In Support of Skills 2 Compete Campaign

WHEREAS, an Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development study has shown that individuals can see a 5-15% rate of return in additional earnings per year of postsecondary education or training; and

WHEREAS, a University of Maryland longitudinal study has shown that participation in job training once employed resulted in a 10% earnings gain above comparable peers with no additional training, and engagement in training on multiple occasions, throughout a career resulted in a 25% earnings gain above comparable peers, and

WHEREAS, the frequency of plant closings across our Commonwealth and Nation means that workers today are likely to need to find jobs in entirely new industries with new skill demands; and

WHEREAS, in 2006, the unemployment rate was 6.8% for individuals without a high school diploma and 4.3% for those with a high school diploma, compared to 3.9% for those with some postsecondary education or training and 3% for those with an associate's degree; and

WHEREAS, two-thirds of the workforce of 2020 will be made up of those in the workforce today; and

WHEREAS, forty percent of jobs in today's labor market and one-third of the fastest growing jobs are middle-skill jobs requiring more than high school, but less than a four-year degree; and

WHEREAS, labor-management partnerships and apprenticeship programs offer some of the best training for middle-skill jobs; and

WHEREAS, policymakers' and politicians' proposals for building the skills of America's workforce focus on four-year college opportunities for emerging high school students while leaving out middle-skill jobs and the current workforce; and

WHEREAS, federal investments in training and education for the current workforce have fallen dramatically; and

WHEREAS, the Skills 2 Compete campaign seeks a national commitment that every U.S. worker should have access to the equivalent of at least two years of education or training past high school - leading to a vocational credential, industry certification, or one's first two years of college - to be pursued at whatever point and pace makes sense for individual workers and industries, as well as the basic skills to needed to pursue such education; therefore be it

RESOLVED, that America needs a new vision for building the skills of its workforce that includes training and retraining people for middle-skill jobs; and be it further

RESOLVED, that America needs a new vision for building the skills of its workforce that includes people already in the workforce; and be it further

RESOLVED, that the advancement of the Skills 2 Compete campaign would benefit the members of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO; and be it further

RESOLVED, that the Massachusetts AFL-CIO endorses the Skills 2 Compete campaign; and be it finally

RESOLVED, that the President of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO will transmit a copy of this resolution and other information to all relevant parties to demonstrate its ardent support for the Skills 2 Compete campaign.

Submitted by:
Robert J. Haynes, President
Louis A. Mandarini, Jr., Secretary-Treasurer