Frist sets response team date for April 2
In hopes of helping displaced Carrier employees understand what resources are available to them, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) announced a date has been set to link workers with the federal government.
Though exact details are still being pinned down as to location, Frist said an April 2 date has been set to unite federal workers with local union representatives and others affected by the plant’s closure next year.
“We’ll line up workers with the assistant secretaries from commerce here in Washington, and labor, and they will be able to hear information that is available to be of assistance,” Frist said during a teleconference call with reporters.
Frist also said he wants to introduce workers to the one-stop career center located in Nashville that offers several different federal training and education programs. It is the first phase of the development of what has been called a rapid response team, with the second phase concentrating on economic development issues.
Frist announced the creation of the rapid response team following the announcements of plant closures at the Carrier plant in Morrison and also Vought Aircraft Industries in Nashville. The closures are expected to affect more than 2,000 jobs in Tennessee. The idea, Frist has said, is to allow workers access to and to coordinate federal resources.