Starting over
Worker retraining programs are popular but fall short of solving the job shortage
Neither candidate has addressed the plight of workers like Stephen Knight, who was laid off when Wohlert Corp., a manufacturer of car engine parts, closed last December. Knight, 43, was a welder there for 10 years, making an average of $15 per hour. The firm filed for bankruptcy after 108 years of operation, and its Lansing factory sits vacant with rusting equipment in its empty parking lot and a "For Sale" sign out front.
Just weeks after being told they qualified for retraining funds, Wohlert employees learned that the state did not have the money to pay for their education. Knight, who wants to learn computer repair, is collecting unemployment. "I E-mailed my congressman," he says. "Now, I'm just waiting. There's not a whole lot I can do."
Howard Rosen of the Trade Adjustment Assistance Coalition says that TAA is a program with little political support. Because retraining displaced workers is an integral part of trade policy, antitrade constituents like unions don't actively advocate it. Rosen thinks funding for retraining should be doubled and the Labor Department should be more aggressive in touting its benefits. Moreover, he says, there should be a greater effort placed on job creation. "I believe that we as a nation are not committed to this issue yet," he says. "The ultimate goal is re-employment, not training."
Indeed, one of the main criticisms of the program is that retrained workers can't find jobs with their new skills. Local employment offices like Michigan Works in the Lansing area have counselors to help people determine which promising fields may work best for them. Computer training, healthcare, construction, and truck driving are some areas offering the most opportunity right now. Labor Department figures show that 61 percent of people who completed the TAA program found jobs, and they earned an average of 72 percent of their former salary in 2003. These rates were down from 67 percent and 74 percent, respectively, in 2002.
As Virgene Kirby has discovered, acquiring an education isn't necessarily enough. After working for 32 years in the offices of manufacturer Federal Mogul Corp., Kirby, 56, was laid off in 2000. She used the TAA program to complete a bachelor's degree in management and organizational development this month. Kirby currently works for Michigan State University, making $13.13 an hour, but she is searching for a job that will get her back to the $17.64 an hour she made at Federal Mogul. "I hope this retraining will pay off," Kirby says. "I'm grateful for it." She has been searching for months for a better-paying position and has gotten "a lot of nice rejection letters." She is now extending her search to other states.
But for many displaced workers, a comparable salary isn't the top priority. "Job security is what I'm really looking for," says Richard Love, who lost his job in inventory control for Spartan International, a manufacturer of commercial-sign products and adhesives for cars. Love is finishing up a program to become an office administrator.
Finding a new job depends heavily on regional economics. In rural areas where the economy cannot sustain dramatic increases in unemployment, people are more often forced to relocate. "We have more outbound commuting than we did previously," says Thomas Harned, director of economic development for Martinsville, Va., which lost 12,000 jobs in 10 years after several textile mills closed. Henry County, around Martinsville, has the highest unemployment rate in the state and, at 12.8 percent, is more than double the nation's. Still, Harned says, the local community college is at record enrollment, and the job market has improved during the past six months.
While the politicians will debate the loss of jobs in such key states as Michigan, the impact of global trade on U.S. jobs will grow no matter who wins the election. Michigan can expect more visits from both Kerry and Bush in the coming months, with outsourcing and job losses continuing to occupy the airwaves. But for many of those most affected by trade, politics simply doesn't matter. "This is a global economy," says Love. "There is nothing politicians can do to stop this. Workers have got to be resilient in this market. You can't expect to stay in one place for 30 years anymore."
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