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."
