OPINION:
There is plenty of blame to go around for the looming sequestration and the drastic defense-budget cuts and massive job losses they will bring. Unless both political parties come together to find a solution, more than 1 million people nationwide could lose their jobs in the defense sector, with massive job losses in Virginia.
Incredibly, last week, the Obama administration directed the defense industry not to inform workers facing job loss. By law, a firm anticipating mass worker layoffs must provide notice (a “pink slip”) 60 days before layoff. Because this massive purge is scheduled for Jan. 3, the notices should go out Nov. 3, just days before the election. Fearing hundreds of thousands of soon-to-be-unemployed defense workers heading into the voting booth, the Obama Department of Labor directed the defense contracting companies not to provide the required layoff letters.
By blatantly throwing as many as 1 million defense workers under the bus and telling companies to withhold layoff letters until after the election, President Obama proves he is in favor of job preservation. Unfortunately, the only job he’s concerned about saving is his own.
DOUGLAS KELSEY
Virginia Beach
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