ARRA Funds Put Mississipians to Work

LIUNA Southern Regional Manager Robert Richardson gives the keynote address at the Local 145's graduation ceremony.

More than a dozen green jobs to weatherize homes statewide could save Mississippians hundreds of dollars this Winter. MPB's Carl Gibson reports on the latest impact of federal stimulus dollars in Mississippi.

Pastor Jermain Hawthorne sings at a graduation ceremony for the newly-qualified workers. With funds from the federal stimulus package, the Laborers' International Union of North America trained 14 formerly unemployed Mississippians how to weatherize homes. Single mother Angela Derr says new work came just in time after she had to quit her fast food job.

"Because of the gas prices, I had to stop my job of 14 years because I was driving an hour and a half to work. I was introduced to this program by the South Central Community Action Agency. And from some of the things they were telling me, it sounded kinda unreal. but once I got here, its believable. So, I did it!"

The 3-week program trains workers with no prior construction experience how to seal, caulk and insulate homes. Community Action Agency Director Jessie Griffin says the new green jobs also benefit homeowners.

"You have a lot of elderly people who are on fixed incomes, and a lot of their money is going out because their homes are not weatherized for air seepage and bad appliances. and this program will come in, repair or fix those appliances, seal the house, thus making it more comfortable for them in their senior years."

Local cooperation was key to the project's success, says Robert Richardson, LIUNA's southern regional manager.

"You have the community, and the union, and the workers and the contractors going from getting people in the community, training them, and at the end of that training, its a job."

Richardson adds more green jobs across the South are on the way.