This week the Jobs to Move America team is at APTA’s Annual Meeting 2015 in San Francisco to learn the latest in transportation trends and investing in our transit future, from workforce development to sustainability to high-speed rail.
Yesterday we heard a very inspiring speech from U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, who began by saying that “transportation is the driver of opportunity.” He spoke of an opportunity gap that exists everywhere in America, and shared his vision for transportation to close that gap by connecting people to jobs – people like LeDaya Epps of Compton, California, who is working to build light rail in her own neighborhood on the Crenshaw/LAX Metro Los Angeles line. He spoke of supporting workforce development opportunities and on-the-job training, since “the most successful model is working in conjunction with community colleges, trade schools, and the private sector to train the workforce.”
To learn more about how workers are benefiting from opportunities to learn the manufacturing trade and contribute to our transit infrastructure, check out this article from AFL-CIO. Secretary Foxx talked specifically about giving people second chances to re-enter the workforce, and this post highlights the story of Vincent Louque, who worked with Los Angeles Black Worker Center to receive job training. He now works as a wire technician at Kinkisharyo International, LLC, which recently formed their own union with IBEW Local 11 and is manufacturing rail cars for Metro Los Angeles.