Feds To Give Green Job Aid To Ailing Auto Towns

DAYTON, Ohio — The federal government will give car-manufacturing communities $50 million in grants to train laid-off workers for jobs in the energy efficiency and renewable energy sectors, the White House's auto recovery leader said Thursday.

The funds also will provide job counseling and placement services.

"American workers are the best in the world, and they have been hard hit by changes in the auto industry," said Ed Montgomery, President Barack Obama's director of recovery for auto communities and workers. "This funding will help workers gain new skill sets that build upon their manufacturing experience."

The $50 million is part of $500 million provided by the federal stimulus law.

To qualify for the money, a community must have a motor vehicle manufacturer or supplier and have experienced significant layoffs. Details of the program, including application deadlines, are expected to be released next month.

Dan Brockman, who retired from his job at a General Motors Co. brake plant in Dayton in 2007 after learning the plant would close, applauded the federal assistance and said he might be one of the workers helped by it.

"We need livable-wage jobs around here," said Brockman, 58, of suburban Miamisburg. "We can make wind turbines here. We can make solar panels. We've got manufacturing know-how. Everybody's struggling, looking for a job."

Montgomery is touring Ohio, with stops in Dayton and Toledo on Thursday and in Twinsburg in northeast Ohio on Friday. He is scheduled to tour a Chrysler assembly plant in Toledo. In Twinsburg, he is to meet with autoworkers from a Chrysler plant that is slated to close.

"This is a critical step toward getting victims of the national recession back to work in high-growth industries," Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland said of the stimulus money. "We are grateful that the Obama administration recognizes the importance of investing in today's work force to better prepare them for the jobs of the future."

Comments

[Fretchen]

Green jobs? Wow! Spain tried that - found that for every "green job" created, four other jobs were lost. On top of that, the green jobs were temporary. Spain's eperience was that the net result was the loss of five jobs.

I am not saying it would be the same in the US, I am just saying we need to be careful.

[Marcospinelli]

I'm taking bets, step right up.

What's Obama going to announce tomorrow so that his "prevention detention" proposal in today's speech (and military tribunals, and a dozen other promises he broke this week) isn't the topic of the Sunday talk show?

It's 'Take Out The Trash'-day. What's it going to be? His nominee for the Supreme Court? This "imminent" LGBT policy announcement?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbslm1h8xjI

[Tom95134]

"...grants to train laid-off workers for jobs in the energy efficiency and renewable energy sectors...­"

Nice, but where are the jobs? Are there companies located in the auto manufacturing cities that are working in renewable energy? The Federal Government needs to step in and provide low cost direct to business loans (should make the Republicans happy) to get plants up an running in those areas so there will be some jobs that people will be able to step into once trained.

[IndelibleVoice]

And businesses who take the money need to be held to some regulation or given some other incentive to keep jobs on U.S. soil.

[plantguy]

Green isn't going to save the job loss were seeing. So lets get our industry back from overseas instead doing nothing about it.

[dappleganger]

You can provide all the job counseling and training services in the world, but it doesn't do a lick of good if there are no jobs out there.

[sc300nc]

caption contest

Mexican illegal aliens are lined up and waiting President Obama's opening of the border.

[wadenelson1]

/CAPTION CONTEST

GM today announced a new leasing program for would-be car bombers.