Walsh, who was elected Secretary of Labor earlier this year, was previously a state official, former Boston mayor and former union leader.

Walsh said he used this tour to hear people’s ideas on strengthening the economy and improving the path to the middle class.

Walsh’s first local stop was the Dayton Jobs Corp Center, where he spoke to students and instructors.

Caption

The U.S. Secretary of Labor visited the Dayton Jobs Corps Center on Tuesday, August 17, 2021. Walsh met with students and faculty as part of the human resource investment investment. Jim Noelker / staff

The US Department of Labor bought the Jobs Corp Center site in the late 1970s, and the program is helping disadvantaged youth to support themselves and prepare for careers.

Walsh said he hopes to return to Dayton after Biden’s bills are passed to see what opportunities these investments offer.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Senate voted 69-30 for an infrastructure bill that includes investments in roads, bridges, rail, transit, ports, aviation facilities, water systems, and broadband.

The bill provides for approximately $ 550 billion in new spending over the next five years, the largest government investment in infrastructure projects in more than a decade.

Democrats are pushing for a $ 3.5 trillion spending resolution that is unlikely to receive Republican support. But Democrats in the House of Representatives are arguing over which bill to pass first and how long to pass both of them.

Biden’s administration claims the president’s agenda will create jobs and reduce the cost of childcare, prescription drugs, housing and higher education for working families.

The White House also said improved access to childcare, long-term care, and paid and family vacations would increase labor force participation, increase corporate profits and reduce burdens on caregivers.

Walsh said he was asked regularly why more people aren’t returning to work.

He said the problem is not the generous unemployment benefits. He said the real problem was the lack of childcare, school closings and fear of COVID-19.

He also said many workers don’t want to return to the same low-quality jobs they had before the pandemic.

He said the budget was $ 400 billion for the “care industry”. Expanded vocational training should help people get better-paid jobs, he said.

The president’s plan calls for low and middle income families to spend no more than 7% of their income on quality childcare for young children.

Childcare is primarily education for young children during the most important time for brain development, in their early years, said Robyn Lightcap, executive director of Preschool Promise, who attended the round table.

But childcare needs to be properly funded as education – not babysitting, Lightcap said, adding that childcare workers in Montgomery County make an average of $ 11 an hour.

“That’s just not acceptable,” she said.

Chloe Morgan, a 30-year-old single mother of four, said it was hard to trust the quality of childcare if workers weren’t adequately paid.

Morgan, who attended the round table, also takes care of her mother, who is completely disabled.

Morgan said around 2015 when she only had two children, she was paying $ 1,200 a month for childcare.

She said she made only $ 1,400 a month at Walmart and was receiving about $ 950 a month in child support.

“They do the math: How do I pay rent, how do I pay my childcare and then all the other bills, gas, electricity, insurance, how do you live – you can’t,” she said. “You can’t live and work.”

Morgan said she paid her sister-in-law $ 600 a month, which was far too little for the wet nurse she was doing.

Walsh said President Biden’s priorities included raising the state minimum wage and reducing American manufacturing. Walsh said he spoke with Mayor Whaley about how getting professional training is the best way to improve people’s economic opportunities.

“When I drive through Ohio, when I drove through Indiana yesterday and we drive to West Virginia tomorrow, I drive through too many cities that say, that was once a factory, that was a mill, that was once … that was that, ”he said. “It is critical for the people who live here in the city of Dayton to give them the opportunity to earn better vocational training and to continue their education to get better jobs.”

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