Helping Workers Climb the Ladder of Success
By Quentin R. Johnson, Ph.D.
In honor of the recent Labor Day holiday, Southside Virginia Community College campuses were closed on September 2. The U.S. Congress established the day as a federal labor-related holiday in 1894. In current times, it also marks the traditional end of the summer vacation season. People often associate it with relaxation, parties, and shopping, but the observance has a long history and an important focus.
The U.S. Department of Labor summarizes the importance of the holiday this way: “Labor Day is an annual celebration of the social and economic achievements of American workers. The holiday is rooted in the late nineteenth century, when labor activists pushed for a federal holiday to recognize the many contributions workers have made to America’s strength, prosperity, and well-being.”
They go on to emphasize the value of the U.S. labor force to the national economy. “American labor has raised the nation’s standard of living and contributed to the greatest production the world has ever known, and the labor movement has brought us closer to the realization of our traditional ideals of economic and political democracy. It is appropriate, therefore, that the nation pays tribute on Labor Day to the creator of so much of the nation's strength, freedom, and leadership—the American worker.”
These well-documented trends, however, produced benefits that have been distributed unevenly. Current statistics show that in Virginia, 11% of households fall below federal poverty levels, and an additional 29% have incomes that reach above the poverty level but fall below what is required to cover necessary costs of living. These households are identified by the name ALICE, which stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed.
In our Commonwealth, 40% of families have income levels that are under the poverty and ALICE thresholds. Poverty levels and low-income wages are even more widespread here in Southside Virginia. Data for the ten counties in SVCC’s service region show that the number of poverty-level and ALICE families ranges from 46% to 57%.
United for ALICE, a movement with roots in the United Way of Northern New Jersey, is an organization that conducts research to identify and describe the types of households that struggle financially because of insufficient income to afford basic necessities, such as food, housing, utilities, child care, transportation, and medication. And, because communities’ economic health hinges on the well-being of the people who live in them, cooperative relationships among community partners, including education providers and employers, are vital for the brighter futures.
SVCC is proud of its role as a partner in helping many local students join the ranks of upwardly mobile American workers. We offer a wide range of cost-effective choices to traditional and non-traditional college students, and we provide programs for established workers eager to transition into new careers.
Brandon Lawson, a recent graduate from our truck driving training school says, “SVCC gave me an opportunity to succeed in this country’s workforce. I am thankful everyday for having a trade school near me that I could go try something new that my future self will thank me for.”
If you’re interested in taking your own steps up the ladder to success, visit southside.edu. Advisors are standing by to provide information about workforce programs, options for high school students, academic degrees, credentialing opportunities, and other possibilities. How high will you climb?
________
Dr. Quentin R. Johnson is president of Southside Virginia Community College, an institution of higher learning that provides a wide variety of education opportunities to a diverse student population within a service area that spans ten counties and the City of Emporia. He can be reached via email at quentin.johnson@southside.edu.