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NewarkWorks Honors Newark Firms Hiring Their Own
By the DiversityInc staff
August 21, 2008
Keywords: Verizon Communications, Prudential Financial, NewarkWorks,
Newark, New Jersey, Corey Booker, work program, urban
work program, Stefan Pryor, Department of
Labor
Verizon
Communications and Prudential Financial (Nos. 1 and 24, respectively, on The
2008 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity®
list) were among 56 Newark, N.J., regional businesses honored in recognition of
their efforts in hiring more than 4,000 Newark residents as part a citywide
initiative to keep Newark's best talent within city
limits.
"There
was a time that a lot of our most talented people had to leave the city just to
find work," says Newark Mayor Corey Booker. "As we turn the corner from a city
in trouble to a city of success, I'm proud to be here with representatives from
these 50 companies that got together to offer jobs as the key to turning the
corner in Newark."
Two
years into his inaugural term, Booker points to NewarkWorks as a clear
achievement of the daunting task he undertook when elected in 2006 to lead a
city rampant with crime, unemployment and political corruption. On the crime
front, Booker points to recent statistics indicating crime is down in the city.
As of July 1, there were 25 murders in Newark in the first five and a half months in
2008, compared with 46 during the same time span in 2007, according to The
New York Times.
Now
with NewarkWorks, Booker is intent on keeping some of the city's best and
brightest from crossing city lines to find work.
According
to Deputy Mayor Stefan Pryor, between July 1, 2007, and June 30, 2008, the
number of Newark
residents who successfully found jobs through NewarkWorks and the state
Department of Labor Employment Services program totaled
4,402.
"Many
more Newark
residents have gained jobs during this time period, so this is only a snapshot
of what we have accomplished," Pryor says. "I am most proud of the fact that we
were able to place 100 ex-offenders in unsubsidized employment, which will help
break cycles of recidivism and violence for these individuals, restoring them to
productive lives."
Adelaida
Perez, a young woman who formerly worked at IHOP before signing up with
NewarkWorks, now works as a customer-service representative with Cablevision.
She credits the program with helping to put her on a career track.
"Before,
I had a job. Now, I have a career with benefits," she says. "I'm very thankful
because this means so much for me and my family."
Samuel
Delgado, vice president of external affairs with Verizon, says his company's
state headquarters have been based in Newark for some 70 years, "so it's very
important to us to play a part in this program," Delgado says. "If people stay
to work in the city, that means they're spending their money here, adding to the
tax base and making contributions to the city, big and
small."
Mary
Puryear, program officer with Prudential Financial, also cited the company's
well-established community roots as a key to its
involvement.
"This
was just a perfect fit for us. No one entity has all the money or resources to
make the impact it wants to alone, but working together, we've been able to
accomplish a mutual goal, keeping the most talented people in the city working
within city limits," Puryear says. "If they work here, they feel a part of
something, [and] then they feel like it's important to give back."
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