Repost: Mayor Walsh targets gang members for jobs - Trade unions step up with apprenticeships

The Boston Herald recently reported that Mayor Walsh and attorney Daniel Mulhern have developed a program, Operation Exit, to direct youth involved in street violence to employment in the building trades. Select individuals will complete an apprenticeship program and subsequently gain access to union employment and benefits. Walsh states:

''It’s a great way to get somebody into an industry where they’re going to make a good amount of money in the beginning, but it gets them off the street, hopefully gets them to understand the importance of working and the value of working,' Walsh told the Herald. 'And it will help us on the backside by taking some of the key players off the street'" (Encarnacao, 18 July 2014).

Visit http://bostonherald.com/ to read the full article.

Repost: Women in Trades - An Apprenticeship Success Story

Oregon Tradeswomen Inc. (OTI) Executive Director Connie Ashbrook's recent post on the USDOL blog provides a concrete narrative of both the challenges that women face in entering the construction trades and the need for Registered Apprenticeship programs to focus on recruiting women. Ashbrook rightly states,

"Although many people believe it is women’s physical abilities that can keep them from succeeding in a trades career, the most challenging obstacle women have to overcome in becoming an apprentice is a lack of knowledge about these careers and how to successfully apply for apprenticeship" (Ashbrook, 17 July 2014).

Programs like OTI's pre-apprenticeship program continue to serve as an integral link for women to access good-paying jobs in the building trades. Read more about OTI and the success of their pre-apprentice Deawendoe “Dee” St. Martin at http://social.dol.gov/blog/.

Repost: Mind the Gap - How One Employer Tackled Pay Equity

A recent article in The Wall Street Journal describes a successful policy implemented at McGill University to close the pay gap between male and female employees. After 13 years and $19 million US dollars, McGill provided equal wages to the 12,000 men and women whom they employ full-time (Murray, 8 July 2014). Their gender-equity program even provided backpay to employees who were considered underpaid according to a new Quebec law. The article explains how the program mathematically determined fair pay:

"The program's goal was to ensure that pay for female-dominated professions was keeping pace with male-dominated ones of equal importance. If administrative assistants were considered as valuable as groundskeepers, the thinking went, the women who jotted down phone messages and kept appointment calendars should be compensated as well as the men working the lawns" (Murray, 8 July 2014).

A similar pay gap between men and women persists in the United States, with some estimates as high as 19% (USDOL as cited in Murray). With federal legislation delayed, states and cities are working to develop their own solutions. In Boston, the Mayor and the Workforce Women's Council lead "100% Talent: The Boston Women's Compact" (www.cityofboston.gov/). Through this initiative, companies such as Suffolk Construction work independently to address equal pay issues.

To learn more about "100% Talent: The Boston Women's Compact," visit http://www.cityofboston.gov/.

To read the full article in The Wall Street Journal, visit http://m.us.wsj.com/.