Senator Coons applauds launch of new company employing former foster care youth

WILMINGTON, Del. – Senator Coons joined Governor Markell, Congressman Carney, and local community leaders Thursday for the grand opening of popdot, a new sign production and installation company in Wilmington’s West End neighborhood that has committed to hiring disadvantaged youth.

The business was launched as a partnership between Sir Speedy Wilmington and West End Neighborhood House – with help from a $160,000 Community Economic Development Projects (CED) grant from the Department of Health and Human Services – and is dedicated to providing career opportunities for former foster care youth in Wilmington.

Danielle Cunningham is one such youth, who shared the story of her journey after aging out of the foster care system and finding herself homeless at age 18. Danielle took advantage of housing through West End Neighborhood House and job training opportunities at Wilmington's Bright Spot Ventures and is now beginning her career as a popdot employee.

 “What was most striking to hear from you, Danielle, was that this is a place where you can work together, and not just have great skills, not just have an opportunity at employment, but have a family, have a place where at work you are sharing with each other your values and your journey,” Chris said.

popdot is one of just 20 ventures across the country to submit a successful competitive CED grant application this year. The objective of the CED program is to support businesses that develop new products and services and create jobs for low-income individuals. To meet these goals, popdot has pledged to employ 75 percent low-income staff, provide full-time jobs with benefits that pay livable wages, and reinvest 51 percent of its profits into the community.

“Many of us recognize that it is small business owners, its entrepreneurs, its people who work hard day in and day out who create most of the jobs in our country and who are the real engines of vitality in our communities,” Chris said. 

Senator Coons announces bill to boost manufacturing education at universities

Senator Coons joined leaders from the University of Delaware Thursday to announce new legislation designed to boost STEM education and help universities prepare students for careers in innovation and advanced manufacturing. The Manufacturing Universities Act of 2014 would award competitive grants to 25 designated ‘manufacturing universities,’ to better align educational offerings with the needs of modern manufacturers.

“The entire lifecycle of innovation, skills, and creativity in manufacturing has to include universities,” Senator Coons said. “Universities have a central role to play in continuing the cycle of innovation that is essential if American manufacturing is to continue its current recovery. Over the last three years, our economy has regained 600,000 manufacturing jobs, but hundreds of thousands more remain unfilled because there aren’t enough appropriately skilled and trained process engineers, mechanical engineers, and chemical engineers to keep that innovation going.”

Grants of $5 million per year, for a four-year period, will help universities revamp their engineering programs to emphasize manufacturing skills, incentivize partnerships with local manufacturers, increase internship and cooperative education opportunities for students, and help more recent graduates launch new manufacturing businesses.

“We want more students graduating with the skills they need to thrive in the 21st century manufacturing environment, and we want more of our universities orienting themselves toward this field where we can win, our communities can win, and our country can win.”

Following the announcement Senator Coons visited with biochemistry students and faculty at UD’s Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Laboratory (ISE Lab) to demonstrate a chemical reaction and discuss the importance of STEM education.

Investing in American workers

The smartest investment Congress can make is in American workers — whether they currently have a job or not.

Although we’ve come a long way since the depths of the Great Recession, there’s still more we can and must do to help our small businesses grow and create jobs. Americans continue to face a tough job market and too many of our neighbors have been out of work for a long time.

At a minimum, we must do more to help unemployed Americans stay afloat as they look for work. That’s why this week, like I did several times last month, I voted to extend emergency unemployment insurance benefits for the 1.7 million Americans and 4,300 Delawareans who have been jobless for more than 26 weeks – and whose benefits expired at the end of December. They’re folks who were laid off through no fault of their own because of the Great Recession. They’ve worked for much of their lives and paid into the system, and they deserve our support as they work to get back on their feet.

We need to stand with our job-seeking neighbors, and yesterday I spoke on the Senate floor on their behalf. Click here to take a look and to share your own opinion on helping out-of-work Delawareans.

As I argued on the floor, unemployment insurance is a critical lifeline to Americans looking for work – keeping families from falling into poverty and providing needed support to our economy at the same time.

Renewing emergency unemployment insurance, though, should only be the start of our work. If we want to grow our economy and our middle class, Washington needs to renew its focus on helping our manufacturers grow and create jobs.

We need to make sure that at every level, we’re training Americans for the needs of the modern economy. Investing in American workers is how we’ll be able to rebuild our middle class and ensure that our nation can compete over the long-term. By modernizing our education system and building partnerships between our schools and our businesses, we can ensure that our workers have the skills employers need today and tomorrow.

The best way to help our job-seeking neighbors is to grow our economy and create jobs. Click here to learn more about how I propose to do that and let me know what you think.

I’m doing everything I can to help businesses create jobs in Delaware, but I can’t do it without you. We’re at our best when we remember that we’re all in this together – when we help lift each other up when one of us has fallen. Thank you for joining me in this critical fight.

Senator Coons welcomes Kent County jobseekers to first job fair of 2014

More than 1,000 jobseekers packed in to the Education Technology Building Conference Center at Delaware Technical Community College Terry Campus for the first job fair of the year hosted by U.S. Senators Chris Coons and Tom Carper, and U.S. Representative John Carney. The Kent County job fair brought more than 45 private and public entities together to meet candidates in hopes of filling over 500 open positions.

The Kent County job fair was organized with the help of Brandywine Counseling and Career Services, and service and government employment agencies were also on hand to facilitate job-search skills workshops, career counseling, and resume reviews. 

“Today was our 17th job fair and once again it was a great opportunity to connect Delawareans looking for work with prospective employers,” said Senator Carper. “While we still have too many of our friends and neighbors who are struggling to find work, I am heartened that we’re making progress and I’m hopeful that 2014 will be a positive year for job creation and economic growth here in the First State.”

“Thousands of Delawareans are still looking for work and these job fairs can make a real difference in our neighbors’ lives,” Senator Coons said. “Like the job fairs we hosted in the past, our goal for these fairs is to help Delawareans connect with real job opportunities, many of which are right here in their own backyard. Companies like Mountaire, Lowe’s, and Energizer were looking to fill hundreds of full-time positions.”

“Putting Delawareans back to work is my top priority.  There are still many qualified workers struggling to provide for themselves and their families,” said Congressman Carney.  “Many people left today with good information and connections that could lead to their next career move. That’s our main goal, and we’ll continue providing these opportunities throughout the year.” 

In 2013, the Delaware delegation hosted seven job fairs for more than 3,500 job seekers. Since 2011, the delegation has hosted 17 jobs fairs in Delaware, including four specifically for veterans.

Senator Coons, business leaders join efforts to boost hiring of veterans

Senator Coons was joined by JPMorgan Chase’s Director for Military and Veterans Affairs, Maureen Casey, at a roundtable discussion in the Capitol on Wednesday focused on initiatives to expand career opportunities for veterans. The meeting featured leaders from businesses and organizations that have demonstrated a strong commitment to employing veterans and providing them with the resources and support necessary for success.

Casey, who is based in Delaware, briefed senators on the company’s successful practice of hiring veterans as part of the 100,000 Jobs Mission, a coalition of companies committed to providing job opportunities for veterans. Other participants shared their perspectives on how private organizations can work with the Senate to strengthen programs that help veterans successfully transition to civilian employment. 

“America’s highly trained veterans bring valuable skills and experience to the civilian workforce,” Chris said. “Yet too many veterans come home to find their opportunities limited rather than enhanced by their time spent serving our nation. No veteran should return from defending our country abroad only to face unemployment or underemployment at home.”

At 10 percent, the national unemployment rate for post-9/11 veterans is significantly higher than the overall national rate of 7.3 percent. In October, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated that 750,000 veterans were without jobs of approximately 11 million of working age.

Casey stressed the importance of continued partnership between the public and private sectors to position veterans for success in their post-military careers. “Veterans have the knowledge, skills and experience employers need, so hiring them isn’t just the right thing to do for veterans, it’s also the right thing to do for our business,” Casey said.

JPMorgan Chase has hired more than 6,000 veterans since 2011 as part of The 100,000 Jobs Mission. The mission, initially a coalition of 11 companies committed to hiring 100,000 veterans by 2020, and has since grown to 126 members and doubled its goal to hiring 200,000 veterans.

“Today’s discussion highlighted successful programs that have helped businesses, like JPMorgan Chase in Delaware, recruit more of our nation’s talented veterans,” Senator Coons said. “I look forward to working with my colleagues to build and expand upon these important efforts so we can get more of our veterans back to work.”

Senator Coons, colleagues launch Manufacturing Jobs for America

Senator Coons and 11 colleagues held a press conference on October 29, 2013 to announce the launch of Manufacturing Jobs for America, a campaign to refocus Washington's attention on manufacturing jobs. The effort comprises 40 bills from 22 senators, many of which are bipartisan, that will help America's manufacturers grow and prepare American workers for careers in advanced manufacturing.

Chris opened the press conference, discussing the need for progress on legislation that will strenghten America's modern workforce, secure a more level global playing field, expand access to capital for new and smaller-scale manufactuerers, and establish a national manufacturing strategy. Citing the success of Miller Metal Fabrication in Bridgeville, Delaware, which has won manufacturing work back from China, Italy, and other countries, Chris urged renewed bipartisan efforts to accelerate America's manufacturing revival.   

Participants in Tuesday's press conference included Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.), Al Franken (D-Minn.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Mark Pryor (D-Ark.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.).

Watch Chris' opening remarks:

Watch a highlight reel of senators' remarks at the press conference:

Watch the full press conference: