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SharedWork 40th anniversary training
It was such a pleasure to speak during this week’s SharedWork 40th Anniversary training and celebration. Forty years is a long time and SharedWork is so important for our labor economy on both sides because it helps employers and employees when they’re most vulnerable.
This program has been sustainable because of staff like you who care deeply for SharedWork. You make it work and continue to help our businesses thrive! Depending on how long you’ve been around, you might have seen how the pandemic or other life-changing economic events affected our lives, and the lives of the business owners and employees in Washington. Programs like SharedWork continue to help when they’re most needed.
SharedWork by the numbers
SharedWork made a huge difference for the more than 3,500 employees who used it during the pandemic. It was also big for the thousands who used it during the Great Recession and for the thousands more who will use it in the future. Just from January 2023 to this month, SharedWork has approved more than 780 new employer plans. That represents over 19,000 workers who are now approved to participate in SharedWork! This could save over 9,000 jobs in lieu of layoffs. There are more than 1,200 employers in our SharedWork program that helps to cover nearly 26,000 participants!
I send my thanks and appreciation to Cheryl Brown, Sam Virgil and, of course, our entire SharedWork team for the amazing work that’s been done and that you continue to do. I also wanted to give a special thank you to the staff who came on board as part of our Promote and Enroll and Implement and Improve grants. Although the positions are non-permanent, your hard work will continue to shape this program for the years to come. You’re very much appreciated, and you’ve helped make this program better.
We hope 40 years down the road, we’ll be able to continue talking about the important work being done by our staff in the SharedWork program. Thank you again and let’s continue saving Washington state businesses, and supporting our Washington workers when they need it the most!