(Washington, D.C., Aug. 16, 2024)—Following the Biden-–Harris administration’s record investments in American manufacturing, the AFL-CIO Working for America Institute (WAI) is developing a new resource to help train workers for manufacturing jobs with a $1 million grant from the Families and Workers Fund.
WAI is an innovation of the AFL-CIO to bring together unions, employers, and community groups to create the pipeline of skilled workers for high-quality union jobs in the industries of the future. The new grant, which was awarded as part of Families and Workers Fund’s Powering Climate and Infrastructure Careers Challenge, will support WAI’s Manufacturing Core Curriculum (MC2), which trains workers for entry-level and advanced manufacturing jobs and connects them to registered apprenticeship programs.
“In order for the Biden–Harris administration’s investments in American manufacturing to achieve the greatest impact, workers need training and support to access and perform these highly skilled jobs—especially women and people of color who have not traditionally had access to these opportunities. The Working for America Institute’s Manufacturing Core Curriculum will meet this crucial need,” said Liz Shuler, Chair of the Working for America Institute Board and President of the AFL-CIO. “We look forward to continuing to ensure that all new jobs created by the Biden–Harris administration’s landmark investments are good union jobs that empower local workers and communities.”
“We’re honored to receive this recognition from the Families and Workers Fund, and excited to work with them to build career pathways in manufacturing,” said Amanda Ballantyne, Director of the Working for America Institute. “The Working for America Institute holds the unique and critical role of ensuring that the manufacturing jobs of the future are accessible to local workers from all backgrounds, good-paying, and career-building, and the Manufacturing Core Curriculum is an important new extension of that work.”
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About the Families and Workers Fund
The Families and Workers Fund is a platform for collective action and a pooled $125+ million collaborative fund supported by 40 diverse funders working together to build a more equitable economy that uplifts all. The Families and Workers Fund is housed at the Amalgamated Foundation, an independent 501(c)(3) charity.
Contact: Prerna Jagadeesh, 202-637-5018