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Tiffany Wynn
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Milwaukee—(March 24, 2011)—Today, the Milwaukee Area Workforce Investment Board (MAWIB) held a National Workforce Day of Action to educate the public on how the proposed federal budget will adversely impact the Milwaukee area, Southeastern Wisconsin and the nation. The media event occurred at 10:30 a.m. at MAWIB’s office, 2342 N. 27th Street. Don Sykes, the CEO of MAWIB spoke, as well as MAWIB’s community and business participants, President of WOW Workforce Development Board Francisco Sanchez, and representatives from Congresswoman Gwen Moore and Senator Herb Kohl’s offices.
“Funding for workforce development in the City of Milwaukee, Southeastern Wisconsin and all over the nation could be completely eliminated if the $3.8 billion cuts are passed through Congress,” said Don Sykes, CEO of MAWIB. “The move would wipeout summer youth jobs, and employment and job training programs that help the unemployed find gainful employment. This is counterproductive to stabilizing our society and returning to pre-recession times.”
The HR 1 bill is the proposal to eliminate all funds for the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) which funds all workforce development boards across the country. The bill will go before Congress for a vote within the coming weeks.
“A huge need still exists in Southeastern Wisconsin including Milwaukee, Waukesha, Ozaukee and Washington counties for the services the area’s workforce development boards provide,” said Francisco Sanchez, president of WOW Workforce Development Board. “If the resources are cut the question still remains who will fulfill the need. Statistics still show that workforce development boards are needed in our communities.”
Milwaukee Area Workforce Investment Board
The Milwaukee Area Workforce Investment Board is a strong workforce development system that plans, coordinates, collaborates and monitors workforce initiatives with businesses, partners and community stakeholders at the local, regional, and state level to ensure a skilled and productive workforce for the 21st century.
Waukesha-Ozaukee-Washington (W-O-W) Workforce Development Board
The W-O-W Workforce Development Board is one of Wisconsin’s eleven regional boards established by the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA). The W-O-W Workforce Development Board is a private non-profit corporation dedicated to providing the highest quality, most effective workforce development services possible to the residents and businesses of Waukesha, Ozaukee, and Washington Counties, Wisconsin.
