The Changing Face of Massachusetts

The following is a summary, not a verbatim transcript:

Ian Bowles

IAN BOWLES, MASSINC PRESIDENT AND CEO: This topic is of fundamental importance to our economy and our work. The research brings together research work on skills in the economy in late 2000 and the New Skills for a New Economy campaign with Verizon. A second thread is our work with Citizens Bank in understanding the vital role of immigrants in the economy. Andy Sum as many of you know is our state’s leading labor economist. I thank him for his pursuit of new information on these topics. Dana Ansell is our research director and keeper of our high standards. We had a unique presentation of town-by-town data on our web site. John Schneider was the moving force behind this research. He will moderate today. Thanks to all of our staff. We will have opening remarks from Blenda Wilson and Larry Fish to open. Andy Sum will give a quick presentation and then John will call up our all-star panel. We will wrap up with Sen. Travaglini with his closing remarks. I see many experts in the room. It will be terrific to have your thoughts.

Blenda Wilson

BLENDA WILSON, NELLIE MAE EDUCATION FOUNDATION: I am pleased to be here to learn from this dialogue and participate in it. This report is making headlines across the state for good reason. I appreciate the panel adding to the conversation. Andy translates complicated data into both knowledge and wisdom. When he speaks, the Commonwealth listens. The Changing Face of Massachusetts is in the tradition of excellence that MassINC is known for. The foundation’s main issue is to promote access to education, largely with grants in strategic areas. Our adult literacy initiative developed in 2000 was the result of two MassINC reports on the changing workforce and new skills for a new economy. The reports showed the adult workforce was not skilled or literate enough to participate in the new economy. It influenced our strategic approaches. The grant initiatives have been remarkably effective in a short time. What we have learned is with appropriate language training and instruction and intrusive nurturing and advising, thousands of adults have obtained the language and skills they need to live productive, rich lives. I hope this report will renew the sense of urgency that inspired the foundation’s initial work in this area. When we know our population would be shrinking without immigrants and that immigrants are three times as likely to lack a diploma, we have to realize adult literacy programs represent extraordinary human capital. Many people are interested in playing a role in fully integrating immigrants into the fabric of Massachusetts. I look forward to an enlightening and productive conversation. Thank you.

Larry Fish

LARRY FISH, CITIZENS FINANCIAL GROUP PRESIDENT AND CEO: Good morning everybody. Thank you for this study. I have grandparents who are immigrants. I am married to an immigrant. I have three bicultural, biracial children. I am emotionally connected to this subject. I would like to highlight the significance to our economy. The study shows 130,000 immigrants arrived between 2000 and 2004. The population of the state would have declined 70,000 were it not for them. If we did not speak (at bank branches) Portuguese with a Brazilian accent or an Azorean access or Russian and Ukraine and Haitian and Vietnamese or two or three of four dialects of Chinese, it would be very, very difficult to do business. This is the biggest market opportunity today. We speak over 75 languages in our offices. Over 13 percent of our employees, English is their second language. As a businessman, I would like everyone to focus on the 80 percent of new Americans arriving here speaking English and arriving with higher education. We have work to do with the 20 percent where English is a deficiency. The private sector needs to work hard to help the public sector. It’s a great opportunity for our economy. I am asked how did Massachusetts get all these new Americans. Pittsburgh would love to be in our position. Our immigration is of color and comes from God knows how many different countries –Brazilian, Haitian, Japanese, from India. Citizens Bank is appropriately named Citizens Bank. We are very proud to promote the learning this study will contribute.

ANDREW SUM, CENTER FOR LABOR MARKET STUDIES, NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY: Thank you very much. Thanks to Blenda for her gracious remarks. I am joined by some of the authors of the report. We will give you an overview of the findings and what it means for policy. I will hit on five main things – the role of immigration in generating population and labor force growth; a review of what’s new and different about immigration; immigrants and the educational divide; the new fault line and the ability to speak English; the geography of immigrants, and what does this mean for Massachusetts. The report has a great executive summary. In 2004, we estimate, there are about 907,000 immigrants, or 14 percent of the population. In 1980, it was 9.4 percent. We estimated 170,000 new immigrants between 2000 and 2004. We know our population declined recently over one year. Since 2000, the labor force is estimated to have grown 1 percent, but would have shrunk without immigrants. We illustrated that during the 80s, all the population growth was due to foreign-born immigration. The same is true in the 1990s. Of the 67,000 increase since 2000, 105,000 was the natural increase and the net domestic out-migration was 173,000. Net international migration was 137,000. We looked at Census projections for 2005 to 2015, and we estimate the population growth will be in new immigrants. In the 1970s, we grew about 429,000 in our labor force. New immigrants accounted for only 63,000 or 15 percent. In the last four years, we have added only 7,000 people to the labor force, but 111,000 new immigrants in the labor force. If you go back to 1980, the majority of new immigrants were from Canada and Europe. By 2000, half are from Asia and Latin America. Brazil, the Dominican Republic, and Guatemala are among the top sending countries. Immigrants are three times as likely to lack a high school diploma. Twenty-nine of every 100 hold at least a bachelor’s degree, compared with 36 percent of those born in the U.S. But a larger fraction possesses limited English speaking skills. Twenty-one percent have limited English skills, another 21 percent have modest English speaking skills. The other 57 percent speak English only or very well. On average, immigrants who primarily speak English earned 2.5 times as much as an immigrant who did not speak English well. Those who do not speak English at all earned only $9,000. They can double their earnings by improving their English. Schooling and skills have overwhelming payoffs for immigrants. In the absence of immigrants, this state’s manufacturing workforce would have had a hard time staying competitive. Those with strong English skills are far more likely to access professional, managerial or technical occupations. Immigrants with a bachelor’s degree who do not speak English well performed poorly compared to those who come with English skills. There is a difference from top to bottom in the rate of poverty based on degrees of English proficiency. The geography of immigrants, they are concentrated in the city and their numbers are increasing in the suburbs. The top 20 cities in the state, all of the revitalization was brought about by new immigrants. If we are to continue to grow, we are going to have to attract and retain immigrants. We should make it possible for more people to feel at home. On citizenship, it ranges from lows of 23 percent to highs of 68 percent for those with master’s or higher degrees who only speak English. There are challenges. Our state faces serious human capital challenges. Immigrants are a key source of labor but many lack English and other skills. Immigrants comprise an above average share of our poor population, an above average fraction of those lacking health insurance, and many are not receiving health insurance – only one third claimed they had it. Lastly, immigrant workers have contributed to a growth in the shadow labor market. They are working off the books, are not protected by labor laws. We have to do a better job there. Our family income distribution has become increasingly more unequal. We have to do a better job preparing immigrants for our workforce. There is a major challenge for us ahead to achieve fundamental goals.

Johan Uvin

JOHAN UVIN, REPORT RESEARCHER: There is a lot of public and private support for education and training for immigrants. We should just stay the course. The average hours of instruction in English programs is increasing. There are other ideas. Foundations should encourage and fund immigration grants. We are very good in other sectors in acting with confidence. We can increase the capacity of English language classes, since many of these immigrants are working. We can encourage employers to offset the costs of English classes and experiment with charging a sliding fee for ESOL classes. We can improve coordination between education and workforce development programs at the state and local level, including better measurement of outcomes. We can also intensify outreach efforts to immigrant youth.

John Schneider

JOHN SCHNEIDER, MASSINC VICE PRESIDENT: We will try to make the PowerPoint available on our web site. We will talk about the implications of this report now. We have a terrific turnout on this issue. Diane, thousands of adult immigrants are on waiting lists for English classes. Given the positive connections with income levels, what can we do to add capacity?

DIANE PORTNOY, IMMIGRANT LEARNING CENTER CO-FOUNDER/DIRECTOR: I want to put into context my perspective on helping more immigrants learn English. We are a non-profit center that provides free classes. The basic assumption is immigrants need to learn English to be successful workers, parents and community members. Our program is very intensive, 15 hours a week and they are totally immersed in the language. We teach English through life skills, by teaching them how to navigate the health or employment system. Technology is integrated, with a computer lab. We do not teach specific skills for specific jobs, but expect them to be at school every day on time. They learn to be part of a team and we help them to become computer literate. Twenty-five percent of our funding is public; 75 percent is private. We helped 800 people and our waiting list is always between 700 and 900. We structure classes to help as many people as possible. There are 20 people in each class. When someone leaves, we bring in the next person. We get goods and services donated, our furniture and legal and accounting services and tech support. We invest in a full-time director of development who gets support from the private sector and raises more money than the year before. We work with other community agencies to set up a workplace education program in Malden. At the state level, I encourage the legislature to pass the $7 million line item for adult basic education. It is supported by the governor and education commissioner. We have to make ESL a priority. I encourage programs to invest in fundraisers. Convincing the private sector to participate takes time. There has to be a closer relationship between community-based organizations and community colleges. They can teach ESL and prepare people for the health care field, or electronics. It is very very important for people to learn English for the workplace, but parents need to learn English so they can communicate with their children’s schools and participate in their communities and understand the legislative process and vote.

JOHN SCHNEIDER, MASSINC VICE PRESIDENT: How long are they on the waiting list?

DIANE PORTNOY, IMMIGRANT LEARNING CENTER CO-FOUNDER/DIRECTOR: Nine months to a year, or sometimes six months, depending on the level.

JOHN SCHNEIDER, MASSINC VICE PRESIDENT: Mayor Sullivan, how are you integrating immigrants into revitalization in Lawrence?

Mayor Michael Sullivan

MICHAEL SULLIVAN, LAWRENCE MAYOR: Thanks to all of you for being here to help others. Someone said to get re-elected I have to speak a little Spanish. Spanish for me has never been good. They said all you need to say is mi casa is su casa. Up until yesterday, I didn’t know what I was saying. But everyone I passed and said it to, they hugged me. It was a wonderful thing. As mayor, I have served for three and a half years. It’s a city I am proud of. It gives people opportunity where a lot of cities wouldn’t. We open our arms and that is what America is all about. I get phone calls about jobs, potholes, someone flunking out of school. We are on the front line. It’s a lot more than finding a good job. It’s as basic as communicating with your children. We wonder why parents are not involved. Maybe they are a little bit embarrassed that they cannot connect with their teachers. We encourage everyone to be part of the American dream in Lawrence. We encourage that and I need to promote that and connect with our children who show up every day for school. If I want to get data back to someone’s home, I put it in their school bag. We connect with kids for programs that might help moms and dads. If the people are not getting information about great programs and signing up, forget about it. The stats are great, but a company will not hire you unless you are skilled. I tell this to kids in our schools. New investment is flooding into our city. I have to make sure people are excited about where they come from and where they are living. We can promote, with the press, and that’s a good thing. My role is to assist you, the people bringing the products to the people. It ties into jobs, but the real tie is making people feel good about themselves. It’s as basic as that. This is probably the most important issue to people because it makes them feel good about themselves.

JOHN SCHNEIDER, MASSINC VICE PRESIDENT: What is the level of private invest in your community?

MICHAEL SULLIVAN, LAWRENCE MAYOR: There is a quarter of a billion dollars. Investors have come in and bought these mills. Our unemployment rate is dropping and our crime rate has dropped six years in a row. We were the auto theft capital of the U.S., but last year the rate was the lowest since 1969. There are good jobs in our city.

JOHN SCHNEIDER, MASSINC VICE PRESIDENT: What are the implications of the key findings for the business community?

Donna Cupelo

DONNA CUPELO, REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENT, VERIZON: When we look as businesses at this study, this can be a competitive failure or give us a competitive edge. The mayor talked about the needs of businesses in his city. We have a technology-based economy. Those types of businesses like ours need a skilled workforce. How can we innovate and remain market leaders? You see biotech and health care press. We have many technology-based services fueled by higher education. One thing we look at is building on a baseline of skills. You must have skills in English to communicate in the family. We do expect a basic skill set. That is why the MCAS requirements are so critical to us. What you see in Massachusetts are some very creative solutions. Companies are using online courses to take employees to the next level. They have in-house instructors and they support external education. We are all very supportive of public education as well and are interested in the work of community colleges. We have 14,000 employees in the Commonwealth and are making major investments in technology at Verizon. We continue to look at getting to the next step. Our customers’ faces are changing as well and have different needs and technology skills. We have made a significant investment in training. In the last year, we spent $500 million nationwide. We also have a unique program called Next Step. We take technicians who may or may not have college educations – most of them don’t – but we work with community colleges to take them to the next level with an associate’s degree and to even further that education because we provide substantial tuition reimbursement. We are very proud of that accomplishment. We have to look at serving our customers. We have the challenge nationwide. It’s not surprising to see in June in the Washington Post we posted openings for bilingual speakers. The last point is literacy. The prime objective of our foundation nationwide is to support literacy. For us it’s a national partnership. We pilot family literacy projects in Massachusetts. We are constantly seeking ways to support literacy. Many businesses are facing the same issues and want to take it to the next level.

JOHN SCHNEIDER, MASSINC VICE PRESIDENT: What is the need for more ESL classes?

Jane Edmonds

JANE EDMONDS, STATE DEPT. OF WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR: I am so pleased to be here this morning to hear the various viewpoints. I almost want to say ditto. There seems to be such a consensus on what we need to do and that gets me very very excited. I reflect back 20 years and think about some report I read projecting the changing demographics in 2000. I studied it intensely. I didn’t feel the energy around that report. You would have thought with 20 years notice that we would have done some spectacular work. It’s very different today. As I travel the Commonwealth, I talk to businesses all the time and they would echo what Larry Fish said. He understands it. To run a profitable business, it requires some vision and embracing diversity. They want a skilled workforce. Of course. They look to us, the state, to add value. I am glad Diane made a plug for our good friend the Senate president. We play a lot of inside baseball. Gov. Romney has been behind this issue and wants more support in his budget. I hope the $7 million will be given serious consideration. We work with the state Department of Education to help the non-English speaking community. We have formal contracts. We have career centers with referrals. We have an electronic referral system to ABE and ESOL. We are working to strengthen industry partnerships. Every region is unique. We have the RN Road to Nursing project in Brockton. We have the workforce training fund, one of our most effective programs, which provides matching grants to businesses since 1998. It’s a jewel of a program for businesses. It’s to allow a business to decide what skill sets are necessary for incumbent workers and then to raise the skills. Total dollars awarded – 99 grants totaling $8.5 million to train more than 12,000 workers in the most recent year. The fund is piloting an ABE and ESOL initiative. We have bilingual staff in Lowell. In Worcester, we have diversity job fairs at UMass Medical. The Division of Unemployment Assistance offers brochures translated into five different languages. The takeaway for today is that we are making progress. We still have a long way to go. I am pleased to work with anyone who wants to use data as fuel to help more people to develop skills.

JOHN SCHNEIDER, MASSINC VICE PRESIDENT: Rocio, tell us about your members and how they are developing their skills?

Rocio Saenz

ROCIO SAENZ, SEIU 615 PRESIDENT: Thank you. I admire your work at MassINC. I want to share a little bit about our union. We represent service workers who maintain commercial office buildings and clean and maintain the universities and colleges. Eight percent of our members are immigrant workers. They come from Columbia, Brazil, the Dominican Republican, mainly from Latin American countries. We have a diverse group. We have college-educated workers and workers with no schooling. It ranges. We see that as part of our work. We are the largest immigrant organization in the state. Our members are the changing face of Massachusetts. I came from Mexico to pursue the American dream. I learned English and went through the whole process. We want a strong economy, strong school systems and a middle class that can support businesses. We want to think about a state where parents can be a positive influence for their kids and can spend time because they have one job with good wages and health insurance instead of working two or three jobs days and nights. I think about making positive changes in people’s work lives that make positive changes in communities. We see that language is an issue so we have created an organization to address language skills. We have 200 members doing ESOL classes. Workers are eager to learn the language. They want to do it. They want to make sure they are integrated. They want to be able to communicate. They want to be part of our society. We have been creative with classes on weekends and starting in the workplaces and in the communities where they live, like Lawrence and Framingham and East Boston. If they work two or three jobs, they have to choose between going to class and being with their kids. We have partnerships with our employers. We have tried to bargain a training fund. We didn’t get it but we are coming back. One thing I want to mention is the security officers, the fastest growing occupation is private security and more than 60 percent of those workers are immigrant workers from India, Pakistan, Haiti and the African continent. They speak English. But these are low-end jobs. We try to address raising the standards. Think about the sensitivity of this work after September 11. You might think these are skilled jobs. That’s not true. It’s very much driven by competition and high turnover. This is a pass-through for many workers and it should not be this way. We are trying to address the needs for the new faces of the Commonwealth.

JOHN SCHNEIDER, MASSINC VICE PRESIDENT: Jerry, you publish a Spanish language newspaper. Tell us about your readers.

Jerry Villacres

JERRY VILLACRES, EL PLANETA EDITOR: [Jerry began speaking in Spanish and members of the audience began to applaud. Villacres then encouraged everyone not to get scared]. Immigration and English and education matter. Our newspaper has grown tremendously from 10,000 a year ago to 30,000 now. We want to inform and education. I am preaching to the choir here. There is an undercurrent after 9-11 where immigrants are not seen in a positive light. The other is always seen as something different. In many languages the same work for stranger is used for enemy. It is hard to overcome. It is a reality and a concern. People are taking advantage. People just coming don’t vote. Some politicians take advantage of that fact. This country is made out of foreigners. The pilgrims are foreigners. We are the new pilgrims. We were here in this country before the United States was the United States. It is important to be bilingual and bicultural. It takes a lot of energy and guts to come from another country and a sense of risk taking. Rocio and myself are the new faces so get used to it. We are creating new businesses. Western Union does business with money being sent to Latin America. Larry Fish knows this. The Kennedy-McCain Act needs to be supported. It is going to bring policies that are favorable for the security of this country. It’s going to take about eight to 12 million undocumented people. They key word is illegal aliens. Education matters and before we can learn English, people need to have two or three jobs at minimum wage to support families. How can you learn English? People are tired.

JOHN SCHNEIDER, MASSINC VICE PRESIDENT: I hope today is the beginning of a dialogue about immigration and the new economy and that we can support public and private partnerships for English languages and skills. Skills and affordability are two challenges we face.

DONNA CUPELO, REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENT, VERIZON: Sen. Travaglini was the first and only Boston city councilor elected to the Senate. I have worked with him on a number of issues. He has never shied away from controversial or complex issues. He rolls up his sleeves to get things done. The Legislature has cured $3 billion in budget gaps, created a new approach to construct and fund schools, and supported workforce training programs. It has developed a national model stem cell research law. He is now taking the lead on health care reform with the governor and the House leadership to improve access and quality and affordability. I can think of no better leader to help us meet this challenge

Senate President Robert Travaglini

SENATE PRESIDENT ROBERT TRAVAGLINI: Good morning everyone. When I accepted the invitation to make comment, almost immediately what drove me was the theme of the event and my grandparents. I have said the only difference between me and some of you is time. It took 225 years for an Italo-American to become president of the Senate. During that time there were tremendous sacrifices made by people who preceded me in the service of the people. My same heritage. They were just never able to rise to the level of being president. I can recall with intimate detail of the stories my nonno and nonni told me of obstacles coming to this country. It pained me to see their eyes and hear their voices and hear their lessons as they tried to school and prepare me for the competition in society. I am one of five boys. My mother raised us. We lost our dad at a young age. I would say that’s not fair and my father would say who told you this world is fair. I remember that. That is why I feel strongly about a caring government that recognizes immigrants are a critical component of our economy. We were all immigrants at one point in time. Others before use faced bias and prejudice. We have a responsibility to correct it and to make sure those who come to this country and who are willing to make sacrifices and willing and eager to raise a family and become the fabric of our community in East Boston, where I still reside . . . We remember the cyclical nature of those wheels we are on. At one time it was us that was the target of ill will, blurred vision and inappropriate accusations. If I had been taught anything, its probably one reason my colleagues trusted me, or maybe they wanted to throw someone under the bus in the fiscal crisis, but God had blessed me with a good memory. I see Bruce Bolling (former Boston City Councilor). I say imagine we could still be on the city council together. There are people in positions of power who understand your plight and who are willing to involve themselves in that fight for fairness and equal opportunity. There are a number of issues pending presently that affect these populations. Those of us in the Senate have demonstrated an endorsement of those policies – immigrant tuition and look at what we just did in higher ed. We get it. Public higher education is the key to quality and opportunity. It’s the only one that’s affordable. Private institutions don’t even pay attention to anyone locally anymore. They are drawing from a bigger audience. What does that mean? It means the only option that is affordable and available. Let’s make that system, the system that I am a product of, the best in the nation. I wanted to appear to let you know that I was you. An it wasn’t that long ago and that opportunity is here and you are part of this Commonwealth and we have demonstrated that in a number of ways through health care and medical care to the underinsured and through education and employment and a whole myriad of other venues to erase and prevent the reoccurrence of the injustices and the obstacles that my grandparents overcame and that some still confront. As one of the big three – is that what they call us? – I don’t hire consultants – I walk around Maverick Square and if I am not physically assaulted, I know they still like me. I just wanted to come and tell you that we are aware of the issues on your agenda. We are trying to respond favorably and as quickly as possible and believe me, there are more of us than there are of them so we’re starting to win this fight. Good to see you.

IAN BOWLES, MASSINC PRESIDENT AND CEO: I want to thank Sen. Travaglini. Nothing is more appropriate going into the Fourth of July weekend to think about than these issues.