When COVID-19 came to New York, the Jobs to Build On network quickly got to work.

In 2021, the Consortium for Worker Education brought together community organizations around the city to outreach to young people in high-risk neighborhoods, bring them into job training programs, and place them into careers.

Today, we are releasing The Consortium for Worker Education Responds to the COVID-19 Pandemic, a compendium that brings together the work of our network to respond to the pandemic.

CWE's Astoria Worker Project celebrated the graduation of our first cohort of students from Worker Cooperative 101 in February.

On February 27th, Bronx Community College’s Automotive Technology program was recognized for their Workforce Development and NY Mechanic Apprentice Program, a project partially funded by and run in conjunction with CWE and our labor partners.

The historic migration of new residents from around the world to New York City continues and the CWE network of community organizations is welcoming and supporting these new New Yorkers.

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.

Unemployment rates are at historic lows, but one group of workers still struggles to find a job. 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.

The historic migration of people to New York City continues and community organizations are rising to the task of welcoming these new neighbors and helping them succeed.

More than two decades ago, a coalition of unions came together to advocate for policies to support working families. One of their greatest successes has been the Consortium for Worker Education’s Child Care Facilitated Enrollment Project, which created a streamlined process and new subsidies to support child care programs for working parents. Today, it remains a life-changing program for many New York workers and their children.

New York is welcoming a historic migration of asylum seekers and the Consortium for Worker Education’s Immigration Protection Group is rising to the challenge of supporting these new New Yorkers.

The New York City Council is reinvesting in job training, with restored funding for three key programs — Jobs to Build On, Worker Service Centers, and Immigration Protection Group — in the city budget passed earlier this summer.

Phipps Neighborhoods, one of the newest Jobs to Build On 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 Jobs to Build On.

Immigrant workers often face wage theft, dangerous workplaces, and union busting -- all violations of labor law regardless of immigration status. Fear of retaliation, however, means that these crimes often go unaddressed.

The City Council plays a critical role in funding high-quality job training and placement programs for New York workers. Now, it's easier than ever for Council Members to connect their constituents to programs in their neighborhood.

Every year, the Consortium for Worker Education and our partners train thousands of New Yorkers for new professions and place them into career jobs. The aspiring workers have the will and our teachers have the expertise, but one more ingredient is usually needed for the job training and placement programs to succeed. Wrap-around services, including childcare, housing, and transportation assistance can make the difference for workers to be able to focus on their training and settle into their careers.

New York City is internationally known as the quintessential immigrant city. More than 3 million city residents were born in other countries. For centuries, the city has been the first stop for many migrants, whether they ended up settling here or other parts of America. Supporting these new neighbors has never been easy, but the influx of migrants in recent months has challenged city agencies and community service providers.

New York City workers are struggling. According to recent reports, the city is unlikely to recover the one million jobs lost during the pandemic until 2024 or 2025. At times like these, many New Yorkers turn to their community-based organizations for help. Thanks to the City Council's funding for the Jobs to Build On, Worker Service Centers, and Immigrant Protection Group programs, neighborhood organizations are able to provide job training and placement services to help New Yorkers succeed in their career dreams.

The holiday season is an opportunity to reflect on what we are grateful for and give back to our community. At CWE, we want to acknowledge the work that our partners in labor and community organizations do throughout the year to support New York City’s workers. Tens of thousands of our neighbors have great careers and economically-stable lives because of these institutions.

In 2019, the Consortium for Worker Education created a new initiative, the Astoria Worker Project, to test whether an infusion of new resources into a neighborhood and greater networking between existing community organizations could make a difference in empowering workers.