New Bedford's immigrant workers targeted for English classes

These employers and the city understand that everyone benefits when immigrants are proficient in English. - - Donna Poisl

By Brian Boyd

Joseph Abboud Manufacturing Corp., whose employees are almost 90 percent foreign-born, has been offering workers English classes for nine years, an effort that was started with the help of the employees' union.

Anthony R. Sapienza, president of Abboud, a New Bedford manufacturer of men's clothing, believes proficiency in English helps businesses and opens up more job opportunities to the workers.

"There is just no question about it," Sapienza said Monday during the announcement of a new area campaign to increase the availability of language classes for immigrant workers.

Statewide, 25,000 people are on waiting lists for classes in English as a second language, about 1,000 in New Bedford alone, he said.
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