Dear Representative:
On behalf of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), I ask you to cosponsor the Transportation Job Corps Act of 2009 (H.R. 2497). This legislation, introduced by Rep. Jerry Nadler, will help ensure that current and future transit workers receive the skills training they need to excel in this growing and important industry.
The transit sector faces a looming shortage of qualified employees. Federal and local support for transit services and years of record ridership has dramatically increased the number of jobs the industry needs to meet current and future demand. Meanwhile, many transit workers will reach retirement age in the next few years. These factors, combined with the introduction of new technologies, have led transit agencies and labor unions to call for the establishment of training regimes that will meet the needs of workers and transit agencies.
The Transportation Job Corps Act of 2009 will require the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to establish national and regional councils to identify skill gaps and create programs to train employees. These councils, which will include equal representation from labor and management, will focus on recruiting, training, and retaining an array of transit agency employees, including mechanics, managers, and paratransit providers. Furthermore, the councils will work to improve diversity in the industry and provide skills education and apprenticeships targeted at disconnected youth.
The measure creates four grant programs, two of which focus on skills education and apprenticeships to create opportunities for youth. The other two grant programs will improve diversity and educate and retain current workers.
We urge you to cosponsor this innovative legislation that will create and maintain jobs in the transit sector. To cosponsor please contact Lisette Morton, Rep. Nadler’s Legislative Director, at 202/225-5635 or lisette.morton@mail.house.gov. Additionally, please feel free to contact me or Brendan Danaher with any questions at 202/628-9262 or brendand@ttd.org.
Sincerely,
Edward Wytkind
President
