Baldwin Demands Trump Administration Reverse Course on Milwaukee Job Corps Closure

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, demanded the Trump Administration reverse course on the decision to shutter Job Corps training sites across the country, including in Milwaukee, that help young Americans get high-quality career training, are a path to good-paying jobs, and support businesses’ and labor unions’ workforce needs. Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced it will begin shutting down contractor operated Job Corps centers nationwide, including in Milwaukee, where 237 students are currently enrolled and will be abruptly cut off from services, including classes, trainings, housing, and more.

“Milwaukee Job Corps has critical relationships with employers and service providers to ensure students enter the workforce ready to succeed, including by partnering with labor unions to provide pathways to apprenticeships,” wrote Senator Baldwin in a letter to DOL Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer. “Employers in the Milwaukee area value Job Corps graduates as strong, reliable contributors in the workplace, and losing that connection will add to the challenge of filling open jobs.”

The Milwaukee Job Corps site has served the community since 2010, and currently has 237 students. The Center assists students ages 16 through 24 in completing their education, obtaining career technical skills, and gaining employment, while also providing essential and transitional support services like housing. Since its opening, the Milwaukee Job Corps Center has awarded 1,354 high school diplomas, and 2,515 career technical completions, which indicate complete training requirements, certificates, and credentials for a trade.

“Canceling the contract means these students will be interrupted and potentially dislocated in the middle of attaining certifications and reaching their goals,” Senator Baldwin continued. “Robbing these Wisconsinites of their path to self-sufficiency is neither efficient nor will it deliver the desired meaningful results for the students.”

The full letter is available here and below.

Dear Secretary Chavez-DeRemer:

I write to urge you to reconsider your misguided decision to pause operations at Job Corps centers across the country, including in Milwaukee. I ask that you immediately reverse this decision, reinstate the contract, and ensure that the Job Corps Center in Milwaukee can return to providing quality services to its students and a talent pipeline for area employers.

The Milwaukee Job Corps site has served the community since 2010, and currently has 237 students. The Center assists students ages 16 through 24 in completing their education, obtaining career technical skills and gaining employment, while also providing essential and transitional support services like housing. Milwaukee Job Corps has critical relationships with employers and service providers to ensure students enter the workforce ready to succeed, including by partnering with labor unions to provide pathways to apprenticeships. Employers in the Milwaukee area value Job Corps graduates as strong, reliable contributors in the workplace, and losing that connection will add to the challenge of filling open jobs.

The sudden pause in Job Corps contracts, which serves as a functional cancellation of our investment in job training, will upend the lives of students currently participating in the program and disrupt a vital link in the workforce system in place in Milwaukee. Through Job Corps, students earn drivers’ licenses, attain GEDs, go on to join the military, go to college, and more. Canceling the contract means these students will be interrupted and potentially dislocated in the middle of attaining certifications and reaching their goals. Robbing these Wisconsinites of their path to self-sufficiency is neither efficient nor will it deliver the desired meaningful results for the students.

I urge you to reconsider this course of action and reinstate the contract for the Jobs Corps Center in Milwaukee. Thank you for your prompt consideration of this important matter.

Sincerely,

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.