THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Vice President

              VICE PRESIDENT GORE ANNOUNCES $20.1 MILLION
           TO HELP LAID OFF CALIFORNIA WORKERS FIND NEW JOBS

Washington, DC -- Vice President Gore announced today a $20.1 million grant to assist 7,300 workers laid off in the aerospace industry and from the closure of the Marine Corps Air Station in El Toro find new jobs.

"We must ensure that our economy makes use of the talents and abilities of all of our citizens," Vice President Al Gore said. "This grant will ensure that the important contributions that California workers have to offer will not be overlooked."

"Losing a job is stressful for the workers, their families and the community," US Secretary of Labor Alexis Herman said. "The re-employment services available through this grant will get these workers back into the labor market."

The grant, provided by the Department of Labor, will assist aerospace workers from the Boeing Lakewood facility and five additional Boeing sites in Southern California as well as Raytheon, TRW, Northrop, Irvin Aerospace, Lockheed Martin and Allied Signal.

As many as 7,300 of the laid off workers are expected to need help finding new jobs or getting training for new careers. The City of Long Beach and the South Bay Private Industry Council will operate the project for affected employees in Long Beach and the counties of Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara and Ventura.

The dislocated worker program is funded under the Job Training Partnership Act for workers who lose jobs because of technological changes, foreign competition or government action. Generally, workers are eligible if they are unlikely to return to their previous industry or occupation.

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