Contact: Judy Putnam at (517) 487-5436 or (517) 410-5798
Dec. 1, 2011 

“Kudos to Gov. Rick Snyder for his workforce address that acknowledges the barriers facing many Michigan workers in these challenging times.

Gov. Snyder cited lack of skills, illiteracy, scarce access to child care and transportation barriers as key areas that need to be addressed.

This shows that the governor gets it. We need to get rid of the barriers that block so many Michigan adults from jobs that provide economic security. Ending these barriers will provide the necessary opportunities to good jobs.

The address, however, fails to include a call for modernizing the Unemployment Insurance system or for restoring the basic unemployment period from 20 weeks to 26 weeks. Michigan led the nation as the first state to cut the basic period of 26 weeks of unemployment benefits, and it should be the first state to restore those benefits.

The address includes worthy policy recommendations that deserve attention. Making every Michigan Works! door open to all eligible workers rather than assigning them to a single agency based on geography makes sense and provides needed flexibility to workers. In addition, the recommendation for work sharing to keep talent in Michigan is smart and will help both employers and employees. (The League recommended this idea in our recent paper Falling Short: Michigan’s Unemployment Insurance Compares Poorly with Other Midwestern States.) And collecting meaningful data that shows the effectiveness of workforce programs will be a welcome change. The League looks forward to working with the governor in fleshing out details around skill development in Michigan.”

These remarks can be attributed to Karen Holcomb-Merrill, policy director at the Michigan League for Human Services.

The Michigan League for Human Services is a statewide, nonprofit and nonpartisan research and advocacy organization, dedicated to achieving economic security for all in Michigan.