FOX News Chief National Security Correspondent Jennifer Griffin gives an update on cleanup efforts after the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse on “Claman Countdown.”
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott announced Wednesday that the city will provide $1 million in funding to subsidize wages for workers affected by the city’s temporary closure. port of baltimore After the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge.
The Key Bridge collapsed last week after the container ship MV Dali lost power and hit one of its support beams, sending the bridge into the Patapsco River and killing six highway construction workers on the bridge. did. The main shipping lane remains blocked by ship and bridge debris, but two small temporary shipping lanes have been opened to aid recovery efforts.
The Port of Baltimore is closed indefinitely while major waterway clearing operations continue, and workers at businesses that rely on the port will be forced to wait until the port reopens. The city’s plan is to use the $1 million in funding to: subsidize the wages of those workers This is to avoid having to apply for unemployment insurance due to work stoppage.
“I’m very grateful that the board approved my request to allocate $1 million in wage subsidies to workers at businesses affected by the port closure,” the mayor said at a press conference Wednesday. “I am doing so,” he said. “We will be working with the Baltimore Citizens Fund, which administers the small business wage subsidy. During the coronavirus pandemicAnd this latest round of funding is very similar to that effort. ”
Trapped ship sailing through Baltimore Harbor after bridge collapse
The collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge has closed the Port of Baltimore until debris and the MV Dali can be removed from the channel. (Tassos Katopodis/Getty Images/Getty Images)
“I want to be clear that this funding is just an initial phase,” Scott added. “It’s not enough to cover all affected businesses and workers, but it was an important first step and we had the ability to act quickly.”
Mackenzie Garvin, director of the Mayor’s Office of Employment Development, explained that the wage subsidy subsidizes a portion of the wages that affected businesses pay their employees in order to retain workers. obsessed with one’s work.
“This fund is directly targeted at workers and businesses affected by the Key Bridge collapse. This will be mirrored by the grants created using ARPA funding, which will allow businesses to access funding. “We’ll be able to subsidize some of it,” she explained, “giving workers wages and allowing them to stay employed.”
Maryland governor warns bridge collapse will have ‘significant impact’ on US economy across multiple industries
The Port of Baltimore will be closed indefinitely until debris is removed from the main shipping channel and the MV Dali is removed from beneath the bridge wreckage. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images/Getty Images)
Garvin said employees must be residents of Baltimore City to qualify for the program, and the city is coordinating with state and federal agencies on whether recipients can earn other income. He added that there is.
“This particular subsidy will go to employers to pay the wages of their employees, so we are working with partners around the world. Ministry of Labor Please let the Department of Commerce know about this grant. “At this time, we do not anticipate any issues as this is a payment to supplement an individual’s wage,” Garvin said.
The Port of Baltimore is one of the busiest ports on the Eastern Seaboard, handling large volumes of vehicle and equipment cargo as well as coal and other goods. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)
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“The goal is to ensure that they are not cut off from employment and cannot continue to receive UI benefits.…As was the case during the pandemic, the U.S. D.O.L. “When the UI is expanded, that discussion is happening right now,” she added.
