhood organizations, and government. He got his start in positions with the United Federation of Teachers, the AFL-CIO, and New York State Senator Gustavo Rivera. Later, he served as political director of the New York City Central Labor Council and led campaigns that organized the city’s labor movement around common goals.
Carrión then became the commissioner of the Community Affairs Unit under Mayor Bill de Blasio. In the mayor’s office, Carrión focused on using his position to empower communities to build power the way unions do and make their voices heard in government decision making. He also saw union members from another angle, in their neighborhood.
“Workers see themselves in a multidimensional way. Union members are also residents and members of community and religious organizations.”
Most recently, he was the executive director of El Puente, a community organization in Williamsburg, Brooklyn that is known for its youth education and advocacy initiatives.
His multifaceted experience will be an asset to CWE, which unites labor, community and governmental stakeholders to coordinate services and maximize funding for worker training and protection.
Carrión plans to build on CWE’s historic role as the city’s workforce development leader and expand its reach to help more workers. He is also preparing the organization to meet the needs that workers will have in the future.
“Workers are threatened by AI, they are under pressure to make more money for companies, and many are moving into gig jobs. We need to build the infrastructure to support workers and their unions, so they can build skills and protect themselves.”
Carrión sees CWE’s dedicated and experienced staff as its greatest asset in helping the organization’s partners and workers overcome these headwinds.
“I have always appreciated the work that CWE does and admired the long-serving staff. They deserve a lot of recognition for the work they do every day on behalf of our city’s workers.”