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Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
For more information call: (202) 219-6871.
The U.S. Department of Labor is providing up to $4,421,170
to assist 135 coal company workers in Illinois who are losing their jobs
because of efforts to comply with the Clean Air Act, Secretary of Labor Robert
B. Reich announced today. Of this amount, $1,390,531 will be obligated for
immediate use.
"Sound policy decisions often have hidden costs," Reich
said. "Our efforts to create a cleaner environment for everyone have led to job
losses for these individual workers. I am pleased we can offer them
reemployment services as they pursue new jobs and new careers, but I am
distressed by proposals in Congress that would significantly restrict the
federal government's ability to respond to the needs of dislocated workers in
the future."
The award will be used to assist workers dislocated from
Brushy Creek Coal Company in Galatia. These dislocations are the result of a
declining market for high-sulfur coal due to requirements of the Clean Air Act
Amendments of 1990.
The project will be operated by the Management, Training
and Consulting Corporation and the Private Industry Council, Inc.
The grant, authorized under the Job Training Partnership
Act, will provide project participants with a number of services including
basic readjustment, assessment, job search assistance, basic skills training,
vocational/occupational skills training, needs-related payments, transportation
and child care assistance.
The dislocated worker program is a comprehensive approach
to assist workers who have been, or are about to be, laid off for reasons such
as technological change, foreign competition or government actions. In general,
such workers are eligible if they are unlikely to return to their previous
industry or occupation.
Budget proposals in Congress for Fiscal Year 1996 (which
began Oct. 1, 1995) would cut funding for dislocated worker programs by 34
percent to $850 million. As a result, 246,000 fewer Americans would be able to
benefit from employment and training support next year.
Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
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