Center for Labor and Community Studies

Growing together or drifting apart? New study shows decline in wages despite job growth in Washtenaw County

admin — Fri, 03 Apr 2015 15:40:52 +0000

Growing together or drifting apart? New study shows decline in wages despite job growth in Washtenaw County admin Fri, 04/03/2015 - 11:40

The report, “Growing Together or Drifting Apart? Economic Well-Being in Washtenaw County’s new “Knowledge Economy,” was issued Monday.

Researchers found broad-based declining wages from 2005-2013 that cut across worker status, age and education. The decline came even as jobs rose by 23 percent in the knowledge economy sector—including jobs in education and healthcare.

“Many people assume that growth in high-skill knowledge jobs will drive economic growth. There’s a grain of truth there in that you can sometimes find very high-paying jobs when you attain a certain education level,” said CLCS Continuing Education Specialist David Reynolds, who worked with U-M Ann Arbor researchers on the report. “But we’ve also seen that, left to its own devices, growth in the knowledge economy will produce a lot of inequality.”

Reynolds and his colleagues detailed that rising inequality in the report. While median real wages decreased by 9 percent during the period studied, the lowest-earning workers experienced the greatest decline in wages. By 2013, nearly a quarter of all Washtenaw County households did not earn enough to meet basic needs like housing and food.

“This is not a sustainable pattern,” Reynolds said. “In communities where you have both this large inequality and this wholesale decline throughout the population—this does not lead to sustained growth.”

The researchers recommended the county convene a task force of political, business and community leaders. The task force will look at how other communities have addressed similar situations and make recommendations for Washtenaw County.

“For the knowledge economy to live up to its full potential, you need a conscious intervention. If you don’t plan for it, it’s not going to spontaneously produce shared prosperity,” Reynolds said. “There is enormous potential here, but we have to get deliberate about it.”

The full report is available on the Center for Labor and Community Studies webpage.

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College of Arts, Sciences, and Letters

Metropolitan Impact

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Fri, 04/03/2015 - 15:40

An increase in the number of professional and technical jobs in Washtenaw County has not improved economic standards for a majority of workers, according to a report issued by University of Michigan-Dearborn’s Center for Labor and Community Studies (CLCS).

Center for Labor and Community Studies opens at 51��Ƶ-Dearborn

admin — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 07:40:55 +0000

Center for Labor and Community Studies opens at 51��Ƶ-Dearborn admin Mon, 09/12/2011 - 03:40

The University of Michigan’s long-standing Labor Studies Center has reopened at the University of Michigan-Dearborn as the Center for Labor and Community Studies.

The reinvented Center has broadened its scope to harness the power of the University’s commitment to civic engagement and will provide additional programs, research, seminars and other activities for the labor community and local groups.

“The University’s geographic presence and commitment to excellence rooted in strong academics, innovative research and programming and civic engagement make it the right fit for the Center for Labor and Community Studies,” said Daniel Little, chancellor, 51��Ƶ-Dearborn. “The Center provides the University community opportunities for additional research and creates new opportunities for scholarship and community impact in southeast Michigan.”

September 15-18, the Center will host the 16^th annual Latina/o Workers Leadership Institute as its first event on campus. The conference brings together workers and leaders from a variety of organizations to learn about new ideas, strategies and skills to meet the challenges facing workers in today’s ever-changing workplaces.

As part of the conference Gabriel Thompson, journalist and author of Working in the Shadows: A Year of Doing the Jobs Americans Won't to Do, will give a public lecture on Friday, Sept. 16 at 5 p.m. at 51��Ƶ-Dearborn's Fairlane Center building.

Southeast Michigan has long been on the forefront of the subject of labor and education. Local labor leaders are optimistic the Center will strengthen the region’s educational offerings and community outreach on the subject of labor.

“The connection between labor and the communities where we live is important to us all. This center will emphasize study and action where unions and neighborhoods come together,” said Mark Gaffney, president, Michigan State AFL-CIO. “I am very excited about University of Michigan-Dearborn’s Center for Labor and Community Studies and I look forward to working closely with the Center. Their first leadership institute for Latina, Latino workers is a great example of service by this Center for southeast Michigan.”

“I am pleased that the University is continuing its fine legacy of worker education through the activities of the Center for Labor and Community Studies,” said Bob King, president United Auto Workers (UAW). “The UAW is committed to providing high-quality educational opportunities which enhance worker leadership skills and improve the quality of life in local communities.”

Bruce Pietrykowski, professor of economics, who has done extensive research in economics and labor-related issues and serves as the director of the University’s urban and regional studies program, directs the Center. “The Center for Labor and Community Studies is dedicated to offering adult education that empowers workers to keep pace with the changing global economy.”

Additional programming beyond the upcoming workshop includes the Black Men in Unions conference, the Michigan Summer School for Women Workers and a Leadership Institute.

The Labor Studies Center at the University of Michigan opened in 1957 and throughout its history has provided educational offerings in the fields of labor relations. For more information on 51��Ƶ-Dearborn’s Center for Labor and Community Studies or the upcoming Latina/o Workers Leadership Institute visit clcs.umd.umich.edu.

Center for Labor and Community Studies

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Mon, 09/12/2011 - 07:40

Center for Labor and Community Studies to launch on campus July 1

admin — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 07:25:14 +0000

Center for Labor and Community Studies to launch on campus July 1 admin Mon, 04/25/2011 - 03:25

On July 1, 51��Ƶ-Dearborn will launch the Center for Labor and Community Studies on campus. The center will be housed in the Academic Support Center building.

The center will incorporate the Labor Studies Center currently housed at U-M Ann Arbor and provide additional programs, research, seminars and other activities for the labor community and other local groups. The Labor Studies Center in Ann Arbor opened in 1957 and has been providing educational offerings in the fields of labor relations. The current staff is dedicated to adult education that empowers workers to keep pace with the changing global economy.

Bruce Pietrykowski has been named the center's new director and will lead the transition of the Labor Studies Center to our campus and all future programming. Pietrykowski has done extensive research in economics and labor-related issues. He has served as the director of the Urban and Regional Studies Program and launched the UAW-Ford 51��Ƶ-Dearborn partnership online worker education program. Skip Turner and Billie Rohl, both from the Labor Studies Center in Ann Arbor, will continue their work at the newly created center on our campus.

Southeast Michigan has been on the forefront of the subject of labor and education. Local labor leaders are optimistic the center will strengthen the region's educational offerings and community outreach on the subject of labor.

The Center for Labor and Community Studies will enhance the broad array of leadership and engagement programs currently taking place on campus. The center will allow for additional research and will create new opportunities for scholarship and community impact in southeast Michigan.

Center for Labor and Community Studies

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Mon, 04/25/2011 - 07:25