GLENMONT, NY (WRGB) — Federal lawmakers and advocates are fighting to keep a nationwide federal job training program open.
At the end of May, the Department of Labor and the Trump Administration announced they would pause the Job Corps 99 campuses across the U.S.. There are Job Corps campuses in Albany, Sullivan, Orleans, Otsego, and Chautauqua Counties.
Students and staff were told they had until June 30th to leave campus.
“We must save the Jobs Corps for Upstate New York,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
Last week a U.S. District judge from New York issued a temporary restraining order to prohibit the 99 nationwide Job Corp programs from closing.
“I think one of the main challenges is that it violated the Administrators Procedures Act because the Trump Administration has tried to shut down the program without congressional authority,” said Michael Fallings, a managing partner for Tully Rinckey.
Schumer said in a press briefing Wednesday federal leaders have yet to say why they’re closing the program. “They haven’t even shown why they don’t like it. They haven’t produced any evidence why it doesn’t do a good job. But by saying they’re going to be closed, it’s created pure chaos.”
The campus in Glenmont supports up to 400 students a year through housing, technical training, and job placement.
CBS6 spoke with Glenmont Job Corp Executive Director Tracy Battle last week;
“Some of our students don’t have a home or place to go to. So this news kind of dropped on us last minute. It was very challenging.”
The Glenmont campus also employs 120 people.
The U.S. Department of Labor cited the closures to a lack of results with a 38.6% graduation rate; and an average cost of $80,000 per student.
Senator Schumer says the Trump Administration legally can’t close the program.
