About the Institute

Because of the experience of the AFL-CIO Working for America Institute in strengthening the public workforce system, the organizing committee has asked the Institute to house the network and provide it with staff and services.

The AFL-CIO Working for America Institute (WAI) is a union-sponsored, nonprofit organization dedicated to creating good jobs and building strong communities. Created in 1998 as the successor to the AFL-CIO Human Resources Development Institute, WAI has made significant progress in articulating a vision of a high road economy—an economy that competes in today’s global marketplace on the basis of innovation, quality and skill rather than on low wages and benefits

The Institute has helped hundreds of labor representatives and their partners on the WIBs promote a “high road economy” in their states and communities. This vision is based on innovation, quality and skill rather than low wages and diminishing benefits. In applying high road principles, the Institute helps WIB labor reps to:

• Identify good jobs in their communities and work toward increasing them;
• Extend training services to more low-wage workers;
• Make government accountable for the kinds of jobs subsidized with public dollars

The Institute also maintains a database of nearly 1400 WIB labor representatives and all of the nation’s Workforce Investment Boards. This resource will be adapted for the High Road Network membership roster.

The National Association of Workforce Boards (NAWB) has certified  Working for America as an approved provider of technical assistance.