ETA News Release: [June 17, 2004]
Contact Name: Lorette Post
Phone Number: 202-693-3984
U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao Announces $420,000 Grant to Help Workers in Tennessee
WASHINGTON - U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao today announced a National Emergency Grant of $420,000 to aid approximately 140 workers who were laid off from Eaton Corporation in Hohenwald, Tenn.
"The unemployment rate in Tennessee has dropped from 5.7 to 4.9 percent over the last year, according to the most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics data," said Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao. "This is good news, but the President and I want to be sure that no worker is left behind. This $420,000 grant will provide re-employment assistance, training and skills upgrades to these workers as they prepare for new opportunities."
The grant is in respect to the closing of Eaton Corporation's manufacturing facility in Hohenwald, as a result of reorganization and consolidation of the company's operations. Workers from Lewis, Hickman, Wayne, Lawrence and Perry Counties will benefit from the grant.
Awarded to the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, the grant will provide services including assessment, individual counseling, career planning, employment development, occupational skills training, on-the-job training and entrepreneurial training. Supportive services, such as childcare and transportation assistance, will also be available.
National Emergency Grants are part of the U.S. Secretary of Labor's discretionary fund. A grant is awarded after a state submits a request and the grant guidelines have been met.
For more information on the Department of Labor's employment and training programs, please visit www.doleta.gov.
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