For Immediate Release: May 29th, 2019
Contact on behalf of IUPAT: John Doherty (617) 592-2230 or jdoherty@iupat.org
Hanover, MD — Hundreds, if not thousands, of disadvantaged, rural youth will lose their Job Corps training jobs that are preparing them to fight wildfires, paint and cover floors in buildings under construction and other jobs in rural communities under a federal government proposal.
The Trump administration would move the Job Corps Civilian Conservation Centers (CCC) program to the Department of Labor from the Department of Interior and would cut nine centers.
Job Corps was created in the 1960s to give at-risk and underprivileged youth academic and vocational training. More than 3,000 students in rural communities enroll in Job Corps CCC annually.
The International Union of Painters and Allied Trades has been involved in Job Corps since 1969 and is one of five building trades unions offering training programs through Job Corps. IUPAT Job Corps programs involve painting; floor covering; glazing; and sign, display and billboard.
“This is stunning news,” said Andrew Larson, National Project Coordinator for the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades Job Corps Pre-Apprenticeship Program. “Job Corps training programs are wildly successful in training at-risk young people for real-world jobs that help communities and give these kids a bright future,” Larson said.
In addition to the training losses, the action will result in the layoff of 1,100 federal employees, believed to be the largest number of federal job cuts in a decade.
Read the Washington Post story here
Read the Statement from DOL here