Monday, the GM bankruptcy shook Ohio and plants in the state lost more than 900 jobs. Tuesday, NCR announced it was moving its corporate headquarters from Dayton to Georgia. That move means another 1,200 jobs lost. The federal government is working to ease the strain on the affected workers and communities. Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis traveled to the state to announced a wave of federal funding for Ohio's unemployed. $88 million is coming to Ohio.
In addition, Secretary Solis says the Department of Labor is releasing a National Emergency Grant of $1.6 million. The money will help the workers affected by the closing of the Chrysler Twinsburg Plant.
"And that service will be very essential for people to get wrap-around services. What we mean by that is that they'll be able to get training dollars, unemployment assistance to prepare for that if that does come about, but also health care coverage," says Solis. $19 million in Trade Adjustment Assistance will be available for auto workers through the Department of Labor. TAA assists people who have lost their jobs because of outsourcing and other trade related reasons.
The EPA is also announcing millions of dollars to promote jobs in so-called green industries in Ohio. Some have questioned whether green jobs can be created on the same scale as the jobs Ohio has already lost US Senator Sherrod Brown says that Green jobs won't be able to replace losses job-for-job. But he says the investment Ohio is making will pay off in the long run.
"There are so many things going on in the state it's not going to be 10s of thousands of jobs immediately, but it's going to be long term and starting soon growth in solar and wind turbine and fuel cells and biomass and all in advanced manufacturing that people are going to start seeing," says Brown.
Even though the funding is coming from the federal government, state of Ohio officials will administer it.