Welcome to CLCR.org

School is in Session
Austin Polytechnical Academy, a new, public high school in Chicago focused on preparing students for careers in high-tech manufacturing, is open with a freshman class of 140 students. The Center for Labor and Community Research is the Project Manager for Austin Polytech. Austin Polytech is a project of the Chicago Manufacturing Reanaissance Council, a partnership of business, labor, government, education and community leadership in the Chicago-area dedicated to establishing the Chicago as a global leader in high performance manufacturing. For more info on Austin Polytech, visit our new website: www.austinpolytech.com

Aligning City Colleges of Chicago Manufacturing Programs with International Best Practice
The City Colleges of Chicago, responding to input from the Chicago Manufacturing Renaissance Council, are working with the Education Committee of the CMRC to redesign the City Colleges manufacturing programs to more effectively meet industry's demand for a skilled workforce and to prepare residents for family-sustaining career-paths in the manufacturing economy. For more information on international best practice in post-secondary education linked to manufacturing, read the Chicago Manufacturing Renaissance Council's report: Closing the Gap, Surpassing the Competition: City Colleges of Chicago, Manufacturing, and International Best Practice

Chicago Manufacturing Renaissance Council Website Launched
The Chicago Manufacturing Renaissance Council is a partnership of business, labor, government, education and community leadership dedicated to establishing the Chicago-area as a global leader in high road/high performance manufacturing. Dan Swinney is the CMRC's Executive Director. The Center for Labor and Community Research provides staffing for the Renaissance Council. Visit the CMRC's new home on the web: www.chicagomanufacturing.org

• We provide research and consulting services.
  We provide consulting, research, organizing, technical, and educational services for clients and our constituencies from labor, community, business, government, policy groups, coalitions and others.
• We create "signature" projects.
  These are specific, practical projects that demonstrate the "practicality" and "workability" of High road strategy. Our experiences with these projects provide knowledge that is then used to refine and improve our methodology and vision. Current signature projects include the Candy Institute, Food Chicago, the Manufacturing Workforce Development Project and building Early Warning Business Developing Systems.
• We are serious about our mission and strategic vision.
  We are guided by the belief that "If you don't have your own strategy, you are following some one else's." From our 20 years of experience in the trenches of mostly industrial communities, we are convinced that traditional strategic visions for community development are no longer effective. Our own vision which is summarized in the paper Building a Bridge to the High Road identifies what we think is wrong; advances a positive alternative; and describes the kind of alliances and coalitions, and specific campaigns that can be successful.
• We work in Chicago, nationally, and increasingly internationally.
  Local development must be guided by a global vision with the intent to develop new models and strategy that can be effectively applied throughout the developing as well the developed world.

Austin Polytechnical Academy
CLCR is leading a team to create the Austin Polytechnical Academy (APT)—a high school on Chicago's West Side that will reflect the ambitions and partnership of the CMRC. If approved, this “small school” will open in September 2007 with 140 first year students. APT. will have a direct relationship with high performance manufacturing companies in the region and be able to provide work exposure, internships, apprenticeships, and access to careers in all aspects of manufacturing. Click here to go to the Austin Polytech Website.

Illinois High Performance Manufacturing Initiative:
In partnership with the Illinois AFL-CIO and the Illinois Manufacturers' Association (IMA), CLCR has helped create the Illinois High Performance Manufacturing Initiative. This project seeks to make Illinois the premier region in the world for high performance manufacturers and their employees. To learn more about CLCR's approach to improving Illinois's competitiveness see Creating a Manufacturing Career Path System in Cook County, Early Warning Systems and The State of Illinois Manufacturing.

International Work
CLCR has been increasingly active in building international ties.

• We are part of the North American Network on the Solidarity Economy (NANSE).
• CLCR's Executive Director is on the Board of Directors of the Intercontinental Network for the Social/Solidarity Economy.
• We arrange tours to see Emilia-Romagna, Italy and the Cooperatives in Mondragon, Spain and other places to see flourishing High Road economies first hand. Contact Matt Hancock to learn more.

Building the Bridge to the High Road is the central document of the Center for Labor and Community Research.

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The Center for Labor & Community Research
3411 W. Diversey, Suite 10 | Chicago, IL 60647
Phone: (773) 278-5418 | Fax: (773) 278-5918
E-mail: dswinney@clcr.org