Resolution for 2014 - Bring back the middle class!

Erie, PA, is nearly a perfect example. Situated on a rare natural harbor at the confluence of major railroad lines and highways, Erie grew to become a crown jewel in the armory of freedom. Foundries and metal working abounded. Huge factory buildings lined 12^th Street, employing tens of thousands of skilled and semi-skilled and even illiterate workers. During and immediately after World War II, this was a booming manufacturing economy.

But then in the 1970s, recession and the beginnings of globalization struck. Companies went bankrupt. Plants were relocated or closed. The noon whistle summoned far fewer workers to open their lunch buckets. It was the beginning of the squeeze on the middle class. Today, 12^th Street is lined with derelict factory buildings, windows broken and boarded up. This is what "the rust belt" means.

And the same is true of Lowell and Fall River and Pawtucket, where mill workers' jobs first moved south and then overseas. Attleboro, where jewelry making had supported many families for many years, has seen those jobs evaporate.

One would think that manufacturing is a game that we have lost, and we’d better get used to it.

But the truth is dramatically different. The United States is a huge contributor to the world’s manufacturing output. With nearly $2 trillion generated from manufacturing in 2011, the US equaled the total output of Germany, Italy, South Korea, Brazil, and Russia combined.

If this is the case, then, why is our middle class suffering? Why is our unemployment rate still over 7%?

The answer is that there is a huge skills gap for manufacturing jobs. This can be explained in part by the enormous productivity of the American worker. China requires nearly ten times the workers to generate the same manufacturing output as the US. Largely this is due to our manufacturing mix. They are making consumer electronics and hardware while we are making supercomputers and airliners.

But there is more. Even locally, in Erie PA and Attleboro, there are manufacturing and skilled trades jobs open that can’t be filled. Employers are looking for workers who can program a CNC machine, not just turn a wrench. Illiteracy, or worse, innumeracy, are huge disqualifications. So nationwide, millions of jobs go unfilled for want of qualified candidates. Students who fail to graduate high school can’t possibly compete for these jobs. And worse, many graduates lack the necessary skills that employers require.

When we see educational rankings by country, with the US listed 26^th in math, how can we expect to fuel our high tech manufacturing sector with qualified workers? It’s a serious problem when only 75% of American students graduate from high school, and many who do graduate are weak in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math). The needs of the future are clear – we will require more literate, STEM-qualified workers, not fewer.

So in this new year of 2014, what can we do? What can you, in particular, do? Here are a few suggestions.

1. Support your local literacy center. In Attleboro, it is the TLC (www.theliteracycenter.com). Literacy centers help retool adults who need a boost. Donate funds, volunteer as a tutor.
2. Support your local schools. But be demanding. What are they doing to reward and replicate the accomplishments of successful teachers? Are they cranking out graduates who need remedial training in the real world? Are local employers lining up at the door to snap up graduates?
3. Educate yourself and vote. Forget the party line. Vote for whomever explains how to improve the educational attainment of our youth. If that’s through the public schools, how?  Parochial or charter schools? Elevating the importance of trade schools? German-style apprenticeship programs?

If we want to see our middle class revitalized, the key is to rebuild our manufacturing and trades sectors. But to do that, we need to equip prospective workers with something of value. Employees must be able to fluently navigate the literacy and engineering and math requirements of the modern manufacturing job. And we can help them achieve that. 
 
The bottom line is that you can be an active part of the solution if you inform yourself and take action. This is a case where bottom-up social activism can be effective, but only if enough of us care. Make this a resolution for 2014.

Start with a call to your Literacy Center.

Happy New Year!