Sure, Milwaukee fits the image of a throwback blue-collar factory town, but it's also on the cutting edge of training partnerships. They're really some trendsetters here. Trumka, the No. 2 executive for the 13 million-member labor coalition, is in Milwaukee for the group's quarterly executive council meeting. Central to the labor leaders' business Wednesday was learning about the Wisconsin Regional Training Partnership, a project of unions, employers, educators and community groups. The partnership is supported by philanthropic and public funding, and is dedicated to improving, creating and keeping jobs in the Milwaukee area.
Every fourth worker is a member of a minority group.
On Wednesday, about two dozen of the nation's top union officials toured businesses and met with workers and local labor representatives to see and hear about the success of Milwaukee's collaborations. Bernstein credited the partnership for helping Western Metal hire good workers who are likely to stay. Visiting union officials expressed amazement at what they saw of the partnership. There was a vested interest on all sides to make sure that the business stays in the game and the workers stay in the game in terms of solid wages. William M. George, president of the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO, marveled at the multilateral cooperation.