Maya McFadden Photo
United Way President Lisa Tepper Bates: “The work isn’t easy.”
United Way of Connecticut is proposing that businesses help people “get back to work” with an equity approach.
At a press event held Tuesday outside New Haven’s Canal Dock Boathouse, the organization announced a four-point plan to help Connecticut business owners and out-of-work employees to bounce back after being impacted by Covid-19.
State United Way President and CEO Lisa Tepper Bates reported that as of last month, approximately 100,000 state residents are collecting unemployment benefits. Meanwhile, 70,000 jobs are open, according to the governor’s office.
The solution? “Let’s meet workers’ needs at work,” United Way declared, in inviting employers to work with the organization to help revive workplaces.
United Way partnered with organizations like Discovery Amistad and Yale University to create the employment plan, which is aimed at people who remain unemployed due to systemic barriers like low job wages, lack of affordable child care, basic employee benefits.
Employers and heads of advocacy groups joined United Way at Tuesday’s event, held outside of the Canal Dock Boathouse, to promote a plan that suggests that employers:
• provide flexible and family-friendly child care policies for staffers and senior care needs along with flexibility to work outside of traditional hours.
• host pop-up Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites for their employees to help them avoid high tax-filing costs and obtain eligible benefits to support their families.
• tap into United Way’s 211 service, a gateway to 40,000 community resources.
• inform their employees about child care subsidies.
United Way partners at the event.
Though increased Covid-related unemployment benefits have expired, businesses throughout the state are still struggling to hire residents who have not returned to work for various reasons. Many of those reasons could be resolved if employers prioritize meeting workers’ needs at work, said Tepper Bates.
Employers also need to pay more attention to diversity and inclusion to meet the challenge, she argued. United Way announced it has adopted a new diversity, equity, and inclusion mission statewide with an anti-racism and anti-bias statement for its chapters.
“If there is anything good that’s come out of Covid, I would suggest that we have learned that the way we used to work is not the way we need to work now. We can work differently, and we can accommodate the needs of those workers for whom a traditional day and traditional office simply doesn’t work,” Tepper Bates said.
Watch the full press conference here.
Though increased Covid-related unemployment benefits have expired, businesses throughout the state are still struggling to hire residents who have not returned to work for various reasons. Many of those reasons could be resolved if employers prioritize meeting workers' needs at work, said Tepper Bates.
The reason why people are not taking jobs is is that a lot of those openings are in industries that require in-person work, like construction, delivery services or warehousing.They are looking for remote work due to the pandemic.The problem is that those jobs are not available right now.