Welcome: Plenary Session- October 20, 2009 SUN Consulting & Associates 1cwa39521/afl-cio It Takes a Village to Raise a Village

Overview 1. Where were we one year ago National, State, Local/Region Issues & Partnering 2. What has changed 3. New Opportunities and Partnering Philadelphia 2cwa39521/afl-cio

Last time CIC happened… 1. Scary moments nationally– A new President was being elected, ending 8 years of previous administration policies: Economy starting to spiral downwards toward recession Wall Street crashing Iraq War ongoing Unemployment rates increasing Gas prices soaring Urban– rural– suburban divides Race and class demographics rapidly changing: Blacks and Latinos have highest rates of home loan denials and unemployment; disappearing of farm and manufacturing and information sector jobs New land developments and open space challenges– suburban development in place as farmland disappears 2. Feeling the pain in Pennsylvania, and SEPA region 3cwa39521/afl-cio

What’s Stayed the same…? Unemployment continues to spiral downwards More War (Afghanistan) Racial inequity in jobs and housing Racial and demographic diversity grows throughout 4cwa39521/afl-cio

There have been changes New President and administration! Policy directions turn around: * First African American President in nation’s history * Democratic Party returns to control * Iraq War is ending * American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (aka Economic Stimulus) kicks in, slowing down the bleeding * Green energy and green economy surface as future direction * Preserving of Wall Street and aspects of the Auto industry 5cwa39521/afl-cio

6 The Pennsylvania economy has shed 182,000 jobs since the start of the recession leading to the worst labor market working families in Pennsylvania have seen since the early 1980s. The state unemployment rate in the second quarter was 8.1%, up from 4.5% at the start of the recession in the fourth quarter of The overall unemployment rate obscures growing disparities in unemployment for people living in rural portions of the Commonwealth and for African-Americans. (Keystone Research Center, PA) Unequal Unemployment: Unemployment Disparities in Pennsylvania

New trends? “Big Pharma” ?? 2 million sq. feet of land in Collegeville owned by Wyeth with the prospect of an entire new economy and market…and then a stockholder approved merge with Pfizer occurred in early due to the 'potent research' capabilities for Alzheimers disease. This cost $68 billion for the acquiration by Pfizer. What is some of the impact? Roughly 19,000 employees could be affected, with job cuts/changes in early fall of 2009, and maybe 12 months for full job transitions. Furthermore, home values have been decreasing immediately. At the end of March, 2009, the U.S. and Pennsylvania economies appeared to be plunging off a cliff, spiraling down at a rate unmatched since the 1930s. Now, these economies have pulled back from that cliff. Unemployment has stopped rising as rapidly and the number of jobs has stopped falling so fast. While job loss in Pennsylvania averaged 31,067 per month from February 2009 to April 2009, it has averaged “only” 9,200 per month in the last three months (Keystone Research Project, PA) Reassessing the role of major corporations and land development: 7cwa39521/afl-cio Job loss slowing down…?

DRUGS Heroin use and the abuse of prescribed pharmaceuticals among young teenagers and young adults has been on the rise in the Philadelphia area since This trend is expected to rise due to the easy accessibility of prescribed pharmaceuticals. According to the Nation Drug Intelligence Center, cocaine availability has decreased in the Philadelphia area since 2007 due in part to large drug seizures by law enforcement on the transit route from Mexico to the Philadelphia & Camden area. (All information found at

MORE CRIME 9.4% of all crime reported in Montgomery County was reported in Norristown Borough, 8.9% in Pottstown Borough Bucks County led the way in arsons. 14% of all crime reported in Bucks County was reported in Bristol Township Jurisdiction In Reading, all crime statistics, except Arson, have increased since % of all crime reported in Lehigh County occurred in Allentown City As for homicide, Philadelphia county = 333, while all other counties combined = 68

New opportunities Who’s in the room? What are existing partnerships? What are potential new partnerships? Presenters and facilitators: Dr. J Otis Smith, Stand By Systems De Yarrison, Founder and President, Sherpa Higher Performance 10cwa39521/afl-cio