Women Who Weld Together, uh, Support Their Families.

Here's a project that could certainly be looked to as a model to expand upon with the new, Democratic administration that takes the reins come January of '09.   (I refuse to acknowledge any other potential outcome.  I'm blithely optimistic like that.)

A quote from Melissa Kutz, one of the participants in the project:

“I spent a lot of years trying to figure out what to do, how to make things work, and after a while you reach a point where you’re completely hopeless,” Ms. Kutz said recently at Climb Wyoming’s training center. It is a barracks-like building at Laramie County Community College, where workstations are a jumble of computers, blowtorches, copper pipe and circuit boards.

“You hear it all: ‘You’re white trash. You’re a welfare mom. Why’d you have kids if you can’t feed them?’ ” Ms. Kutz said. “But I just have never been as hopeful as I have in the past few weeks.”

This isn't a national issue; it's our conjoined human plight.  But we've gotta start somewhere.  I think it's precisely the kind of thing that our Dem nominee ought to be encouraged to broaden and develop in the coming years, if we're going to breathe new life into the idea of the American Dream - the one everyone gets to participate in.

Cross-posted at Debbie's personal blog, i obsess.

Comments

[Melissa]

There is a a terrific group in DC, Women Work, that does similar training. They train "dislocated homemakers" (an outdated term if ever there was one) to fill high-wage, high-skill jobs, many of which are in the trade/building industries.

You can read more about their efforts here: http://www.womenwork.org/policy/policy.htm

[debbie - i obsess]

That's awesome, Melissa! I'm so glad to know about this sort of thing; wouldn't it be great if it became a national policy?

[Melissa]

It would. I think that the Workforce Investment Act will be a lot better once we have a Democratic administration. Unfortunately, many of the gender-specific provisions in it, and in the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act, were gutted in the past couple of years.

Instead of women being directed into programs that suited their needs, they were sent to so-called "One Stop" career centers were they were directed to a bank of computers to look for a job. Not a great strategy when you consider that many of the women served by these programs have never worked, or been out of the workforce for many years.

[Samson]

Melissa, failed to mention in her Times article that the three children she has are all from different fathers. The road she has chosen to take is hers by choice. She has never kept a job longer than 3 months, she has chosen drugs and alcohol over her kids.

[debbie]

samson. wow. judgy-pants much?

I mean, damn. the woman shouldn't get any more chances, huh. let's just sit back and laugh as Melissa flounders.

p.s. I have a similar problem; fewer kids, but can't hold a job. does that make me unworthy of your esteem? what if I told you that's it because I have a legitimate disability? one that I only recently became aware of? am I still unworthy?

what if Melissa has a similar (yet undiscovered) problem? still with the mocking? or maybe - I dunno - an opportunity to see her as a flawed human who can still give life a shot, can still work to mend the things around her?

anyway, I'm willing to extend her that chance. *shrug*

[Lawyer Mama]

Samson! You must be Melissa's baby daddy.

As a member of NAWIC (National Association of Women in Construction) I think this is wonderful. Skilled jobs like this need to open up to women.