Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly Mitchell will visit the White House on Wednesday, June 13, and meet with Vice President Kamala Harris at a summit celebrating the ways in which local leaders have used American Rescue Plan funding to benefit the workforces in their communities.
The half-day summit in Washington D.C. will focus on how local governments nationwide — including LA County — have spent the millions of dollars they received from ARP. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh will deliver remarks alongside Harris, according to a Tuesday statement from the White House.
During the summit, Mitchell, who represents the Second District and is the Board of Supervisors chair, will tout two LA County workforce initiatives, including one that is intended to create high-quality jobs in technology, construction, manufacturing, transportation and warehousing for communities historically excluded from them. The other is a fund to support those in workforce training programs.
Mitchell’s office did not return requests for comment.
President Joe Biden signed the American Rescue Plan into law in 2021 — with the intent of relieving some of the economic burden caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and launching the country into a recovery period.
The law included more than $1 trillion to create a nationwide COVID-19 vaccine program, mitigate the spread of the virus and reopen public schools.
But it also housed several economic stimulus programs, such as extending unemployment benefits and delivering $1,400 checks to working families.
More germane to Wednesday’s summit, however, is the $40 million provided to local governments to implement and support workforce expansion programs.
The $10 million LA County received went toward its High Road Training Partnerships and Worker Equity Fund programs, which the county created in 2018.
The county launched HRTP as a demonstration project to model community and industry partnerships, according to its website.
The Worker Equity Fund provides supportive services and financial assistance to those in the county’s workforce training programs to ensure they can participate free from any undue obstacles.
The HRTP program’s main priorities center on creating equitable job opportunities for historically marginalized people, including those who are Black, by engaging with quality job producers and helping them mitigate how much they contribute to climate change.
“The approach lifts up workers hardest hit by discrimination, economic exclusion, and exploitation,” the website said, noting that the partners “commit to generating jobs that provide the pay, benefits, physical safety, stable schedule, and career pathways that result in economic mobility.”
HRTP partners also work with communities to adapt to and create new job opportunities that more align with carbon-neutrality.
Mitchell, at Wednesday’s summit, will discuss how the programs have fared to this point — specifically in high-demand industries such as construction, manufacturing, transportation and technology, the White House said.
The summit will also include sessions with North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, as well as panels with mayors, county officials, and labor and community leaders nationwide on their American Rescue Plan workforce programs.