| | How To Listen |
|
| 9/11/2007 | More Than a Paycheck: A Conversation On Why Job Quality Matters and What We Can Do About It |  |  |
| The American Dream promises that if you are willing to work hard, you will be able to achieve a better life for yourself and your family. But too many people are stuck in bad jobs—jobs that pay poverty-level wages and offer no benefits, jobs with little opportunity for advancement, jobs in which workers don’t know from week to week if they’ll get enough hours to pay their bills, jobs that workers can lose for staying home with a sick child.
In this audio conference, you’ll hear about the state of job quality in the U.S. today and how a focus on improving job quality can help reduce poverty and support families. You’ll learn why poor job quality is an issue that especially affects women. And you’ll find out about a proposed New York State law that would have required state agencies to focus on placing clients in jobs that pay sustainable wages.
The call will be held at 12:00 p.m. on Sept. 11, 2007. | | |
| 8/1/2007 | Poverty and Opportunity: Developments around the Nation | | |
| The Presidential candidates are beginning to talk about it. State legislatures are passing bills that target it with timelines and numerical goals. Reports are coming out that show it’s not intractable.
Poverty and solutions to it are now on the radar screen.
Hear the latest developments about solutions to poverty that are emerging around the country, talk about what is going on in your state, and hear some key themes from the Center for American Progress’ report.
| | |
| 5/22/2007 | Gaining Leverage to Improve Job Quality: Lessons from Union Organizing in the New Economy | | |
| What can workforce development professionals learn from sector based union organizing initiatives about overcoming some of the challenges to improving job quality in the new economy? Which state and local policies can support workers rights to organize and improve job quality for low-wage workers? CLASP’s upcoming conference call will address these questions and more! We hope that you can join us for this exciting call with experts from the field who will highlight successful union organizing efforts in the public and private sector, and discuss the implications of these initiatives for state and federal policy.
This audio conference is part of CLASP’s Opportunity at Work initiative, which focuses on creating better jobs for a stronger economy.
| | |
| 4/6/2007 | Making low-wage jobs family friendly: An oxymoron or cutting edge? (Part-2) | | |
| Does workforce advancement sometimes stall because job schedules conflict with kids’ care or stable parenting? Does family friendly translate into job retention? What are the research findings related to welfare “success stories”? What are some chain store practices and policies that are making a difference so that low-wage service jobs might be more family friendly? What role do supervisors play? What has one employer done for all his employees -- at all wages -- to engage them in decision-making and in scheduling?
Guests:
Kristin Seefeldt, University of Michigan
Jennifer Swanberg, University of Kentucky
Jim Johnson, Johnson Moving and Storage Company
| | |
| 3/15/2007 | Paid Sick Days: Why it Matters to Families and the Latest Developments | | |
| There is no minimum standard for paid sick days for workers. As a result, about half of workers do not have paid sick days. This means that some workers lose wages if they stay home with a child with pink eye; others can lose their jobs – and do. Other workers come to work sick. This is a family, public health, and employer issue that impacts all workers, and particularly those in low wage jobs.
In San Francisco, the voters just passed a referendum that establishes paid sick days in the city. Learn about other paid sick days policy developments around the country and in the new Congress. More cities and states are looking at this working condition and taking action. You can too.
Guests:
Portia Wu, Office of Senator Edward Kennedy
Vicky Lovell, Institute for Women’s Policy Research
Kate Kahan, National Partnership for Women & Families
| | |
| 3/9/2007 | Making low-wage jobs family friendly: An oxymoron or cutting edge? (Part-1) | | |
| How are some clothing and grocery chain stores restructuring low-wage service jobs to make them more family friendly? How does advance notice help with childcare, stress, absenteeism, and productivity? What role do supervisors play? What’s the bottom line on health – for the business, for the worker and family? Does family friendly translate into job retention? What has one major employer done -- and why – to help workers at all incomes meet work obligations and family responsibilities?
Guests:
Susan Lambert, University of Chicago
Leslie Hammer, Portland State University
Steve Bigari, America’s Family
| | |
| 2/8/2007 | Opportunity At Work Series: Getting the job quality picture right: What’s the problem? What’s the solution? | | |
| There is strong evidence that those with more education do better in the labor market than those with less education. Yet, educational attainment is no guarantee of economic security and greater investment in education alone cannot solve the problems faced by low-wage workers in today’s labor market. Where should state and local policy makers and advocates place their priorities? How should they better coordinate workforce and economic development policies to expand opportunity and create good jobs?
Guests:
Jared Bernstein, Economic Policy Institute
Anthony Carnevale, Georgetown University
Laura Dresser, Center on Wisconsin Strategy
| | |
| 2/6/2007 | Connecticut’s Commitment to End Child Poverty An Interview with Pat Wilson-Coker, former commissioner of Connecticut’s Department of Social Services | | |
| Pat Wilson-Coker, the former commissioner of Connecticut’s Department of Social Services, thinks highly of the state’s law that established a child poverty target. She worked under it and thinks it helped focus energy across agencies on fighting child poverty. Connecticut aims to reduce child poverty by 50 percent between 2004 and 2014. Wilson-Coker outlines the positive effects of targets on accountability, partnerships, and planning. And the conversation highlights the basic choice states have between crisis management and addressing root causes with plans for comprehensive change. A great tool to take to other Commissioners and state policy stakeholders.
| | |
| 1/18/2007 | Transitional Jobs for Hard to Serve TANF Recipients | | |
| The passage of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA) significantly changed the structure of the work requirements mandated in the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. Faced with increased work participation rate requirements and stricter definitions of the allowable work activities, states are now facing difficult choices regarding their TANF programs. One program model that has been proven to improve employment outcomes is Transitional Jobs (TJ). TJ programs have been used successfully to provide hard-to-employ TANF recipients with paid work experience. This audio conference outlines the ways in which states can report participation in Transitional Jobs programs under the interim final rules issued by HHS and provides detailed information about the expansion of the statewide Transitional Jobs program in Washington in light of these new requirements.
Guests:
Sharon Parrott -Director of Welfare Reform and Income Support, Center for Budget and Policy Priorities
Diane Klontz -Community Jobs Program Manager, Community Trade and Economic Development, Washington State
Abbey Frank -Senior Policy Analyst, Center for Law and Social Policy, moderator
| | |
