Workforce

Celebrating Public Service—and Public Servants

COMMENTARY | Government is asked to solve our toughest and most intractable problems. That’s why we need to celebrate the people who make a difference through government service.

  • By Bob Lavigna

A glimpse at the ‘human-machine partnership’

Lots has been said about the ways in which artificial intelligence may augment employees’ work. But first, local governments will need to successfully manage the learning curve.

  • By Chris Teale

The key to filling IT talent gaps? Invest in your current workforce.

COMMENTARY | Retaining IT talent requires more than just competitive pay and defined career paths.

  • By Clint Dean

Paid sick leave sticks after many pandemic protections vanish

Paid sick leave protects both the community's public health and the economic security of low-wage workers.

  • By Zach Dyer, KFF Health News

‘Invisible’ no more: States move to hire people with disabilities

Tapping potential employees with “non-apparent” conditions like autism, attention deficit disorder and chronic depression can bring qualified candidates to a public sector workforce in desperate need of talent.

  • By Katherine Barrett & Richard Greene

90 years after 'Lunch Atop a Skyscraper,' are workers any safer?

COMMENTARY | Extreme heat and new technologies have created less obvious but equally potent new dangers in workplaces. State and local governments can address ongoing and new threats.

  • By Terri Gerstein

Southern governors raise pressure in fights with auto unions

Republican officials want to tell automakers that get big financial incentives for new factories that they have to use secret ballots during unionization efforts.

  • By Daniel C. Vock

‘We can’t exist without child care’: Rural towns use state funding to open local centers

State grants are infusing over $3.7 million into helping rural communities build collaborative, innovative solutions to address child care needs across South Dakota.

  • By Makenzie Huber, South Dakota Searchlight

States are required to background check child care workers. Many are falling short.

Dozens of states are out of compliance with at least one component of a federal law’s requirements, a congressional report found. But the problems are so complicated, it’s unclear if anyone has a solution.

  • By Chabeli Carrazana, The 19th

911 call centers cope with more calls, fewer workers

Staff shortages are forcing emergency call center workers to pick up more overtime, work longer hours, adding extra pressure to an already stressful job, a new survey found.

  • By Susan Miller

What cities can learn from Seattle’s racial and social justice law

COMMENTARY | Working to end institutional racism is part of every employee’s job and the functioning of municipal government.

  • By Serin Houston and Dan Trudeau, The Conversation
Featured eBooks
Whole-of-State Cybersecurity
The State of Trust in Government
Cybersecurity in State and Local Government

Majority of American teachers worry about shootings at their schools, survey shows

Most educators favor more mental health screening for students and oppose arming teachers, though their views are more divided when it comes to whether security officers should have weapons.

  • By Jennifer Gerson, The 19th

Government employees need hands-on, standardized AI training

Having a properly defined list of terms helps get everybody on the same page, as does baseline training for every employee.

  • By Chris Teale

Why so many election officials are leaving

Some states are seeing high rates of turnover among local election officials, according to new research. It’s a troublesome trend that may have a silver lining.

  • By Chris Teale

Is the deal with the NBA Milwaukee Bucks a model for city development projects?

The community benefits agreement that the Bucks owners signed for $250 million in state aid to build the Fiserv Forum included provisions allowing arena workers to freely unionize. It has turned their low-wage, insecure work into sustainable jobs, according to a new report.

  • By Erik Gunn, Wisconsin Examiner

It’s time for local policymakers to cement the Biden administration’s workforce gains

COMMENTARY | By adopting strong job quality standards for government spending, state and local policymakers can improve residents’ quality of life and support a strong, stable workforce for generations to come.

  • By Karla Walter

County supports its aging residents by focusing on family caregivers

To ensure its older adults receive quality care, Fairfax County, Virginia, steps up services for their families.

  • By Kaitlyn Levinson

Biden announces $6B in student debt relief for public service workers

An estimated 78,000 teachers, firefighters and public health workers are among the group of borrowers who will see their debts canceled under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.

  • By Nadra  Nittle, The 19th

What are microcredentials? And are they worth having?

COMMENTARY | Microcredentials give employees a way to verify their competencies while providing government and industry with another approach for finding skilled workers.

  • By Daniel Douglas, The Conversation

Working-class people rarely have a seat ‘at the legislative table’ in state capitols

The dearth of working-class legislators raises concerns that economic challenges such as wage stagnation and the rising cost of living will get short shrift in state capitols.

  • By Robbie Sequeira, Stateline

What’s the status of your EMS?

COMMENTARY | As rural communities struggle to keep Emergency Medical Services operating, how do we assess the condition of those services? Are we asking the right questions?

  • By Donna Kallner, The Daily Yonder