Pittsburgh identified as a Workforce Talent Hub

First Lady of the United States Dr. Jill Biden, Acting Secretary Julie Su, and Secretary Buttigieg visit Pittsburgh to Recognize Pit2Work Program at the Pittsburgh International Airport.

Secretary Su, White House, and other Department of Labor Senior Officials met with Mayor Gainey and City of Pittsburgh team.

Senior Advisor Infrastructure Coordinator Mitch Landrieu hosts a Roundtable in Pittsburgh with labor leaders, community partners, construction and transportation leaders

Workforce Funding Collaborative and Early Childhood Collaborative Convened with the White House and the Department of Labor.

Advanced Manufacturing Intermediaries Convened with White House & Department of Labor.

The Mayor’s Office met with our Labor Champions Darrin Kelly and Steve Mazza to discuss how a Regional Equity Agreement can apply and monitor appropriate apprentice-to-journeyman staffing ratios on federally funded projects in our region.

Cultural competency, recruitment outreach, and employee retention based on project workflow were also mentioned as important components of the Regional Equity Agreement (REA)

Clean Energy Table Meeting with Sustainable Pittsburgh

The City and Partner4work received on overview of the clean energy supply chain and regional eco-system with Joylette Portlock, President and CEO of Sustainable Pittsburgh. Ms. Portlock accepted the role of our Clean Energy Engagement and Collaboration table champion.

Meeting with Steve Mazza , President of EAS Carpenters

As part of the Pittsburgh Principles workforce hub labor strategy, our office and Leah Rambo, Deputy Director from the Department of Labor , Women’s Bureau met with Steve Mazza to discuss how to bridge the gap and open clear training and employment pathways between community based organizations ,workforce development training program intermediaries and the trade unions.

Meeting with PA Department of Labor Secretary Nancy Walker

The City, in collaboration with Partner4work, provided a brief introduction and overview of the Pittsburgh Good Jobs principles and the Pit2Work pre-apprenticeship program cohort going on at the airport. Secretary Walker shared some of her office priorities of single parents, women, and supportive services included in Department of Labor projects.

Meeting with IUPAT District Council 57, Aaron Joseph, Communications & Political Specialist

As part of the Pittsburgh Principles workforce hub labor strategy, our office and Leah Rambo from the Department of Labor, Women’s Bureau met with Aaron Joseph to fact find on how to bridge the gap between community-based organizations, workforce development training program intermediaries and the painter’s union. Aaron also shared with us, his ongoing relationship with PPS and CTE.

Local Authorities Table Convening

The City engaged local authority leadership in a discussion about developing and committing to the “Pittsburgh’s Good Jobs Principles,” to ensure accountability on all projects receiving federal funding in the geographic footprint of the Pittsburgh Workforce Hub

Meeting with State and Local Officials – The city in collaboration with Partner4work and the Department of Labor presented the Pittsburgh Good Jobs Principles and solicited commitments and support of the Workforce Hub.

Meeting with the Philanthropy Table

Our team met with the local Foundation community about providing support around the Pittsburgh Principles Framework.

Marisol Valentin and Matt Barron are our Funders Table champions leading the efforts in collaboration with Partner4work and our office.

Meeting to discuss Pittsburgh’s CTE program and Labor, facilitated by Partner4Work and attended by Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su.

Roundtable Discussion with FLOTUS Jill Biden, Rob Cherry, Mayor Ed Gainey, Darrin Kelly, and Acting Secretary Su at Mill19 in the Hazelwood Green.

Pittsburgh Principles Signing with Acting Secretary Su - This gathering was the official public launch of the Pittsburgh Good Jobs Principles and the initial commitment signing ceremony. Mayor Gainey and the Acting US Secretary of Labor, Julie Su provided congratulatory remarks and words of encouragement to codify the equity framework language with our key stakeholders in support of providing life-sustaining jobs in our region.

Meeting with Local Government and Quasi-Government Authorities

The City was tasked with convening an engagement and collaboration workforce table strategy involving local quasi- government authority leadership and representative agency legal counsel to gain process and implementation support of the Pittsburgh Good Jobs Principles.

January Regional Equity Agreement meeting

A regional equity agreement is an agreement between regional and local stakeholders from the labor movement, business community, philanthropy, elected officials, educational institutions, and neighborhood organizations to ensure the public served by the stakeholders receive the fullest benefit of public projects, including economy and efficiency.

The purpose of this monthly meeting is to touch base about ongoing work for the Regional Equity Agreement and steps necessary to make it successful.

CCAC Roundtable with Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona and Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su

Mayor Ed Gainey joined Secretary Cardona, Acting Secretary Su, and Senior Advisor to the President and Director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs Tom Perez at the Community College of Allegheny County for a roundtable discussion. The group discussed creating career pathways through partnerships across sectors of education and local government, with workforce leaders, community partners, and more.

February Regional Equity Agreement meeting

The purpose of this monthly meeting is to touch base about ongoing work for the Regional Equity Agreement and steps necessary to make it successful.

Community Table: First Convening

This is the first of many engagements with the community table. The City and Partner4work introduced the Pittsburgh Good Jobs Principles framework and provided workforce training and private sector employment opportunities for participants to share with their constituent populations.

City Staff Participate in NAWBs Washington, D.C. Plenary Panel, ‘Invest in America: Building Pathways to the Middle Class’

On March 26, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration hosted the plenary panel session featuring Pittsburgh leaders for the National Association of Workforce Boards (NAWB) Forum event in Washington, D.C.

The panel, entitled, “Invest in America: Building Pathways to the Middle Class,” was facilitated by Brittany Stich, Director of Investing in America's Workforce in the U.S. DOL, and featured Felicity Williams, Deputy Chief of Staff for the Mayor’s Office, Rob Cherry, CEO at Partner4Work, Darrin Kelly, President of Allegheny County-Fayette Labor Council, and Rachael Mauer, President of the German American Chamber of Commerce.

March Regional Equity Agreement meeting

Partners met to discuss how they can support the Pittsburgh Good Jobs Principles in their work.

Philanthropy Table Meeting:

In April, the City convened philanthropic partners who are part of the Philanthropy Table to discuss: project updates, how partners can uphold Pittsburgh Good Jobs Principles through grantmaking, and ecosystem coordination to support workforce development on projects funded by President Joe Biden’s Investing in America agenda.

All organizations in attendance have agreed to uphold the Principles and to work with hub partners to build equitable pathways for disadvantaged workers into good jobs and careers.

Bridge to Equity: Workforce Development

Bridge to Equity is a series of events focusing on how economic and social disparities in communities populated by people of color are jeopardizing various aspects of the region’s economy. The most recent event, Bridge to Equity: Workforce Development, was a panel discussion was co-hosted by the Pittsburgh Business Times, Vibrant Pittsburgh, and Goodwill Southwestern Pennsylvania on April 4.

Felicity Williams, Deputy Chief of Staff for the Mayor’s Office, was one of the panelists alongside Anchor Institution, Partner4Work and the following Hub partners: Trade Institute of Pittsburgh and Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters.

Read more about the panel discussion from the Pittsburgh Business Times, linked here.

Read a Q&A with Deputy Chief Williams from the Pittsburgh Business Times, linked here.

April Regional Equity Agreement meeting

The purpose of this monthly meeting is to touch base about ongoing work for the Regional Equity Agreement and steps necessary to make it successful.

White House Senior Advisor Tom Perez Visited Pittsburgh

Senior Advisor and Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs Tom Perez visited the Steel City in May to see the collaboration of federal, local and private sectors in progress.

Manchester and the Hill District are experiencing support and improvements thanks to collaboration between federal and local government, the private sector, and the community.

In the Hill District, the Choice Neighborhoods Implementation grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is redeveloping Bedford Dwellings, one of the oldest public housing communities in the country. Also in the Hill District, the City’s Department of Mobility and Infrastructure is using funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s RAISE grant to improve the public right of way. These improvements will include the reconstruction of intersections, street corridors, and city steps and the installation of traffic calming measures, sidewalks, and green infrastructure. The RAISE grant has been selected as a White House Workforce Hub Implementation project.

The neighborhood of Manchester has been awarded a Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to fund a State Route 65 planning study. This study will assess the feasibility and analyze ways to reunite the Manchester and Chateau communities while ensuring the safety and connectivity of all State Route 65 corridor users. This grant is being leveraged with private and local investment in the Esplanade redevelopment, a mixed-use Northside project.

Community Table Meeting

The community table is one of eight engagement and collaboration tables for the Pittsburgh Workforce Hub . These selected stakeholders assist in recruitment, outreach for direct employment and workforce development training opportunities through apprenticeship programs and initiatives. They also serve as an accountability arm for training providers and employers who signed on the Pittsburgh Good Jobs Principles and /or the Regional Equity Agreement .

• 2nd Community Table meeting to have cluster areas for discussion such as:

• Building trust w/in marginalized populations.
• How to sustain workforce development initiatives, and how to have consistent engagement and measurable results
• Supportive services: how to support individuals and such, how to address language barriers, and addressing mental health issues
• Supporting job retention, external accountability on the job once selected, and one stop shop employment resource

Regional Equity Stakeholder Briefing and Engagement

This is a meeting to engage a group of Workforce Hub stakeholders that are necessary partners with Regional Equity Agreement signatories to operationalize it and to advance decision points and support needed in a few specific areas as we move this agreement to signature.

Philanthropy Table Meeting