Tulsa Chamber Looks In Increase Workflow In East Tulsa

Luring in better jobs and higher pay, that's the goal the Tulsa Chamber is shooting for over the next six months.

East Tulsa at 21st and Garnett; it's a busy intersection but the area surrounding it is dotted with empty store fronts and some deteriorating infrastructure. A recent report showed stagnant job growth there.

Tuesday, a group got together to figure out how to help some of Tulsa's neighborhoods better develop their workforce.

Denise Reid, said "What is it specifically that is potentially keeping them unemployed or underemployed"

School board member Bobbie Grey Elliot, a 30-plus year resident of East Tulsa, highlighted the fact that more than half of the local high school is of Hispanic descent.

"We need to find bilingual teachers to come into classrooms to assist," Elliot said.

Pastor Leonard Busch said it's all about getting to the children of Tulsa early, to give them hope for the future and incentive to go for those high paying jobs.

"If I come from a culture of poverty, just having a job at a minimum wage, or almost minimum wage, that's better than anything, perhaps, that I'd ever expect," Busch said.

The initiative is hoping to fill workforce talent gaps in Tulsa, rather than losing workers to other surrounding cities. And Tuesday was just step one in the six month long discussion.