Welcome to the Massachusetts Workforce Association's Exclusive Member's Only Newsletter: The Quarterly Voice! Look for this publication in your inbox each quarter, detailing MWA's work for you.
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- COVID-19 Public Policy Response
- State Legislative Advocacy
- Federal Policy Advocacy
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- UI Data Dissemination
- Member Survey Results
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- Virtual Congressional Conversations
- 2020 Virtual Annual Meeting Series
- Third Sector Learning Community
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- New Member Benefit: MWA Workforce Webinars
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- Committee Updates
- Welcome Rob Corley to MWA Board
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Dear MWA Members:
On behalf of MWA and its Board of Directors, thank you for being an integral part of MWA’s growth and impact in FY20. As we approach the two-year mark since the two associations became one, it is remarkable to think back on how far we have come. Over the past year, we have worked to establish the foundation and infrastructure necessary to build an organization that is well-positioned to lead, advocate, and convene on behalf of the Massachusetts workforce development system.
The past four months have dramatically changed every aspect of our lives. The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed inequities and systemic barriers that have long existed but have been heightened and further exposed. As a workforce system, the challenges ahead of us are immense and we know we will need to explore new strategies and partnerships as we embark on an economic recovery and helping people get back to work.
As we enter FY21, we are recommitting to the values of equity and inclusion. Over the months ahead, the MWA Board of Directors and staff will explore new partnerships, strategies, and the role that the workforce system can play in creating quality opportunities for all. While the pandemic has created countless challenges for employers and workers, it also offers us a chance to reimagine workforce development strategies for a stronger and more just economy post-COVID.
I look forward to working with you in the next phase of our growth. Thank you for your continued support of MWA.
Sincerely,
Stan Usovicz
Board Chair
Massachusetts Workforce Association
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MWA
advocates for public policies and resources to support our members in meeting the talent needs of local businesses and connecting job seekers to employment and career pathways.
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COVID-19 Response
In March through June, we held weekly Zoom meetings with members as we all navigated COVID-19, closures, and a rapidly changing environment. Calls allowed members to share, learn, and troubleshoot issues. We have also invited various guests speakers including:
- Jonathan Raymond, Massachusetts COVID Relief Fund
- Ken Messina, MABizWorks
- Joe Diamond, MASSCAP
- Chris Andresen, USWA
- Rachel Lipson, Project Director, Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School
- Bob Schwartz, Senior Research Fellow and Professor Emeritus, Harvard Graduate School of Education
- Digital Literacy, Amanda Bergson-Shilcock, National Skills Coalition
- Reopening Discussion, Alice Sweeney
Click
here
to check out MWA's COVID-19 State Legislation list and follow our
blog
for news and updates.
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State Legislative Advocacy
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MWA with members and partners in the Workforce Solutions Group and the Alliance for Vocational Technical Education held the following meetings between March and June with the following Legislators/Officials:
- Secretary Rosalin Acosta, Alice Sweeney, Jenn James, and Cheryl Scott
- David Bunker, Budget Director, House Ways and Means Committee
- Chris Marino, Budget Director, Senate Ways and Means Committee
- Christine Abrams, CEO, Commonwealth Corporation
- Secretary Jim Peyser and Bob LePage
MWA continues to make the case to lawmakers about why investing in the workforce system now is critical. In addition to budget conversations, several Legislative committees and special workgroups are looking at issues relating to economic recovery and COVID-19, including the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies and the House Special Economic Recovery Standing Committee. The Senate is holding listening sessions on reopening, economic recovery, and workforce. MWA will stay engaged and look for ways to provide feedback and ideas to these committees.
Do you have thoughts or ideas on MWA's advocacy strategies? Reach out to
Tonja
anytime.
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Since March, and with colleagues from USWA, MWA attended virtual meetings with the following congressional staff:
- House Ways and Means Staffers to provide feedback on the trade program
- House Education and Labor Committee Staffers on the workforce recovery
- Jake Baker, Senate HELP Committee, Majority
- Jennifer Stiddard, Senate HELP Committee, Minority
- Assistant Secretary at U.S. DOL, Jon Pallasch
MWA, with partners, will continue to advocate for workforce funding in the next COVID-19 response package from Congress, urging for the funding that was included in the House Committee on Labor and Education’s Relaunching America’s Workforce Act.
Advocacy efforts at the state and federal levels as we enter FY21 will be a top priority for MWA.
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MWA
is a thought-leader for workforce development, sharing best practices and elevating our members’ local expertise and strengths statewide and nationwide.
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MWA Shares UI Data for Workforce Areas
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Cities and town leaders and elected officials are in great need of information as they try to tackle the economic effects of the pandemic. As more data about who is unemployed become available, MWA has been working to try to support the dissemination of this information in a way that will be most helpful to our members.
See below for several summative posts on our blog for April and May that offer links to relevant unemployment data. We will continue to offer this information to members as it is particularly timely and important.
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MWA 2020 Member Survey
Our first annual MWA Member Survey was completed this past quarter. Many thanks to all the members who took the time to respond! The 17 question survey was distributed to 50 members (including the MWA board) via Survey Monkey between April 29th and May 19th. We received 26 total responses (52% of those emailed). We are happy to report that the overwhelming majority of feedback received was positive and we have a lot of good information to inform our work and programs for the coming year. Click
here
for a powerpoint we shared with the MWA Board summarizing some of the responses.
We will continue to use and disseminate the responses to the survey over the coming months.
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As a Region 1 Liaison, Tonja has connected with liaisons across the country, comparing COVID-19 response strategies, obstacles, and new ideas. Tonja hosted a Region 1 virtual chat in order to engage those in DOL Region 1 in a sharing and learning exercise. In addition, she led a virtual coffee hour during the NAWB Forum for Region 1 members.
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MassHire Day Awards and Workshops
We're proud of our MWA members from MassHire who have been
nominated for the 2020 MassHire Awards. MWA has been working closely with EOLWD, MDCS and the MassHire State Workforce Board to develop a virtual award ceremony for MassHire staff. The awards are scheduled for July 23rd from 10AM - 11AM. Click
here to register. MWA is also organizing a workshop series featuring the finalists. More details to come soon.
Harvard Project Focus Group
MWA Board Member Valerie Sutton connected MWA to a team from the
Harvard Project on Workforce, who are building out a first-stage prototype of a platform for connecting job seekers to quality, free online learning resources for employability skills. After speaking with them, MWA helped the team connect with interested MassHire career center staff who could offer their expertise and feedback on the platform to help make it optimally useful as a resource for career coaches working directly with customers in career centers.
Metro Area Planning Council
Tonja and Raija continue to engage with the
Metro Area Planning Council (MAPC), in particular, helping to get access UI data so that MAPC can help municipal leaders use data to effectively craft strategies to assist residents who have lost their jobs due to COVID.
National Fund for Workforce Solutions Trauma Informed Workforce Development Project
Raija has been invited to participate in an advisory committee to support a
one-year grant funded project to develop a curriculum to integrate trauma informed practices into workforce development.
EOLWD Road to Remployment (R2R)
Tonja was invited to participate in EOLWD's R2R team lead meetings. This has allowed MWA to stay actively engaged and share feedback with EOLWD as they think about the impact of COVID on the workforce system and how to help reemploy over 1 million residents.
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MWA
convenes our members for strategic partnership development,
peer-to-peer learning and networking opportunities.
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Virtual Congressional Conversations with Congressman Kennedy and Congresswoman Trahan
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In April, with the Workforce Solutions Group and the MA AFL-CIO, we co-hosted Congressman Kennedy for a virtual conversation about COVID-19, workforce development, and recovery. The Congressman provided a great perspective on current efforts in D.C., where there might be opportunities for bipartisan agreement on policy, and what the Congressman’s priorities are as we shift to recovery.
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In May, we hosted Congresswoman Trahan for a virtual conversation about COVID-19, the House Education and Labor Committee’s efforts in response, and MWA members had the opportunity to share what they are seeing on the ground. Many shared stories about the issues surrounding UI, non-English speaking customers accessing online services, digital literacy challenges, and the lack of workforce funding for our system. This continued dialogue has helped MWA develop a close relationship with the Congresswoman’s staff, who regularly reach out to MWA.
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Third Sector Learning Community
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In partnership with EOLWD and Third Sector, MWA helped to facilitate a three-part workshop series on Pay for Performance (P4P). The P4P Learning Community included four MassHire Workforce Boards (Metro North, Greater Lowell, Central Region, Hampden County) and one MassHire Career Center (Franklin Hampshire). The goal of the workshop series was to identify the initial steps that MassHire Partners could take towards outcomes-oriented approaches by aligning policy, services, dollars, and data to improve outcomes for jobseekers and employers in their communities.
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MWA Announces Workforce Webinars:
Virtual Professional Learning Sessions
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This month MWA launched a new member benefit - a virtual professional learning opportunity for leadership and staff. These monthly webinars will be available to members and will feature a variety of speakers and offerings. Keep an eye on your inbox for invitations to register for the next session in September!
Ideas for future presenters or topics? Reach out to
Raija
anytime.
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2020 Virtual Annual Meeting Series:
Looking Ahead for Workforce Policy and Practice
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The 2020 MWA Annual Meeting was offered virtually this year as a series. Below are some highlights from the programming that was offered. We were pleased with the interest and attendance from members and were glad to offer something virtually since COVID-19 made our typical in-person event impossible.
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Session 1: What is the Future of Work Now? A Discussion of MWA Survey and Navigating a Recession, Speakers - Beth Humberd and Scott Latham, UMass Lowell
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Session 2: Emerging from COVID-19, State and Federal Policy Responses to Support Economic Recovery,
Speakers - Senator Lesser and Representative Ferrante
,
Chris Andreson, USWA
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Session 3: Unprecedented Economic Transitions in Massachusetts,
Speakers - Mark Melnick, UMass Donahue Institute
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As we enter FY21, MWA will be updating its 2020 Meeting and Events Calendar, adjusting plans for certain convenings that were meant to be in-person, based on the COVID-19 pandemic and orders to limit in-person gatherings. Where possible, MWA will hold virtual convenings and meetings via Zoom. We plan to continue offering a lot of content and interaction with members. We welcome feedback and ideas for any new programming MWA can offer.
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Racial Equity in Workforce Development
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At our June 23rd Board Meeting, a discussion occurred about the need for MWA to take a leadership role in looking at the racial inequities in our state and workforce system. In addition, the Board discussed the need for good jobs for job seekers, diverse leadership at companies, and a look at racial and structural barriers within our society. Board members present indicated their interest in participating in a Board-led initiative to think about the role that MWA should play, and making this a standing item on MWA Board agendas. Stan and Tonja are currently discussing next steps. To read MWA's statement in response to the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor, click
here.
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Presentation by Steve Koczela from MassINC Polling Group
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MWA invited Steve Koczela, President of the MassINC Polling Group, to speak with the MWA Board about the latest findings from several polls on COVID-19, housing, transportation and impacts on the workforce. Click
here for the PowerPoint from his presentation. We hope to have Steve back for a webinar for all members in the fall.
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Since March, the Governance Committee has focused its efforts on creating a recruitment mechanism and process for new board members and developing an onboarding process.
At the June Board meeting, the Governance Committee nominated and the MWA Board approved
Robert Corley,
Executive Director,
NeighborWorks,
to the MWA Board. Rob was nominated by the Greater Brockton region and brings a wealth of knowledge from the housing sector. Click
here
for Rob's bio. Welcome Rob to the MWA Board!
Board nominations can be made anytime and you can do so
here
.
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The Membership Committee has been hard at work, meeting monthly since March using Zoom. The focus has been on developing a starting membership structure for MWA to use to recruit new members. The structure, approved at the June board meting, will be reviewed by the Membership committee on an ongoing basis, at least once a year if not more frequently, to make sure that it still makes sense and tracks with our goals and what we offer.
More information can be found under the Membership Committee section of our
Members Only Web Portal. For instructions on how to register for the Member Portal, click
here.
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The Public Policy Committee has continued to meet monthly using Zoom. This has been especially important over the past two months with so much changing at the state and federal level. In order to effectively advocate for additional funding, the committee has decided to have a few regions parepare one pagers highlighting: (1) what is currently going on in the region, both using data and stories; and (2) what specifically would the region do with additional funding (more training, hiring staff, technology, etc.).
This summer/fall the committee will be working on a state/federal workforce public policy agenda. This timing will align well with the start of the new state legislative session in January 2021. The committee also sees this as a good opportunity to virtually connect with other organizations (CBOs, businesses/associations, etc.) and receive broad input as we develop the agenda.
We hope members continue to use the committee structure as a way to participate and help instruct MWA's work. Members should also see committee engagement as professional development opportunities for staff. If you are interested in participating on one of these committees, please e-mail
Tonja
.
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