Labor Dept. OKs Funds for Training Laid-Off Ohio Autoworkers

LORDSTOWN, Ohio—The U.S. Department of Labor announced Sept. 12 that it will give an $875,000 grant to help workers laid off from the General Motors plant in Lordstown and three nearby auto-parts suppliers find new jobs. The funding will provide training, job-hunting assistance, and other support services, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services said. Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) said in a statement that it will aid about 337 of the 1,686 workers who lost jobs. GM laid off 1,200 workers when it when it eliminated the second shift at the Lordstown plant in June, and eliminated the third shift last year. The reductions at GM also caused at least 344 layoffs at Lordstown suppliers. “These cutbacks were no fault of the workers, who are the best our nation has to offer,” Ryan wrote in an August letter to Secretary of Labor Alex Acosta. “Obviously people want to come back to work,” United Auto Workers Union Local 1112 President Dave Green told the Youngstown Vindicator. “With our uncertainty right now, this gives then another opportunity to prepare for the worst and get retrained.” Read more