Federal Money Will Pay for Re-Training

Nearly 2,000 airline workers who lost their jobs in the American Airlines acquisition of TWA will soon get some help finding new jobs. Federal Labor officials have approved $7.4 Million for Missouri; $4.1 Million at first, the rest if state officials make a good case for its need. State Economic Development Director Joe Driskill says Missouri will work with the St. Louis Community College system to help train laid-off airline workers for other careers, which he says shouldn’t be too hard, because many of the workers are highly educated and most are highly trainable. And though the money is flexible, the whole package is not guaranteed. Driskill notes the fine print keeps the state from accessing the total $7-point-4 Million unless it proves it needs it.