WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown and U.S. Representative Tim Ryan (OH-13) today urged U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Secretary Alex Acosta to approve the National Dislocated Worker Grant application submitted by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. Brown and Ryan said that, in the wake of the significant layoffs at the GM plant in Lordstown over the last two years, support is greatly needed for the workers and families in Northeast Ohio.

Brown and Ryan encouraged the State of Ohio to apply for the grant and are now urging DOL to approve the application quickly and get funds to Lordstown as soon as possible.

“GM’s announcement that it would lay off the second shift at the Lordstown plant comes just over a year after GM laid off the third shift, or 1,200 workers, at the same facility. GM is the primary employer in the region, and the elimination of nearly 3,000 jobs at the plant over the last two years will have significant economic consequences for the northeast region of Ohio,” Brown and Ryan wrote in their letter to Acosta. “A National Dislocated Worker Grant will be critical to ensuring the Lordstown community and northeast Ohio have the resources they need to help the affected workers get the workforce training and job placement services they need to find new jobs.”

National Dislocated Worker Grants (DWGs) are discretionary grants awarded by the Secretary of Labor to provide resources to states and other eligible applicants in response to large, unexpected layoff events causing significant job losses. This funding is intended to temporarily expand capacity to serve dislocated workers, including military service members, and meet the increased demand for employment and training services, with a purpose to reemploy laid off workers and enhance their employability and earnings.

A copy of the letter can be found below:

Dear Secretary Acosta:

We write in support the National Dislocated Worker Grant application submitted by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services in the wake of the recently announced layoff of 1,500 workers at the GM plant in Lordstown, Ohio.  We urge you to process this application expeditiously.

GM’s announcement that it would lay off the second shift at the Lordstown plant comes just over a year after GM laid off the third shift, or 1,200 workers, at the same facility.  GM is the primary employer in the region, and the elimination of nearly 3,000 jobs at the plant over the last two years will have significant economic consequences for the northeast region of Ohio.  A National Dislocated Worker Grant will be critical to ensuring the Lordstown community and northeast Ohio have the resources they need to help the affected workers get the workforce training and job placement services they need to find new jobs. 

We urge you to consider Ohio’s application for these funds as quickly as possible so that the workers and the community can begin the process of recovering from these layoffs.

Sincerely,

Senator Sherrod Brown

Congressman Tim Ryan

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