Mayor Walsh Says $1 Million for I-81 Local Jobs from New York State Department of Labor is “Great News” for City of Syracuse and Syracuse Build

Governor Cuomo today announced the launch of “Workforce Forward: Syracuse,” a collaborative $1 million initiative spearheaded by the State Labor Department, the State Department of Transportation and other agencies to help ensure that workers in the Syracuse area benefit from the long-awaited Interstate 81 viaduct removal and other infrastructure projects in Central New York. Click here to read more about the funding.

Mayor Walsh issued this statement regarding the Workforce Forward: Syracuse program:

“With investment in our local workforce, we can make the Interstate 81 project transformational for more than transportation. It can change lives for people in the City by launching new stable careers in construction and other fields related to this huge project. ‘Workforce Forward: Syracuse’ will accelerate what the City, the County and community partners have been doing to ready for the I-81 project.

It is great news for Syracuse Build, our program to prepare city residents for construction industry jobs. Syracuse Build, working with local labor and workforce partners, has a class of students training now for apprenticeships in the trades.

The Department of Labor and Department of Transportation have been active partners in our Interstate 81 Jobs Big Table program to advocate for local hiring and ensure city residents get the training and skills they need to fill the jobs that will become available. I thank Governor Cuomo, Commissioner Reardon, Commissioner Dominguez and their teams for their support.”