Brown, Ryan write to Labor Secretary about aid for GM Lordstown workers

LORDSTOWN — U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Cleveland, and U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Howland, D-13th, today urged the U.S. Department of Labor to approve a grant that would benefit workers affected by layoffs at the General Motors Lordstown plant.

Brown and Ryan said they urged Labor Secretary Alex Acosta to approve a National Dislocated Worker Grant application submitted by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

The Lordstown plant is down to one shift from three.

“GM’s announcement that it would lay off the second shift at the Lordstown plant comes just over a year after GM laid off the third shift, or 1,200 workers, at the same facility. GM is the primary employer in the region, and the elimination of nearly 3,000 jobs at the plant over the last two years will have significant economic consequences for the Northeast region of Ohio,” Brown and Ryan wrote in a letter to Acosta, according to a news release from their offices.

“A National Dislocated Worker Grant will be critical to ensuring the Lordstown community and Northeast Ohio have the resources they need to help the affected workers get the workforce training and job placement services they need to find new jobs.”