Congressional lawmakers from Mass. urge reversing course on Job Corps closings

BOSTON — The state's entire Congressional delegation pleaded with the U.S secretary of labor to reverse her decision to end federal Job Corps funding, citing the estimated $80 million the three Job Corps centers in Massachusetts contribute to the local economy each year.

U.S. Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer announced in late May that operations would be paused by June 30 at contractor-run Job Corps centers across the U.S., which reportedly account for 99 of the 120 centers across the country. The Job Corps, founded in 1964, provides trade skills to young adults 16 to 24, at no cost to students, in an effort to reduce youth unemployment.

When she announced the decision, Chavez-DeRemer said it was based in part on "a startling number of serious incident reports and our in-depth fiscal analysis," which she said revealed "the program is no longer achieving the intended outcomes that students deserve."

There are three Job Corps centers in Massachusetts: Shriver Job Corps Center in Devens, Grafton Job Corps Center in North Grafton and Westover Job Corps Center in Chicopee.

"With 92,000 Massachusetts residents aged 18 to 24 living in poverty, the Shriver, Grafton and Westover Job Corps Centers stand as vital resources for economic mobility and career development. Combined, they contribute an estimated $80 million to the local economy annually and across the state, we have seen the impact," all 11 members of the Massachusetts delegation wrote to the secretary in a letter spearheaded by U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan. "Graduates have become union carpenters, plumbers, bricklayers, police officers, cybersecurity professionals and entrepreneurs. This is not just an investment in the local talent pipeline for employers but an investment in our communities as many of these graduates stay in the region to live, work, and raise their families."

Sen. Jamie Eldridge, who represents part of the Devens area, said on X that he tried for at least a week to get information from the federal government about the decision to ramp down Job Corps center operations. On June 5, he toured the Shriver Job Corps Center and said that only 80 students remained on campus out of about 250 enrolled.

Rather than phase out Job Corps centers, which would also have the effect of displacing students from their residential setting, the state's delegation implored Chavez-DeRemer to improve it by pumping more money into it and prioritizing accountability, student safety and career alignment.

"The Job Corps program is built on second chances, and we urge you to offer this program the same opportunity to adapt and grow that it has provided its students for the last 60 years," the delegation wrote.

The National Job Corps Association filed a lawsuit against the Department of Labor last week, and Trahan's office said a judge issued a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction, blocking the DOL from suspending program operations for now.