T HE C OUNCIL

ROBERT JACKSON 7th District Manhattan Co-Chair

JUMAANE D. WILLIAMS 45TH District Brooklyn Co-Vice Chair SARA GONZALEZ 38TH District Brooklyn Co-Vice Chair MARGARET CHIN 1ST District - Manhattan Secretary RUBEN WILLS 28TH District Queens Treasurer MARIA DEL CARMEN ARROYO 17th District Bronx Ex-officio Past Chair HELEN DIANE FOSTER 16TH District Bronx Ex-officio Past Chair CHARLES BARRON 42ND District Brooklyn LEROY COMRIE 27TH District Queens INEZ E. DICKENS 9TH District - Manhattan MATHIEU EUGENE 40TH District Brooklyn JULISSA FERRERAS 21TH District - Queens LETITIA JAMES 35TH District Brooklyn ANDY KING 12th District Bronx PETER KOO 20TH District - Queens MELISSA MARK-VIVERITO 8TH District Manhattan ERIK MARTIN-DILAN 37TH District Brooklyn DARLENE MEALY 41ST District - Brooklyn ROSIE MENDEZ 2ND District Manhattan ANNABEL PALMA 18TH District Bronx DIANA REYNA 34TH District Brooklyn DONOVAN RICHARDS 31st District Queens JOEL RIVERA 15TH District Bronx YDANIS RODRIGUEZ 10TH District Manhattan DEBORAH ROSE 49TH District Staten Island ALBERT VANN 36TH District Brooklyn ALEXANDER RIAS Director of BLAC Affairs

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FERNANDO CABRERA 14th District Bronx Co-Chair

B LACK , L ATINO AND A SIAN C AUCUS

**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**
CONTACT: Alex Rias, Director of the BLA Caucus ARias@council.nyc.gov

June 14, 2013

BLAC PRIORITY WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE EARNS CLINTON GLOBAL INITIATIVE COMMITMENT TO ACTION AWARD New York, NY -- Today, members of the Black, Latino and Asian Caucus of the New York City Council joined the Consortium for Worker Education (CWE), and the Central Labor Council to congratulate the Jobs to Build On (JtBO) program for earning the Clinton Global Initiatives Commitment to Action Award. The founder the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), former President Bill Clinton, will discuss the program at the plenary session of CGI Americas June 14ths meeting in Chicago and thank CWE and the JTBO partnership for their exemplary service. Six years ago, the Consortium of Workers Education responded to the Black, Latino and Asian Caucus call to create a workforce development model and developed the Jobs to Build On Program. Now this partnership is responding to the Clinton Global Initiative call and will use JtBO as a nationwide model for workforce development that can bring real employment opportunities to areas that have the highest population of unemployment. It is with great pride that I congratulate JtBO on this milestone. Now, not only thousands of New Yorkers will benefit from this model, but millions of Americans may have the opportunity to successfully secure jobs and a sustainable future, said Council Member Robert Jackson, Co-Chair of the Black, Latino and Asian Caucus. The BLA Caucus is a proud partner of the Consortium for Worker Education and we congratulate them for receiving the Commitment to Action award from the Clinton Global Initiative. The Consortiums leading program Jobs to Build On is a solution to unemployment in local communities. This operational model has gained relevance due to its impressive outcome and results delivered. We are delighted to celebrate with the Consortium for Worker Education this prestigious recognition, and it is our desire to see the Jobs to Build On program implemented in other parts of the country, says Council Member Fernando Cabrera, CoChair of the BLAC Caucus. The Jobs to Build on Program has been a great initiative which has helped people living in low-income communities across the city. I am pleased it has finally received the recognition it deserves, and hope other municipalities look at what we did here in New York City, and start similar programs to help those

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T HE C OUNCIL
ROBERT JACKSON 7th District Manhattan Co-Chair
JUMAANE D. WILLIAMS 45TH District Brooklyn Co-Vice Chair SARA GONZALEZ 38TH District Brooklyn Co-Vice Chair MARGARET CHIN 1ST District - Manhattan Secretary RUBEN WILLS 28TH District Queens Treasurer MARIA DEL CARMEN ARROYO 17th District Bronx Ex-officio Past Chair HELEN DIANE FOSTER 16TH District Bronx Ex-officio Past Chair CHARLES BARRON 42ND District Brooklyn LEROY COMRIE 27TH District Queens INEZ E. DICKENS 9TH District - Manhattan MATHIEU EUGENE 40TH District Brooklyn JULISSA FERRERAS 21TH District - Queens LETITIA JAMES 35TH District Brooklyn ANDY KING 12th District Bronx PETER KOO 20TH District - Queens MELISSA MARK-VIVERITO 8TH District Manhattan ERIK MARTIN-DILAN 37TH District Brooklyn DARLENE MEALY 41ST District - Brooklyn ROSIE MENDEZ 2ND District Manhattan ANNABEL PALMA 18TH District Bronx DIANA REYNA 34TH District Brooklyn DONOVAN RICHARDS 31st District Queens JOEL RIVERA 15TH District Bronx YDANIS RODRIGUEZ 10TH District Manhattan DEBORAH ROSE 49TH District Staten Island ALBERT VANN 36TH District Brooklyn ALEXANDER RIAS Director of BLAC Affairs

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FERNANDO CABRERA 14th District Bronx Co-Chair

B LACK , L ATINO AND A SIAN C AUCUS

living in low-income communities said Deputy Majority Leader Leroy Comrie. With great outreach programs through unions and organizations, thousands of residents have been able to learn new skills in a variety of areas including Information Technology, Healthcare, and Film and TV production. Not only are the retention rates for those placed in these jobs extremely high, but they also earn a higher hourly wage than the state mandates. I would like to thank Council Member Robert Jackson, Council Member Fernando Cabrera, all the members of the BLAC, and President of the New York City Central Labor Council Vincent Alvarez, for all their work on the Jobs to Build on Program. When the problem of persistent, high unemployment in low-income communities came to the fore in the early 2000s, the Councils Black Latino and Asian Caucus responded said Council Member Al Vann. Im proud that the intensive, community based Jobs to Build On model we created has been responsible for changing the lives and prospects of thousands of New Yorkers. Its an honor to now see Jobs to Build On recognized as a national model. I hope and expect that this recognition will extend the programs reach, allowing other communities to replicate its success. It is imperative for our residents to receive access to all available programs in order to reenter the workforce successfully and we are humbly grateful to be recognized as a model to follow nationally said Majority Leader Joel Rivera. "Over the past five years, the Jobs to Build On program and Worker Service Centers have become highly replicable, national models for addressing unemployment in low-income neighborhoods," said Vincent Alvarez, President of the New York City Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO. "These programs are helping tens of thousands of residents in our city's neighborhoods, and they could benefit more residents with increased levels of funding from the City Council's Black, Latino and Asian Caucus. These are good programs that uplift our communities, and can help grow our city's middle class. Allocating funding to ensure this work continues must be a top priority." ###

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