Workforce Readiness and Wage Inequality: Public/Private Perspectives
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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 350 360 UD 028 866 TITLE Workforce Readiness and Wage Inequality: Public/Private Perspectives. INSTITUTION National Puerto Rican Coalition, Washington, DC. SPONS AGENCY Johnson & Johnson Baby Products Co., Skillman, NJ. PUB DATE Jul 92 NOTE 77p. PUB TYPE Reports Descriptive (141) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC04 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Affirmative Action; *Equal Opportunities (Jobs); Ethnic Discrimination; Federal Programs; Hispanic Americans; *Labor Force Development; Labor Market; Labor Needs; Labor Supply; Public Policy; *Puerto Ricans; *Readiness; *Salary Wage Differentials; State Programs; Wages IDENTIFIERS New Jersey; New York (New York) ABSTRACT This report presents the background materials for a 1991 conference of the National Puerto Rican Coalition on labor force participation issues affecting Puerto Ricans. The first of three sections, "Shaping Tomorrow's Workforce: A Leadership Agenda for the 90's," calls for an effort to unite a fragmented collection of programs for workforce development with a coherent strategy through a policy framework involving public/private partnership, coordinated service delivery, accountability and decentralized administration; and a new role for the Federal Government. Several steps for federal action and leadership are offered. The second section, "A Unified State Plan for New Jersey's Workforce Readiness System," describes the efforts that New Jersey has undertaken, led by Governor J. Florio, to improve the way that the state educates and trains its workforce by aiming to increase the skill level and the competitiveness of the state's workers and employers basedon life-long learning needs, human resource needs, workforce readiness, and system efficiency and accountability. The third section, "Hispanics and Wage Inequality in New York City," explains the factors contributing to inequality between the wages of Hispanic Americans and non-Hispanic American Whites, which are primarily labor market segmentation due to underrepresentation in control or professional and technical subsegments. Included are 8 tables, 31 references, and notes on the contributors. (JB) ******************************************************************** AeprocucLioas suppilea oy hDho are tne pest that can De made from the original document. *********************************************************************** V S a I $ U $ Ofbce ofDEPARTMENTor Educatronat EDUCATION Research and "PERMISSION EDUCATIONAL improvement TO RESOURCES MATERIAL REPRODUCETHIS CENTER (ERICIINFORMATION HAS BEE,14 This document GRANTED BY received fromhas been the personreproduced as originatingit or organization 7. E. (1 Minor ro.7-- changes have been made Nqii,041. reproductionquality to improve 114, Points of view TAG, 1).-44,6,Wn, or opinions meet do not slated in his 0E141 positionnecessarily docu TO THE or policy relsreSent OthCial EDUCATIONAL INFORMATION RESOURCES CENTER(ERIC) " I 1111 S AM, :SI COPY AVAILABLE National Puerto Rican Coalition,Inc. The National Puerto Rican Coalition, Inc., (NPRC) was founded in 1977 to further the social, economic, and political well-being of Puerto Ricans through- out the United States and Puerto Rico. Based in Washington, D.C., NPRC is a nonprofit, tax-exempt association providing a presence and voice for all Puerto Ricans at the national level. As a membership association, NPRC has access to grass-roots views of Puerto Rican needs, problems, and aspirations. NPRC conveys these views to decision makers through its 'ontacts with the media, leading institutions, Congress and the Executive Branch, and individuals in the public and private sectors. To further its mission, NPRC has developed programs in three broad areas. Programs in advocacy, research, and policy analysis are carried out primarily in Washington, D.C. Programs to enhance the image of Puerto Ricans in the United States, such as the NPRC Life Achievement Awards, are carried out nationally. Partnership projects in community economic development are carried out locally. The goal of all programs is to influence national policies as they impact on the Puerto Rican :ommunity. Workforce Readiness andWage Inequality: Public/Private Perspectives Background materials for presentationsmade at the workshop on employment conductedat the Annual Conference and MembershipMeeting of the National Puerto Rican Coalitionon November 15, 1991. JULY 1992 National Puerto Rican Coalition,Inc. Office of Research Advocacy andPolicy Analysis 1700 K Street, N.W., Suite 500 Washington, D.C. 20006 (202) 223-3915 FAX (202) 429-2223 4 Gntents Foreword v. Acknowledgements vi. Introduction vii. Shaping Tomorrow's Workforce: A Leadership Agendafor the 90's Executive Summary 2 I. National Workforce Development Strategy 5 H. New Policy Framework Emerging 7 III.New Federal Role Evolving 12 W.Next Steps for Federal Action 15 A Unified State Plan for New Jersey's Workforce ReadinessSystem Executive Summary 22 I. Overview 26 IL Policy Recommendations 29 Ill.Accountability System 41 Hispanics and Wage Inequality in New York City Executive Summary 46 L Introduction 48 II. Income Inequality in New York City 50 HI.Factors Contributing to Hispanics' Wage Differences 51 IV. Hispanics and Segmentation 52 V. A Closer Look at Wage Inequality in New York City 53 VI. Decomposition of the Wage Gap 54 VII.Policy Implications 55 Tables 56 References 63 Notes on Contributors 65 Editor's Note. Although no editing of content was done to the reprinted papers contained in this report, some minor changes were made to standardize punctuation, spelling, and usage throughout the document. Any insertions used for clarification are contained in brackets. Foreword As a national advocate for the Puerto Rican community,NPRC has made a commitment to work with all sectors of society, all organizations, all levels ofgovernment, and all components of the private sector to develop effective strategiesto build a healthy society. A major programmatic focus of this commitment iscommunity economic development. One method of implementing this focus is through partnershipsbetween the public and private sectors, nonprofit intermediaries, and community-based organizations. NPRC has dealt with the issue of partnershipsover the years and one of the key lessons of that experience is that for partnerships to work theremust be an issue or issues which potential partners agree is important. An effective partnershipalso brings together groups that accept the fact that they have somethingto gain by joining. Partnerships do not work if one partner does it all and the other just receives the benefits. The materials in this report provide information andanalysis that community-based organizations and community leaders can use toassess partnership possibilities at the local level around an issue of vital importance to PuertoRicans. The models presented here should be of interest to policy makers as well. NPRC believes that employment and job trainingare key to reducing poverty and to rebuilding Puerto Rican communities in the U.S. mainlandand Puerto Rico. Federal involvement in efforts to prepare the workforce ofthe next century must begin now. In addition, enforcement of antidiscrimination lawsmust be stepped up to ensure that workforce readiness does not becomean empty concept. Local efforts cannot wait for the federalgovernment. Many Puerto Rican organizations arr already doing their part locally, but clearlymore needs to be done. Private/public partner- ships represent a promising avenue for continuedefforts. NPRC is hopeful that this report will contribute to the development of criticalinitiatives along those lines. Louis Nunez President v. 7 Acknowledgements NPRC is grateful to Edwin Melendez, Henry Plotkin, and Arnold Richter for their contributions to this report. Noe lle Gautier helped assemble the materials and provided clerical assistance. Toni Breiter of Mariposa Media Services designed and edited the report; Jose E. Cruz coordinated its publication. This publication is made p ,sible in part by a grant from Johnson & Johnson. 8 vi. Introduction In November 1991, the National Puerto Rican '2,oalitionheld its 1 1 th Annual Conference and Membership Meeting under the theme"Implementing the Agenda for the 1990s: Effective Strategies for Community Development."The conference high- lighted policy issues, activities, and organizationsdealing with the renewal and revitalization of Puerto Rican communities to illustrate whatcan be done when holistic approaches that include linkages and partnerships betweencorporations, community- based organizations, and government agenciesare established. This report brings to a wider audience the materialsthat provided the basis for presentations made at the Conference's Employment Workshopheld on November 15, 1991. The workshop was designed to offera review of labor force participation issues affecting Puerto Ricans and to examine training andemployment opportunities. With this in mind, NPRC invited representatives ofgovernment, academia, and the private sector to explore these issues and to identify policyalternatives. The workshop discussion was wide-ranging andso are the background materials offered here. It is NPRC's hope that they can further the discussionof employment issues and the development of workforce readiness modelsat the local level. The first paper in this report isa proposal for a national workforce development strategy, drafted by the National Alliance of Business (NAB),in which a new role for the federal government is suggested. This proposalis followed by