SCHUMER: SAVE WESTERN NY’S JOB CORPS! SENATOR LEADS FIGHT TO KEEP DOORS OPEN & DELIVER FUNDING TO CONTINUE ONE OF AMERICA’S LARGEST JOB TRAINING PROGRAMS WITH IMPACTED STUDENTS, STAFF, & SMALL BUSINESSES IN JAMESTOWN, FOLLOWING TRUMP’S ORDER TO SHUT DOWN LOCAL JOB TRAINING PROGRAM
Chautauqua County’s Job Corps Center Provides Residential Workforce Training To ~200 Students Every Year In Healthcare, Construction, And Other Fields That Are In Need Of Workers, But For Months Has Been Stuck In Limbo After Trump Called For All Centers To Close Despite Longstanding Bipartisan Support
Schumer Says Shutting Down Job Corps Centers Would Be A Gut Punch To Local Worker-Starved Businesses That Rely On Job Corps; Senator Says Senate Successfully Included Funding For Job Corps In A Bipartisan Markup, And Now He Is Calling On The House To Follow Their Lead To Protect This Program So It Can Become Law
Schumer: We Must Save Job Corps For Western NY’s Students, Small Businesses & Local Employers
With the Trump administration attempting to eliminate Job Corps, one of the nation’s largest and most effective workforce training programs, U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer stood with Cassadaga Job Corps students and staff at Jamestown Community College to lead the fight to keep Job Corps open. Schumer explained that the Trump administration is not only targeting Job Corps centers for closure, but in his recent budget request, Trump said he wants to eliminate funding for the program.
Schumer said that following his push, the Senate Appropriations Committee has passed a bipartisan bill out of committee that protects funding for Job Corps for next year, and now is calling on House Republicans to follow the Senate’s bipartisan lead, and rebuke Trump’s request to eliminate funding and protect this beloved program that helps WNY students get jobs and small businesses succeed.
“Job Corps is one of the best bang-for-your-buck programs we have. Right here in Chautauqua County, so many young New Yorkers are given a second chance to get the real-world skills they need for in-demand fields like healthcare, construction, and manufacturing. All while helping local employers find and hire skilled workers. Taking all of that away would be outrageous,” said Senator Schumer. “It’s cruel and potentially illegal to stop the flow of funding for this program that is authorized and funded by Congress. The courts have already put a pause on these attempts to kill Job Corps, but we cannot rest. That is why I am leading the fight in the Senate to keep the doors open and save Job Corps. The Senate took bipartisan action by passing a bill out of the appropriations committee that stands up against Trump’s desired cuts, and now House Republicans must follow suit. The Cassadaga Job Corps Center is the beating heart of Chautauqua County. Western New Yorkers and local small businesses want to see this program continue, and I will not stop fighting to save it.”
For over 60 years, the Cassadaga Job Corps Center in Chautauqua County and typically helps about 200 young people every year acquire industry-recognized skills that launch them into in-demand careers. This pipeline of job-ready talent is essential for small and mid-sized Upstate NY businesses as well as other local employers. The center employs approximately 100 staff and injects millions in federal funding into the local Western NY economy every year.
Schumer explained that if the Cassadaga Job Corps Center and centers across the country shut down, all this will grind to a halt. In May, Trump paused operations at Job Corps centers nationwide. If Job Corps were to shut down, it would kick more than a thousand young New Yorkers out of training programs, create mass layoffs of hundreds of workers at Job Corps centers in every corner of the state, and hurt local businesses and other employers in need of skilled workers. Already, the Cassadaga Job Corps Center is seeing current enrollment down to 84 despite being able to accommodate up to 245.
This fight has particular urgency for Western New York’s healthcare workforce. As of this coming academic year, 30 Cassadaga Job Corps students will have entered into the pipeline for Jamestown Community College's new LPN program — a recently approved certificate designed specifically for Job Corps partners. This credential will directly increase the number of prepared healthcare professionals in the region. A recent report from State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli reveals that the 16 rural counties—including Allegany, Cattaraugus, and Chautauqua—face drastic healthcare workforce shortages.
Since May, a federal judge has temporarily blocked Trump from shutting down Job Corps centers, and another federal judge said operations must resume until the previous case is resolved, but Job Corps employees and students are being left in the lurch and forced to scramble as they are left in limbo. Trump’s FY26 budget proposal would also completely eliminate funding for Job Corps centers, effectively killing the program without needing the approval of federal courts. Currently, the Senate’s version of the FY26 appropriations bill, which recently passed out of committee with bipartisan support, continues to fund Job Corps and adds guardrails against the Department of Labor disrupting services provided by Job Corps centers, and Schumer said this critical funding and these provisions must be protected in the final appropriations bill.
Schumer is leading efforts in the Senate to preserve this training program for thousands of New Yorkers. Schumer has sent a letter with 39 of his colleagues in the Senate calling on U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer to protect Job Corps and demanding answers on these destructive efforts. A copy of the letter sent by Senator Schumer and his colleagues can be found HERE.
Schumer said Job Corps centers have helped millions of young people ages 16 to 24 finish high school, learn technical skills, and get jobs in in-demand fields such as healthcare and construction. Low-income and at-risk young people have received stable housing and healthcare while developing the skills they need to get good-paying jobs after graduation. Across Upstate NY, centers in Albany, Sullivan, Orleans, Otsego, and Chautauqua Counties serve thousands of young New Yorkers and employ over 500 staff.
At Cassadaga Job Corps, students gain hands-on experience through partnerships with respected local organizations, like Jamestown Community College, White Terrace Carpentry, IBEW Local 106, Zenner and Ritter Home Services, and The McGuire Group. Cassadaga Job Corps graduates go on to earn an average hourly wage of $19.06, a testament to the quality of training and preparation they receive. Cassadaga Job Corps programming equips students with the skills, certifications, and career transition support they need to succeed in today’s workforce. These services not only empower individual success but also play a crucial role in strengthening the regional workforce and economy, helping dozens of students launch meaningful careers each year.
Schumer was joined by recent Cassadaga Job Corps graduates who are now excelling in their careers thanks to the education and support they received at Job Corps, including Arlene Tariq, an adolescent and adult psychotherapist at a private practice in the Buffalo area, and Stephen Storay, a Gear Specialist for Green Mountain Energy Supply.
Tariq graduated from Cassadaga Job Corps in 2016, earning certifications to be a nursing assistant and home health aide. She was later able to attend Jamestown Community College, State University at Fredonia, and earn her Master’s degree from the University at Buffalo. Tariq is now an adolescent and adult psychotherapist in Hamburg.
Storay graduated early from Cassadaga Job Corps in 2015 due to exceptional performance. Since then, he has led a successful career, thanks to his Job Corps education and hard work, still wearing his class ring each day.
“Jamestown Community College values its partnership with the Cassadaga Job Corps Academy,” said Jamestown Community College President Daniel DeMarte. “We have worked together for more than two decades creating opportunities for students and meeting workforce needs in our region. We applaud Senator Schumer’s commitment to protecting Job Corps programming for our students, our workforce, and our local economy.”
“Job Corps is more than a training program — it’s a lifeline. For young people ages 16 to 24, it’s a bridge to opportunity, a second chance, and a path to a better life,” said Cassadaga Guardians of the Hill Union President Jake Brock. “When you save Job Corps, you don’t just protect students — you protect entire communities. Here in Cassadaga and across the nation, Job Corps fuels our local economy, provides skilled workers, and gives small towns the chance to thrive. We stand united — union members, former students, local leaders — to send one clear message: our communities need Job Corps, and we will fight to keep it. We are deeply grateful to Senator Schumer for standing with us and supporting Job Corps. His leadership shows what it means to put people and communities first.”
“It’s important to us that organizations, like Job Corps, are developing people in certain trades and making them available for the local workforce,” said JMI Heating and Air Owner Aaron Olson. “We know how hard it is to find trained technicians ready to go to work.”
“Job Corps is a crucial need in our community and country,” said Cassadaga Job Corps Graduate Arlene Tariq. “Teenagers and young adults are one of our most vulnerable populations in the United States. By shutting down job corps, it means a lack of choice and opportunity. Job corps provides all of the basic needs, that someone may not have the same privilege to have. Job corps gave me the opportunity to get my basic needs met (food, water, shelter and a stable environment), while giving me the opportunity to work on myself and the trajectory of my career. I would not be where I am today, without Job Corps.”
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