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Thursday, May 29, 2008

Guest View: Area Needs Workforce Connection

By Flo Maze
For the Journal
      On June 30, the Workforce Connection of Central New Mexico will be permanently closing its doors to the citizens and businesses of Torrance and southern Santa Fe counties and eastern Bernalillo County. The Executive Board for the Workforce Connection under MRCOG (Mid-Region Council of Governments) has made the final decision for this closure.
       What does this mean to you? If you become unemployed, you will now need to go to the office located in Albuquerque at 501 Mountain Road NE for services. Don't go if you need to file for unemployment insurance. This you can only do by calling the unemployment number at 841-4000 and responding to the questions. You can also file online by going to www.uiclaims.state.nm.us and following the online instructions. If you arrive in person to talk to someone about filing for unemployment, they will send you over to the bank of phones to apply.
       This closure will have an impact on many families and businesses in our area. For the unemployed and underemployed, this means that the services that are now offered to you will be gone forever. Presently the office can assist you with resumes, local job postings (the majority of which come directly from local employers), and questions you may have regarding educational opportunities that the Workforce Connection can assist in paying for, including your transportation costs, and immediate referrals to other local agencies for housing assistance, social service programs, transportation referrals, and so on. We have over 700 individuals receiving Food Stamps and over 170 individuals/families receiving TANF (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families). What does this closure mean for them and their children?
       For the many businesses that have utilized our local office, OJT's (On the Job Training Contracts) will no longer have the convenience of local offices. You will now have to contact the Albuquerque office. You will no longer have a local point of contact to post your job openings nor the immediate assistance of the local staff. If you read the Workforce Connection of Central New Mexico's brochure, you can go online to reach New Mexico's available work force and input job orders 24 hours a day. You will also note in their brochure that the Workforce Connection One-Stop Centers (local) can help with interviewing facilities to expedite the hiring process. Not after June 30th.
       Local and state statistics show that Torrance County has one of the highest poverty rates in our state. In fact, Gov. Bill Richardson recently has put together “another” task force to look at poverty in our state to see what can be done to change these statistics. I don't think he was thinking of cutting services. Do you? I don't think our local representatives whom we voted into office think cutting services is the answer to alleviating poverty. Do you? I don't think our local elected officials feel cutting services to citizens is the answer to halting poverty. Do you?
       We MUST continue to offer any and all services that will benefit the citizens of our communities. We MUST continue to offer local services to all businesses in our area. We need to STOP putting the decisions that are best for our communities into the hands of organizations that don't understand or are unwilling to accept that rural communities rely on local services to help communities grow. We are not an urban area where services abound. We have to rely on what is available locally.
       Our East Mountains communities are on the brink of economic growth with new businesses looking to move here. They expect and demand a locally trained work force. Our citizens want and deserve the same services that citizens in an urban area receive. I don't see many Albuquerqueans coming to our area for job training. Do you? We need local work force training and services.
       The MRCOG's recommendation to the board to pull these services is an injustice to our citizens and our communities. Our local leaders need to stand up now for their citizens and demand from the MRCOG that no services be pulled from our areas. Our elected officials in Santa Fe need to demand that these services remain. And as citizens, make your voices heard. The next board meeting of the MRCOG is scheduled for Monday, June 16 at 1:30 p.m. The address of the MRCOG offices is 809 Copper Avenue NW in Albuquerque. Wanna go for a ride?
       There will be a local community meeting regarding the closure of the Workforce Connection in Moriarty on June 12 at 6:30 p.m. at the Moriarty Civic Center. The MRCOG and the local board, along with local governing officials, will be invited to attend. We appreciate hearing from all local citizens in our areas: from Tijeras, Cedar Crest, Edgewood, Stanley, Moriarty, McIntosh, Estancia, Willard, Mountainair, Torreon, Tajique, Manzano and Encino. If you are a business owner, your voice can do much to stress the importance of having an available and trained local work force when YOU need them.
       If you would like to respond to this article, please e-mail your comments to: fmaze21@comcast.net.>      

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