Survey of Labor Representatives on Workforce Investment Boards

I am delighted to share with you the results of a new national survey of Labor Representatives who serve on Workforce Investment Boards (WIBs). Out of 900 WIB Labor Representatives contacted by email, more than 400 from 47 states and the District of Columbia participated in the survey conducted by the AFL-CIO Working for America Institute last August.

You can get a copy of the report on our website at:

http://www.workingforamerica.org/pdf/WIBSurveyReportPDFFinal.pdf

or contact Katrina Dizon at kdizon@workingforamerica.org and she can send you the PDF.

The results indicate that many boards can do much more in supporting policies and practices that can lead to better jobs and stronger communities. The survey also touches on a range of topics including whether the interests of workers are adequately represented on the boards and the degree to which WIBs are deliberative policy-making bodies.

WIBs can play an important role in helping reshape our national economy and training Americans for better jobs. Created under the Workforce Investment Act, which Congress passed in 1998, approximately 600 state and local boards are currently involved in making critical decisions on how to spend workforce development funds including billions of training funds under the new American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

ALSO OF NOTE: Besides the survey results, this report also includes summaries of recent conversations between Labor Representatives and Assistant Secretary of Labor Jane Oates on reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act.

Katrina Dizon
Working for America
AFL-CIO