Oakland

Opinion: Fund Job Training for Oakland’s Underserved Communities

Published

8 years ago

May 1, 2018

By Greg McConnell | The McConnell Group

On Tuesday, April 24, I attended a City Council committee meeting where a major fight broke out over the issue of Job training for Oakland’s underserved communities.
What seemed to be clear to me was that everyone agreed on the need to provide Oakland’s Black and Brown communities training, so people of color can have hope for better futures for themselves and their families.

While Oakland brags that it is going through an economic boom and is experiencing a 4 percent or less unemployment rate, census tracks in east and west Oakland have unemployment rates as high as 10 percent.
By some estimates, African- American and Latino unemployment can run as high as 17 percent.

Everyone at the meeting also agreed that training programs like Cypress Mandela, Men of Valor, and Laborer’s Local 304 are doing great work providing life skills and job skills training to young people and formerly incarcerated people who are unprepared to join the workforce.

No, the fight was not about whether there is need or whether there is ability to provide help. The fight was about whether money from recent bond measures approved by the voters could source the revenues to pay for the training.

As I sat there, watching people shout at one another, I thought to myself, why are people fighting? There must be a way to get money for training. We find money for public art, bike lanes, pre-school to college, and many other things that we want to fund.

Why can we not fund something as fundamentally and desperately needed as life skills and job training for Blacks and Browns, too many of whom aimlessly walk our streets with nothing to do but smoke blunts and get in trouble?

This past November we created the Oakland Jobs Foundation to aggregate donations from Oakland’s major businesses and developers to support job training. We recently awarded $150,000 to two jobs training programs.

While this is a good step forward, it is not nearly enough to address the need.

There is a solution. Let’s share Oakland’s economic boom. I propose a ballot measure that directs the City to earmark a percentage of the revenue from new taxes collected from construction of new residential and commercial development.

The cranes that line our streets bring hundreds of millions of dollars to the City. By earmarking $5 million a year, we could train and reclaim the lives of more than a thousand men and women a year.
This would not be welfare or a handout.

We would insist on attendance and participation requirements for program participants. Nor, would this be a fund for “poverty pimps”. Programs would be vetted for past performance and success rates, and there would be strict accountability and tracking of whether program participants enter the workforce.

Who would oppose this? Not taxpayers, because this would not be another tax on them. Not residential and commercial developers, because they have to pay taxes anyway, and this just allocates a portion of the new taxes to training.

Not the City, because this is not taking money away from existing programs, it is earmarking a percentage of new revenues.

If I am right in my assessment that everyone agrees on need and the existence of programs that can help, then this approach should be doable. If not, why not?

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Oakland Post: Week of February 18 – 24, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – February 18 – 24, 2026

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1 week ago

February 20, 2026

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Oakland Post: Week of February 11 – 17, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – February 11 – 17, 2026

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2 weeks ago

February 16, 2026

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Rising Optimism Among Small And Middle Market Business Leaders Suggests Growth for California

“Business leaders across the Pacific region continue to demonstrate a unique blend of resilience and forward-thinking, even in the face of ongoing economic uncertainty,” said Brennon Crist, Managing Director and Head of the Pacific Segment, Commercial Banking, J.P. Morgan. “Their commitment to innovation and growth is evident in the way they adapt to challenges and seize new opportunities. It’s this spirit that keeps our region at the forefront of business leadership and progress. We look forward to helping our clients navigate all that’s ahead in 2026.”

Published

2 weeks ago

February 14, 2026

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Sponsored by JPMorganChase

Business optimism is returning for small and midsize business leaders at the start of 2026, fueling confidence and growth plans.

The 2026 Business Leaders Outlook survey, released in January by JPMorganChase reveals a turnaround from last June, when economic headwinds and uncertainty about shifting policies and tariffs caused some leaders to put their business plans on hold.

Midsize companies, who often find themselves more exposed to geopolitical shifts and policy changes, experienced a significant dip in business and economic confidence in June of 2025. As they have become more comfortable with the complexities of today’s environment, we are seeing optimism rebounding in the middle market nationwide – an encouraging sign for growth, hiring, and innovation. Small businesses, meanwhile, maintained steady optimism throughout 2025, but they aren’t shielded from domestic concerns. Many cited inflation and wage pressures as the top challenges for 2026 and are taking steps to ensure their businesses are prepared for what’s ahead.

Overall, both small and midsize business leaders are feeling more confident to pursue growth opportunities, embrace emerging technologies and, in some cases, forge new strategic partnerships. That bodes well for entrepreneurs in California. Here are a few other key findings from the Business Leaders Outlook about trends expected to drive activity this year:

Inflation remains the top concern for small business owners. Following the 2024 U.S. presidential election, many anticipated a favorable business environment. By June 2025, however, that feeling shifted amid concerns about political dynamics, tariffs, evolving regulations and global economic headwinds.
Going into 2026, 37% of respondents cited inflation as their top concern. Rising taxes came in second at 27% and the impact of tariffs was third at 22%. Other concerns included managing cash flow, hiring and labor costs.

For middle market leaders, uncertainty remains an issue. Almost half (49%) of all midsize business leaders surveyed cited “economic uncertainty” as their top concern – even with an improved outlook from a few months ago. Revenue and sales growth was second at 33%, while tariffs and labor both were third at 31%.
And tariffs are impacting businesses costs. Sixty-one percent of midsize business leaders said tariffs have had a negative impact on the cost of doing business.
Despite challenges, leaders are bullish on their own enterprises. Though the overall outlook is mixed, 74% of small business owners and 71% of middle market companies are optimistic about their company’s prospects for 2026.
Adaption is the theme. For small business owners surveyed across the U.S., responding to continuing pressures is important in 2026. Building cash reserves (47%), renegotiating supplier terms (36%) and ramping up investments in marketing and technology are among the top priorities.
Big plans are on the horizon. A majority midsized company leaders expect revenue growth this year, and nearly three out of five of (58%) plan to introduce new products or services in the coming year, while 53% look to expand into new domestic and/or international markets. Forty-nine percentsay they’re pursuing strategic partnerships or investments.

The bottom line

Rebounding optimism among U.S. business leaders at the start of the year is setting the stage for an active 2026. With business leaders looking to implement ambitious growth plans that position themselves for the future, momentum in California could be beneficial for leaders looking to launch, grow or scale their business this year.