Businesses that focus on manufacturing sheet metal for buildings, wheel chairs and fitness equipment, among other items, have been widespread in Glendale and Burbank since they grew around Lockheed and other aerospace companies in the 1940s.
But those manufacturers have faced increased challenges during the recession, with many cutting jobs and losing as much as 40% of their business, manufacturers said. Many metal and machine shops have closed down.
Hoping to put a stop to those struggles, the Glendale City Council gave the Verdugo Workforce Investment Board the go-ahead Tuesday to pay for consulting services for manufacturers that have become increasingly vulnerable during the economic slide, said Don Nakamoto, labor market analyst for the board.
The organization will spend $150,000 of its $3.1 million in federal stimulus money on services from California Manufacturing Technology Consulting, which will prep area businesses on how to keep their operations viable and prevent layoffs, Nakamoto said.
Manufacturing makes up for a large chunk of the regional workforce, although an exact figure was not available, he said.
POLITICS
Federal lawmakers, inspired by recent California wildfires, are hoping to put arsonists on the map.
The House of Representatives could vote this week on the plan to track arsonists in a national database that would monitor them like the state does sex offenders.
The database, which would work much like the Megan’s Law sex offender tracking system, which visually plots convicts on maps, is being pushed by Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff and Republican Rep. Mary Bono Mack.
The proposed law would extend existing registries for convicted arsonists and bombers across state lines and would require the systems to be regularly updated with each criminal’s whereabouts.
It would not be viewable by the public.
