Pictured left to right, state Sen. Jake Oliveira, state Reps. Shirley Arriaga and Brian Ashe discuss their displeasure with the decision to pause Job Corps programs across the country.
Reminder Publishing photo by Tyler Garnet
CHICOPEE — Before Westover Job Corps graduation on June 17, state Sen. Jake Oliveira as well as state Reps. Shirley Arriaga and Brian Ashe hosted a press conference outside Berchmans Hall at Elms College to address the Trump administration’s attempt to close the Westover Job Corps Center and nearly 100 similar programs across the country.
It was announced at the end of May that the U.S. Department of Labor and the Trump administration will be pausing Job Corps centers across the country, including Chicopee.
Westover Job Corps offers free career training for students 16 to 24 years old and provides them with the tools and skills needed to be successful. Most of the students in the program come from low-income backgrounds.
Oliveira, a Ludlow Democrat, said at Westover Job Corps, there are nearly 250 residential students that participate in the Job Corps program “that could be left without housing opportunities, without workforce opportunities, without job opportunities by truly a reckless administration in Washington D.C. that is continuing to unconstitutionally cut essential programs that we have in our country to help people get ahead.”
Over the past 11 months, Oliveira said there have been 241 graduates of Westover Job Corps program and they expected 90 of those graduates to be at Elms College on June 17.
As of May 30, there are 352 students at Westover Jobs Corps, 284 of those students are residential students, according to Oliveira.
“It has to do with not just job opportunities, but also ensuring that residents of the commonwealth have someplace to live and that’s what this program at Westover Job Corps actually does,” Oliveira stated.
There are also nearly 170 staff members that work at Westover Job Corps that live in Pioneer Valley.
Arriaga, a Chicopee Democrat, recalled a story of a recent individual who graduated from Job Corps after previously being homeless.
“He didn’t know where to go. He didn’t want to continue getting into trouble, but he felt like he had no options and no hope until someone mentioned Job Corps to him. Job Corps gave him an opportunity, gave him a home, gave him the training and the resources and programs to help him. Not only did he get his driver’s license, he completed his certificate here and he got a job with over $80,000 as a salary. For someone who was struggling and didn’t know where to go and couldn’t make ends meet. That is what Job Corps does.”
Oliveira serves as the Senate chair of the Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development and shared, “At a time when Massachusetts and the nation face a growing need for skilled workers, closing these centers is a step in the wrong direction. It undermines efforts to build a stronger, more inclusive workforce and leaves vulnerable communities behind.”
Oliveira spoke on the importance of preserving workforce development pathways like Westover Job Corps and highlighted the recent U.S. District Court ruling that temporarily blocks the closures pending further review. The court ruled that the Department of Labor cannot eliminate the program without Congressional authorization.
The decision is currently under federal injunction and a hearing took place on June 17 where Judge Andrew L. Carter Jr. extended his order for another week temporarily blocking the US Department of Labor from shutting Job Corps programs.
The next hearing took place after press time
Oliveira said that he and the entire Western Massachusetts delegation have been monitoring the situation since the announcement and have been in constant contact with the federal delegation including U.S. Rep. Richard Neal (D-Springfield), U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Worcester), and U.S. Sens. Ed Markey (D-Malden) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Cambridge).
In a statement, Markey said both closures would impact the workforce in Massachusetts.
He said, “The Westover, Grafton, and Shriver Job Corps centers have long been gateways to opportunity for teenagers and young adults eager to earn their high school degree, learn critical skills, and enter the workforce. By suspending Job Corps Center operations in Massachusetts and across the country, the Trump administration is slamming the gate shut on young people striving for a better future, all to pay for tax cuts for billionaires. I urge the Administration to reverse its shortsighted decision and restore this pathway to success.”
