Donald Trump, the “greatest jobs president ever,” doesn’t seem to mind cutting jobs if they don’t benefit his rich, corporate friends. Just as his “farmer’s bailout” program hasn’t bailed out farmers at all, but the corporations that profit from their labors, the Trump administration announced changes to the Job Corps program, a program that helps low-income youth train for jobs above minimum wage. No big corporation will suffer this loss, but 1,100 civil servants and the youth they work with certainly will.
Trump is cutting 1,100 federal jobs, killing a Forest Service program that trains youth in fire fighting, @Reinlwapo reports https://t.co/tmSNYdjR9E
— Philip Rucker (@PhilipRucker) May 25, 2019
Apparently, the Job Corps program, whose main function is training youth to fight forest fires, just wasn’t training people to clean the forest floors well enough. Instead, they taught rural youth to combat forest fires using actual science and facts, so Trump isn’t interested.
The Washington Post reports:
‘The Trump administration announced Friday that it will kill a Forest Service program that trains disadvantaged young people for wildland fire fighting and other jobs in rural communities, laying off 1,100 employees — believed to be the largest number of federal job cuts in a decade.’
Horrible news. Job Corps is one of the best ways disadvantaged young people can learn about conservation & start rewarding careers. Clearly, this administration doesn’t care one whit about that. https://t.co/5fV5de1PbQ
— AltForestService (@AltForestServ) May 24, 2019
Many of the affected states are ones that voted heavily for Trump in 2016, and they’ll suffer most from that decision. The Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center works with thousands of kids each year in order to train them for jobs helping the environment and keeping their communities safe.
‘The Job Corps Civilian Conservation Centers enroll more than 3,000 students a year in rural America. The soon-to-close centers — in Montana, Wisconsin, Arkansas, Virginia, Washington state, Kentucky, North Carolina and Oregon — include hundreds of jobs in some of President Trump’s political strongholds. In Congress, members of both parties objected to the plan.’
In the Forest Service's own words, the value of the Job Corps. Excerpt: "We’re really fortunate on the Colville National Forest to have a Job Corps so close by. They are just an incredible asset." https://t.co/9NXyRPsxzE pic.twitter.com/tw9wU9zNic
— Wildfire Today ? (@wildfiretoday) May 25, 2019
Thousands of civil servants who work in the program are now faced with the insecurity of pending lay-offs and lost pay. Additionally, this very vital service to rural youth, in places where good jobs that offer benefits and a living wage are hard to find, will no longer be an option.
‘Forest Service Chief Vicki Christiansen, clearly distressed at having to relay unsettling news to her employees, announced the layoffs in a conference call Friday morning. She told hundreds of teachers, administrators, vocational and residential staff on the phone from multiple states that she learned of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue’s decision four days ago.
‘“We don’t have all the answers,” Christiansen told the employees, many of whom asked when and how they would be formally notified that they would lose their jobs and whether they would receive paychecks until that happens.’
This is sad. And "without forethought " once again. Trump Administration To Close Forest Service Job Corps Centers https://t.co/5W26bWGsck
— Master of Grammar (@Sommar) May 25, 2019
Featured image screenshot via YouTube
