[Lapg] Center for Labor and Community Research in Chicago.Welcome to CLCR.org

[Wesley Roe and Marjorie Lakin Erickson]

Welcome to CLCR.org
Site Highlights:

http://www.clcr.org/

CLCR Facilitates the Creation of the Illinois High Performance 
Manufacturing Initiative: In partnership with the Illinois AFL-CIO and the 
Illinois Manufacturers' Association (IMA), CLCR has helped create the 
Illinois High Performance Manufacturing Initiative. This project seeks to 
make Illinois the premier region in the world for high performance 
manufacturers and their employees by addressing the key problems that 
affect industrial competitiveness, as well as job quality and security. For 
a greater understanding of CLCR approach to improving Illinois's 
manufacturing competitiveness see Creating a Manufacturing Career Path 
System in Chicago and Early Warning Systems. In addition, The State of 
Illinois Manufacturing, a report to the Illinois Manufacturers' 
Association, demonstrates why Illinois manufacturing matters, explains the 
current challenges, and recommends actions to overcome these challenges.

Chicago Manufacturing Rennaisance: In the last month, we joined with the 
top business, labor, governmental, and educational leaders in Chicago at a 
meeting in City Hall to launch the Chicago Manufacturing Renaissance 
(CMR)—a long-term initiative for making Chicago the world leader in modern, 
high value-added manufacturing. Meeting participants began building the CMR 
Advisory Council and steps are now underway to give life and depth to this 
campaign. CLCR’s vision of a High Road/High Performance manufacturing 
economy is the foundation for this initiative. Read the CMR concept paper.

The Superintendent of Chicago Public Schools, Arne Duncan, recently join 
our CMR project, and challenged us to create a public high school that 
reflects the ambitions and partnership of the CMR. CLCR led a team that 
submitted an application to create the Austin Polytechnical Academy—a high 
school academy in an African American West Side Chicago community that has 
been devastated by deindustrialization. This “small school” of 400-500 
students will have a direct relationship with high performance 
manufacturing companies in the region and be able to provide work exposure, 
internships, apprenticeships, and access to careers in all aspects of 
manufacturing. Click here to read more about the Austin Polytechnical 
Academy concept.

New Impressions of Emilia Romagna--a Global Leader in Innovative Approaches 
to Development and Economic Democracy: In the 1940s, the Emilia Romagna 
region in northern Italy—Bologna is its center—was one of the poorest 
regions in Europe. Today, according to Bob Williams, of the Van City 
Capital Corporation in Vancouver, “There are 90,000 manufacturing 
enterprises in the region, surely one of the highest densities per capita 
in the world! Small, medium, enterprises (SME’s) predominate. One person in 
twelve is self-employed or owns a small business. In recent years the 
region has produced the highest GDP per capita in the country, and it now 
ranks with the ten best in Europe
2/3 of the citizens of Bologna belong to 
a co-op
45% of the GDP is produced by co-ops
(and) 85% of the social 
services in Bologna are delivered by co-ops
”

Today the region is a fascinating web of cooperatives, small manufacturing 
companies, innovative social service programs, and a complex and dynamic 
partnership between business, labor, and government. Dan Swinney, CLCR 
Executive Director, just completed his second study tour of the region. 
Read his report New Impressions of Emilia Romagna plus new documents on the 
retail coop giant—Coop Italia—and great background articles by David 
Thompson and Bob Williams in the International Work section of our 
publications page.

Work With Day Laborer Collaboration Forges Ahead: As part of the Day 
Laborer Collaborative CLCR has played a key role in the process of drafting 
and negotiating amendments by the Illinois General Assembly. Based on the 
findings our of Survey on Latino Day Laborer Workers, the Illinois General 
Assembly passed all the amendments proposed by Day Labor Collaborative on 
the current Illinois Day Laborer Act. This will require companies to 
validate the license of day labor agencies before employing them. It also 
tightens clauses on wage and hours. CLCR has also completed the training 
session for a group of day labor workers who are establishing a 
transportation cooperative. The participants of future coop have raised 
$12,000 among themselves, while CLCR will do a feasibility study for the 
coop before seeking further support.

Surrendering to Wal-Mart, or building a High Road Retail Sector: Over the 
last year, Chicago has faced the debate that is unfolding throughout the 
world—how do you deal with Wal-Mart when it comes to your community? At 
CLCR, we know that Wal-Mart de-develops almost every community it enters. 
Wal-Mart comes in and locally owned businesses close, workers lose jobs, 
public funds are used to provide food stamps and health services for 
Wal-Mart employees, and the trade union movement is weakened, among other 
things. Cutting a deal or negotiating a Community Benefits Agreement with 
Wal-Mart may benefit a few but it will hurt the regional economy. Opposing 
Wal-Mart is essential but not enough. Read CLCR’s approach: A Campaign to 
Build the High Road Retail Sector in Chicago.

Building International Connects: CLCR has been increaingly active in 
building international ties. In Canada we have a close relationship with 
the North American Network on the Solidarity Economy (NANSE). NANSE is 
committed to increasing the strategic dialogue and joint action between 
leaders in community economic development and the social economy in our two 
countries. For example, CLCR’s program, Food Chicago now has a sister 
project in Vancouver with the Specialty Food Producers Cooperative. 
Furthmore, articles on CLCR's work will be featured in the national journal 
of the Canadian CED movement, Making Waves.

CLCR has also become active with the Intercontinental Network for the 
Promotion of the Solidarity/Social Economy (RIPESS by its French acronym). 
Representing more than 35 countries. RIPESS grew out of the work of 
community development leaders and academics who were committed to building 
the international movement around the social economy. Their members have 
strong ties in local universities; the community development field, and in 
the networks that serve the informal economy in their countries. This 
November they will be holding a Congress in Dakar. Contact Dan Swinney for 
information.

Building the Bridge to the High Road is the central document of the Center 
for Labor and Community Reasearch.

Services: Find out what the Center for Labor & Community Research can do 
for you!
Who we are and what we do:
We provide research and consulting services.
We provide consulting, research, organizing, technical, and educational 
services for clients and our constituencies from labor, community, 
business, government, policy groups, coalitions and others.
We create "signature" projects.
These are specific, practical projects that demonstrate the "practicality" 
and "workability" of High road strategy. Our experiences with these 
projects provide knowledge that is then used to refine and improve our 
methodology and vision. Current signature projects include the Candy 
Institute, Food Chicago, the Manufacturing Workforce Development Project 
and building Early Warning Business Developing Systems.
We are serious about our mission and strategic vision.
We are guided by the belief that "If you don't have your own strategy, you 
are following some one else's." From our 20 years of experience in the 
trenches of mostly industrial communities, we are convinced that 
traditional strategic visions for community development are no longer 
effective. Our own vision which is summarized in the paper Building a 
Bridge to the High Road identifies what we think is wrong; advances a 
positive alternative; and describes the kind of alliances and coalitions, 
and specific campaigns that can be successful.
We work in Chicago, nationally, and increasingly internationally.
Local development must be guided by a global vision with the intent to 
develop new models and strategy that can be effectively applied throughout 
the developing as well the developed world.


We would be very interested in your feedback.

The Center for Labor & Community Research
3411 W. Diversey, Suite 10 | Chicago, IL 60647
Phone: (773) 278-5418 | Fax: (773) 278-5918
E-mail: dswinney at clcr.org




SEE WEBSITE FOR ARTICLES
http://www.clcr.org/publications/other/food%20strategy%20paper.doc
Publications
Contents:
New Articles
Key CLCR Documents
Key Documents for Chicago’s Premier Food Manufacturing Sector:
Other CLCR Documents
Articles by CLCR Board Members and Others
International Work

Note: PDF documents require Acrobat Reader, available as a free download 
from Adobe.
New Articles:

Spring 2004 Newsletter
The full newsletter is available in PDF format.
The text of the newsletter is available as a Word Document.

Impact Analysis of Walmart: A Report for the New Chicago School of 
Community Economic Development
Available in PDF format.

Report to the Illinois Manufacturers' Association
The Executive Summary is available in PDF format.
The entire report is available in PDF format.

  The High Road, featured in the Canadian journal, Making Waves.
Available in PDF
Key CLCR Documents:

These are the papers that really define CLCR.

Building the Bridge to the High Road by Dan Swinney.
Available in HTML or PDF format. Also available as a PDF in Spanish and 
Portuguese.

Creating A Manufacturing Career Path System in Cook County
Available in PDF format.

The CLCR's Strategic Approach Applied to Chicago's Food Sector
Available as a Word Document.
Key Documents for Chicago’s Premier Food Manufacturing Sector:

CLCR’s new signature program, Food Chicago, is an initiative that aims to 
make food companies in the Chicago region more profitable and competitive 
through workforce training, modernization, networking, and advocating for 
innovative public policy.

Food Chicago’s key projects include:
The Food Chicago Career Path, funded by the United States Department of 
Labor, provides a road map for developing an effective, standards-based 
workforce development system for Chicago’s food industry that is based on 
collaboration with companies, training providers, government, community and 
workers.
An overview of the project is available in PDF format.
The Center for Business Innovation and Training. Through its 
state-of-the-art commercial food processing facility, the center will 
provide entrepreneurs, small businesses, and the region’s significant food 
manufacturing sector with access to the resources, tools and skills 
necessary for long-term, sustainable growth.
An overview of the project is available in PDF format.
Metropolitan Chicago’s Food Manufacturing Industry: A Statistical Profile, 
is Food Chicago's latest research report.
Available in PDF format.
Other CLCR Documents:

The New Chicago School of Community and Economic Development
Available in HTML or PDF format.

Early Warning Systems: A Proactive Tool for Labor in the Regional Economy 
by Dan Swinney.
Available in HTML or PDF format.

Background Paper on Education to Careers by Chis Catizone
Available in PDF format.

Food Chicago Announcement
Available in HTML or PDF format.

Report on Senegal Trip, December 13 through December 21 by Dan Swinney
Available in HTML or PDF format.

Building the High Road to Sustainable Communities by Dan Swinney. From the 
May/June 2000 issue of InBusiness.
Available in HTML format.

Early Warning Systems: A Proactive Tool for Labor in the Regional Economy 
by Dan Swinney. Published in the South Africa Labour Bulletin.
Available in HTML format.

Towards a High Road International Trade and Development Policy by Dan 
Swinney. Talk on the World Trade Organization.
Available in HTML format.

December 2003 Newsletter in PDF format.

A major 13- year labor/community/buisness iniative by CLCR is the retention 
of Brach Candy Company in Chicago. Learn more about this initiative in 
these artcles:

E.J. Brach A Misadventure in Candy Land
Available in PDF format. (05/94)

E.J. Brach A Misadventure in Candy Land II
Available in PDF format. (8/94)

Strategic Lessons for Labor from Candyland by Dan Swinney. From the New 
Labor Forum
Available in HTML format.
Articles by CLCR Board Members and Others:

The Social and Solidarity Economy: Towards an ‘Alternative’ Globalisation 
by Nancy Neamtan, President of the Chantier de l’économie sociale and CLCR 
Board Member.
Available in HTML format.

Understanding Pension Fund Corporate Engagement in a Global Arena by Prof. 
Gordon L. Clark and Tessa Hebb (CLCR Board Member), School of Geography and 
the Environment, University of Oxford.
Available in HTML format.

The Initiative for Fiduciary Responsibility by Steve Viederman, CLCR Board 
Member.
Available in HTML format.

The Convergence of Universal Owners and Worker/Stakeholders: The Heartland 
Network Pushes a New Paradigm by Tom Croft, Director, Heartland Labor 
Capital Network/SVA.
Available in HTML format.
International Work:

See an overview of our various international projects.

The High Road, a special section of the Canadian development journal, 
Making Waves, is devoted to the North American Network for the Solidarity 
Economy, or NANSE. CLCR is a founding organization of NANSE.

One of the more exciting aspects of our international work is that we come 
into contact with economic models which both feature many of the High Road 
practices we value and compete successfully with orthodox market models. 
Two such models are the Flexible Manufacturing Networks in the Emilia 
Romagna region of Italy and the Mondragon Cooperative Corporation in the 
Basque region of Spain.

Emilia Romagna

New Impressions of Emilia Romagna--a Global Leader in Innovative Approaches 
to Development and Economic Democracy
Dan Swinney, Executive Director of CLCR
Available as a Word Document

Italy's Emilia Romagna Clustering Co-op Development
David Thompson
Available in PDF format

Model of Economic Democracy
Bob Williams
Available as a Word document

Coop in the Present Competitive Context
A powerpoint presentation available in PDF format

Regional Development and Industrial Clusters in Global Competition by 
Andrea Bardi, Institute for Labour Foundation
Available as a Word Document

Mondragon

MONDRAGÓN COOPERATIVE CORPORATION (MCC), An Introduction by Fred 
Freundlich, Partner Ownership Associates, Inc., Bilbao, Spain.
Available in HTML format.


Contact us:

We would be very interested in your feedback.

The Center for Labor & Community Research
3411 W. Diversey, Suite 10 | Chicago, IL 60647
Phone: (773) 278-5418 | Fax: (773) 278-5918
E-mail: dswinney at clcr.org