By Ramona Schindelheim for WorkingNation.
Broadcast version by Danielle Smith for Keystone State News Connection reporting for the WorkingNation-Public News Service Collaboration

It is probably safe to say that when most people think of Goodwill®, they think of the more than 3,300 donation centers and thrift stores spread across the U.S. and Canada. But, the nonprofit is so much more.

In fact, Goodwill may be the best-kept workforce development secret in America, with more than 350,000 people finding a job through Goodwill's career counseling, résumé prep services, and skills training.

"Our entire history is about a mission of helping people flourish in life, helping them thrive. The 'why' for us is helping people reach their potential, often through learning and the power of work," explains Steven C. Preston, president and CEO of Goodwill Industries International.

And thanks to a partnership with some of the biggest names in tech, more than 1.5 million people have upgraded their digital and tech skills through the Goodwill Digital Career Accelerator^® (GDCA), a training program designed in partnership with Google and made possible by funding from Google.org.

To date, Google.org has supported the training program with over $29 million in cash and ad grants and 1,000 Googler volunteers who have taught classes for people employed and served by Goodwill, have helped conduct research, and co-developed resources and tools, explains Google.

Google.org Fellows - Google employees who specialize in marketing, user experience design, program management and more - also worked with the Goodwill team on a pro bono basis for six months to help research and redesign www.goodwill.org to work better for job seekers and career advancers.

Partnering to Advance Tech Careers

More than 80% of the people who come to Goodwill for work-related services have a high school diploma or less and range in age from their teens to in their 80s. Most have low-to-moderate income, and some have no income at all.

The Goodwill Digital Career Accelerator prepares job seekers and career advancers for for entry- and mid-level occupations. No degree and no experience required. Some of the learners need to learn keyboarding, English, and math before they can benefit from digital skills training and earn career certificates.

The program meets learners where they are at, offering many levels of hands-on training, from basic digital awareness and navigation through training for Google Career Certificates. Those employer-vetted certificates equip people with job-ready skills for in-demand entry-level careers in fields like data analytics, IT, and, most-recently, cybersecurity.

Interested? Here is What You Need to Know About the Goodwill Digital Career Accelerator

We asked Goodwill and Google to answer these essential questions about the Goodwill Digital Career Accelerator program, which is hosted on the Coursera platform.

What does it cost?

"Thanks to scholarships and funding from Google.org and other partners, digital skills training is available at no cost to learners at most Goodwills."

How much time does it take?

"The time a digital skills training course takes depends of what is being learned. To learn to set up and use email - an essential skill for a job search - may take only an hour or two. Learning to use Google suite may take a few hours over the course of a week. Earning a Google Career Certificate may take three to six months (though some highly motivated and disciplined learners have completed them in a few weeks)."

Is the program in-person or online?

"Many of the people who use Goodwill to build their digital skills begin their learning in-person until they are comfortable enough to learn at their own pace on their own time. The strongest models for training involve a blended approach where Goodwill organizations convene training groups in-person and integrate online learning. Providing additional supports beyond the training setting, such as regular career navigation check-in meetings, helps learners stay on track with training progress."

Once completing the program, do you get an employer-vetted certificate?

"Some learners earn Google Career Certificates through Goodwill. The Google Career Certificates are an industry-recognized credential valued by a wide array of employers. Built by experts at Google and vetted by employers in the program's Employer Consortium, the certificates teach skills employers are looking for. The employer consortium includes over 150 companies including Accenture, Walmart, Verizon, and Google that are looking to hire workers in the certificate fields."

The Power to Change Lives

"It's so important for us to realize that digital skills have become the price of entry for many jobs in our country. Digitization has so infused our workforce that the need for those skills is ubiquitous," says Goodwill CEO Preston.

"Google believes the opportunities created by technology should truly be available to everyone, regardless of their zip code, education level, or background. We're proud to continue our support for Goodwill, advancing our shared commitment to help all Americans access digital skills training in their local communities," says Hector Mujica, head of Economic Opportunity for the Americas for Google.org.

He tells us, "To date, we've helped over 357,000 people connect with new jobs and increase their economic opportunities by offering programs including the Google Career Certificates. Through our collaboration, we're excited to help more people improve their lives and livelihoods for years to come."

Preston sums the partnership up this way. "I believe strongly in the power of human potential. Helping people tap into that potential is not only transformative to them, but it's transformative to our communities. It's transformative to our culture."


Ramona Schindelheim wrote this article for WorkingNation.

Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.


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New national rankings out this week show South Dakota jumped a few spots higher in teacher pay for each state. However, there are questions about whether the shift will be temporary.

The National Education Association puts South Dakota at 46th in the U.S. for compensation offered to educators around the state. The current rank is the highest South Dakota has achieved since reporting began. Teachers in the state now earn an average salary of more than $56,000.

Loren Paul, president of the South Dakota Education Association, credits higher bumps in state aid the past few years.

"That extra effort from our state gets us out of the bottom rankings," Paul explained. "It also is supportive in recruiting teachers and also retaining teachers in the profession."

In this year's legislative session, education got a smaller funding increase of 1.25%, falling behind inflation. Paul cautioned it could mean South Dakota will slide back in future rankings. The smaller bump came as part of a "belt tightening" mood at the State Capitol this year, with uncertainty over federal funding and declines in sales tax revenue.

Educators said they understand the budget challenges facing South Dakota but Paul contended taking the foot off the accelerator only puts the state in a troubling pattern it has been trying to shake off.

"It has to be year after year," Paul stressed. "It's not a, 'Oh, we're going to address this for a year or two, and then we're going to fall back into very small increases,' or no increases, or actually going backwards."

He added when shrinking investments cause a state to tumble in rankings, public pressure goes back up because no state wants to be seen as holding the last spot.

The union noted when adjusted for inflation, teachers in many parts of the country still make less than they did a decade ago, and if they cannot afford to cover basic expenses, some will choose to leave the profession.

Wyoming labor unions will gather Thursday in Casper in honor of May Day, a holiday celebrated in 80 countries commemorating the labor movement and promoting workers' rights.

Dirk Andrews, vice president of the Wyoming Education Association and an organizer for the event, said he is not only expecting teachers, but also AFL-CIO labor organizers, postal workers, firefighters and unionized writers and grocery store workers. Everyone is invited, Andrews added.

"Our mission really is just to try and unite our working class across Wyoming," Andrews explained. "We're the ones that are working in the fields every single day. Doing the hard work and making sure that we're serving our community."

Andrews noted the event is family-friendly and there will be summer learning kits and treats for children. The Casper rally will take place May 1 at 5 p.m. in Healing Park.

Several bills passing the Wyoming Legislature this session will affect labor groups. Those affecting teachers include one expanding the state's education savings accounts, or voucher program, and another repealing gun-free zones in the state, including its schools.

Andrews stressed the Wyoming Education Association's focus is less on legislation and more on education.

"Really our focus is ensuring that public education is fully funded, that we're doing what's best for our students on a daily basis, that we have buildings and all of those things that are helping our students learn to the best of their ability," Andrews outlined.

Andrews hopes the rally will "bring the working class together," he added, to "do better for everybody."


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By Anna Gustafson for the Pennsylvania Independent.
Broadcast version by Danielle Smith for Keystone State News Connection reporting for the Pennsylvania Independent-Public News Service Collaboration

It was the second week of April, and Beau Baden didn’t have time to think about tariffs. 

While President Donald Trump’s chaotic on-again, off-again rollout of tariffs on imported goods were indeed weighing on Baden, he was busy getting ready for the fourth anniversary of Sherman Street Beer Company, the Allentown brewery he opened in 2021 after dreaming about owning his own place for decades.

Baden says he expects he’ll likely have to pay more for the hops he imports from all over the world and the aluminum cans that are essential to his business as a result of Trump’s planned tariffs, which are taxes on imported goods and services paid to the federal government by the businesses or consumers that are importing them.

But in the days leading up to the anniversary celebration, he was thinking more about the upcoming event’s beer, food and Mrs. Roper Romp, when community members don their best curly red wigs in honor of the beloved minor character from the television sitcom “Three’s Company.”

“When all this is happening, we’re getting ready for a fourth anniversary,” Baden said in an interview on April 15, following the celebration. “I’m stressing about that more than I’m worried about anything else. We’ve got a lot of people that are going to be coming into our building, coming to our place. We want to make sure things are right and people have a good time and everything like that.” 

It was indeed a good time, Baden said. There were Mrs. Ropers galore, and the brewery was packed with people drinking newly released beers, having a pig roast, and eating Maryland crab pretzels. 

Then reality hit. 

“I wasn’t that worried. Now, today, as 20,000 cans showed up, I’m worried about that bill,” Baden said. 

He has yet to see the invoice, but Baden expects there to be an increase after Trump imposed a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum entering the United States that went into effect on March 12.

It’s not just the cans he’s worried about. Baden, whose brewery employs 10 people, imports hops and malt from countries around the globe, and while he doesn’t currently need brewing equipment, that too would likely come from other countries when he did.

Trump’s rollout of tariffs has left business owners like Baden not only worried about the financial impact of the taxes on imports but often unclear as to what imports will be or are being taxed. 

“I keep up in the mornings and, then, by the afternoon, I’m completely confused that what I heard in the morning is not the same as what’s going on in the afternoon,” Baden said. “It’s all anecdotal right now, but at the end of the day, any cost increase for us is not great. Breweries, like restaurants, you work on slim margins.”

After announcing increased tariff rates for goods from most of the world on April 2, including major trade partners like the European Union and China (as well as islands inhabited by penguins and no humans), Trump ended up temporarily reducing most of those rates after stock markets tanked. He said he planned a 90-day pause on implementing the tariffs originally announced on April 2, a day Trump called “Liberation Day.”

He went on to implement a 10% tariff rate on most imports coming into the U.S., a lower rate than was originally announced for many countries’ goods but one that economists say will still hurt U.S. businesses and consumers.

Trump has also escalated the trade war with China. He increased the tariff rate from 104% to 125% on most goods from China, which retaliated with higher tariffs for U.S. goods. China is the United States’ third-largest export market after Canada and Mexico. The U.S., meanwhile, is China’s top export market.

Economists explain that the increased costs business owners face due to tariffs are often passed on to consumers, who may soon be paying more for a wide range of goods, including coffee and fruit, cars, lumber, and pharmaceuticals. Because the U.S. doesn’t have the infrastructure to immediately, or ever, begin making and distributing many of the items it imports, business leaders and economists warn of impending shortages of goods like generic drugs and electronics. 

While the Trump administration says tariffs will lead to companies moving operations to the U.S. and an increase in the number of manufacturing jobs, experts say that isn’t actually the case. A CNBC survey of businesses found that if companies did increase the number of manufacturing jobs in the U.S., they would use automation and not humans in those positions.

Economic pain for Pennsylvania’s breweries

Baden is far from the only brewery owner who’s worried about tariffs. Brewery owners throughout the state say the current and possible future tariffs are causing financial concerns for Pennsylvania’s craft beer industry.

About 530 craft breweries make their home in Pennsylvania, which has the third-highest number of craft breweries in the country, according to 2023 data from the Brewers Association, a trade group. Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration recently reported that the commonwealth’s ranking has risen and that the state is now the second-largest craft beer producer in the country.

Small-brewery owners facing increased costs for cans and other goods may have to increase the prices of beer they sell to their consumers, business owners told the Pennsylvania Independent. However, following the inflation that stemmed from supply chain disruptions during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic and with the possibility of a coming economic recession, owners said they’re not sure how much of a price increase consumers will accept, leaving breweries to figure out how much they will potentially be able to absorb in costs.

“We’re going to have to probably eat it for this year, for 2025, and then reevaluate going into 2026, whether it’s talk to our partners, our contract partners, and explain what situation we’re in and what we need to do, how do we become more efficient?” Baden said. “You don’t want to change the product to make an inferior product, so there’s not a lot of wiggle room on that end. We’ll see — are we in a recession or not a recession? We don’t know yet.”

Jeff Fegley, the owner of Brew Works in Bethlehem, said he’s worried about the financial hit tariffs his business could take. Fegley’s is a brewery and restaurant that’s helped to revitalize downtown Bethlehem in the wake of the decline of the steel industry that once dominated the area. Fegley also owns a Brew Works in Allentown.

Fegley said he’s holding out hope that the Trump administration won’t further raise tariff rates. If it does, small businesses like his will suffer, Fegley said. 

“I hope they can get through this because the consumer ultimately is going to pay,” Fegley said. “We can’t absorb it all. So we’ll have to raise prices. And I think right now, the restaurant industry as a whole is seeing kind of flat sales. If these tariffs continue, I can see it declining, restaurants declining in sales because people will be less likely to go out and spend as much as they would if they didn’t have this increase in costs.”

For now, Fegley said, they’re waiting to see what happens at the end of Trump’s 90-day pause on significantly increased tariffs.

Fred Maier, the co-founder and vice president of Susquehanna Brewing Company in Pittston and the president of the Brewers of Pennsylvania, a trade association, also lamented the economic uncertainty. Just last year, he was hopeful that the industry’s finances were finally steadying after a rocky period due to the pandemic. Then the new administration took office.

“2024 was the first year that supply chain was normal,” Maier said. “I knew when I ordered something what it was going to cost me in one month or three months from now. It was wonderful.”

“I kind of stuck my foot in my mouth saying, You know what? Everything’s pretty steady,” Maier continued. “And that was in the beginning of January. I’m like, I’m not seeing anything major this year. And four weeks later, it all started.”


Anna Gustafson wrote this article for the Pennsylvania Independent.


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