Page 6 - ARUBA TODAY

A6 U.S. NEWS
Monday 12 august 2019

Fiat Chrysler deal gives Detroit residents 1st crack at jobs

DETROIT (AP) — Marie Davis ment about its hiring plans.
wants better medical insur- However, when city lead-
ance coverage. Jimmie ers approved the land deal
Pleasant has been out of in May, Mark Stewart, chief
work for six months. operating officer for Fiat
Both are among the thou- Chrysler North America,
sands of people who are said: "We're putting Michi-
looking for jobs with Fiat gan and Detroit first. This
Chrysler under a city pro- is our home. We're very
gram that gives Detroit's proud."
residents first crack at the The deal likely will put
application process. It's some Detroit residents into
part of a $108 million land jobs they otherwise would
development deal be- not get, said Michigan
tween an automaker that's State University economist
building a massive new Charles Ballard. But he
plant and a city where the cautioned that the unem-
unemployment rate is more ployed rate may change
than twice the national av- only a little, as many un-
erage. employed people may not
Detroit officials hope the have the necessary skills
deal with Fiat Chrysler will to work in an auto industry
mean residents have a In this Aug. 6, 2019 photo, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan speaks with Detroit residents during a job that's been changed by
better shot at good-paying readiness event where they pre-registered to apply for jobs at a coming Fiat Chrysler assembly technology.
jobs with the automaker, plant on the eastside and another nearby facility operated by the automaker. "This is true of unemployed
although Fiat Chrysler is ob- Associated Press all across the country," Bal-
ligated only to consider De- lard said. "The group that's
troit residents for the work Board in Austin, Texas. pay starting at just over $17 port and quit working as a more likely to be unem-
before opening up the "I have not come across per hour. Laid-off and tem- pizza shop manager when ployed is the group that
jobs to others. Fiat Chrys- another city that is as inten- porary Fiat Chrysler workers his hours were cut. has less education and less
ler is getting land and tax tional in how Detroit is using will get to apply first, then "When they said they were skill."
breaks to build in Detroit. city incentives to prioritize Detroit residents have a allowing Detroiters to apply The city's unemployment
"I sat with FCA (Fiat Chrysler) a local hire campaign," At- 30-day window before the first, I jumped at it," Pleas- rate was 8.8% in May, ac-
and I said this: 'I'm going to kinson said. automaker starts taking ap- ant said. "A job is a job. You cording to Michigan's De-
give you want you want,'" Detroit has made gains plications from others. have to do what you have partment of Technology,
Mayor Mike Duggan said. since its 2014 exit from the "What we want is for peo- to do to make a living." Management and Budget,
"We clear the land and largest municipal bankrupt- ple to own homes and raise Fiat Chrysler has undergone compared with 4.2% state-
give it to them. I want a cy in history, and its popu- families in this city," Dug- its own recovery since the wide and 3.6% nationwide.
window where Detroiters lation seems to have sta- gan said. "If you're making federal government's $80 "We know those jobs are
apply for the jobs first. No bilized at around 680,000 $60,000 you can get a nice million bailout of the U.S. pathways to middle-class
one in this country has ever — less than half of the 1.8 house in the city of Detroit." auto industry. Italian auto- lives and we know that
got the preference." million who lived there in Davis, 49, who has worked maker Fiat took over Chrys- elected officials will con-
Many cities have workforce the 1950s. in property management ler after the U.S. automaker tinue to offer these incen-
development programs Duggan wants those who for 25 years, said the $220 filed for bankruptcy in 2009. tives because they need to
to prepare people for jobs stuck it out during Detroit's she spends each month on It expects to spend $1.6 bil- claim credit," Ted De Bar-
and make them aware of lean years to stay. More health insurance takes a lion building the new plant bieri, associate law profes-
available employment, but than 24,000 residents have big chunk out of what she in Motor City. sor at Albany Law School in
Detroit's requirements that created accounts on the earns. Landing a job at Fiat Meanwhile, the city and New York. "Whether a proj-
residents receive priority in city's Detroit at Work web- Chrysler would fill the gap, state will split land acqui- ect was going to move for-
job interviews and the ap- site and registered for job she said. sition and preparation ward anyway or if it doesn't
plication registration pro- readiness events tied to the "It's a very important op- costs. The city also agreed come, an elected official
cess are unique, said Ta- Fiat Chrysler openings. The portunity for the benefits. I to give Fiat Chrysler about can say, 'I did all I can do.'
mara Atkinson, chief exec- automaker expects to hire don't plan on quitting my $12.1 million in property tax It shows the importance of
utive for the regional non- about 4,900 mostly produc- other job," Davis added. abatements. employers to local elected
profit Workforce Solutions tion jobs at the new plant Pleasant, 22, who has two The company did not re- officials. We know that con-
Capital Area Workforce and a nearby facility, with young daughters to sup- spond to requests for com- stituents need jobs."q