“If the plant goes out this town will dry up!” States admit to ignoring federal unemployment laws! : U.S. Job Losses & Closings 18 March 2016

Incomplete list of job loss announcements and shutdowns.

Colorado: Employment administrators with The Centennial State admit they ignore federal unemployment laws: “We have no enforcement authority. We can’t call companies and say we’re hearing about layoffs.”-Bill Thoennes, Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, who says people screwed over by their employers are told to hire their own lawyer (hey, that happened to me and a dozen of my co-workers here in the Right to Work [you over] state of Idaho, back in 2012)

Connecticut: Xpect Discounts announced it will exodus The Constitution State, shutting down all remaining four of its stores and laying off more than 1-hundred people, by the end of the month! At one time they had seven stores in-state.    Evil Too Big to Jail British empire taxpayer owned Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) issued several layoff WARNs, 37 people in Stamford losing their jobs between now and May.  West Hartford Walmart shutting down mid-April, 111 jobs lost! Back in August 2015, laser maker Lumentum announced it will shutdown their Bloomfield factory. Now they’ve revealed how many jobs will be killed; 231 by October!  Georgia based cardboard box maker WestRock shutdown their Uncasville factory, 87 jobs lost this past Wednesday.  Germany based Siemens Healthcare shutting down their Brookfield diagnostics ops, at least 236 jobs lost by March 2018!  Retailer Macy’s shutting down their Enfield store, 104 jobs lost by the end of the month!  Hallmark Cards shutting down their Enfield warehouse-distribution operation, 553 jobs gone by Summer!

Florida: In Center Hill, Central Beef issued a WARN, 214 jobs being eliminated between now and the end of May!  For nearly a decade the meat packager was dumping water contaminated with salt and feces onto a rancher’s property. It took the rancher filing several court actions, and a plant manager turning whistleblower, to get any of the state and federal government agencies to act!  The dumping was stopped, however, criminal charges against the food company were eventually dropped.  So far there’s no explanation for the mass layoffs.

Idaho: Is ObamaCare at fault for the shooting death of a 60 years old man in the parking lot of an Idaho Falls hospital?  It happened today, in the parking lot of the Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center (EIRMC), police are investigating the true cause of the shooting.  It was just a few months ago that the director of EIRMC testified to Failed State ‘lawmakers’ that their version of ObamaCare was directly responsible for the deaths of at least 1-thousand Idahoans!  And just yesterday Idaho senator Dan Schmidt gave back his state taxpayer funded health plan to protest republicans’ continued refusal to close the ObamaCare gap responsible for such deaths. 

Illinois: After 152 years (surviving The Great Depression and numerous recessions) law firm Schiff Hardin laid off 11 lawyers, and back in January 22 left voluntarily.  Administrators are now blaming its “realignment” on the 22 who voluntarily left.  In Niles, Meijer department store shutting down in June, no word on how many employees will become unemployed.  There was no explanation for the shutdown either, although Meijer recently used the excuse of age to shutdown their huge Columbus, Ohio, store.

Maine: In Portland, after 40 years Paul’s Food Center shutting down, and being sold-off due to the death of the owner.

Massachusetts: Rockland Trust has taken over Bank of Cape Cod and as a result will shutdown all Bank of Cape Cod offices that are located near Rockland Trust offices.  Administrators claim they will try to find jobs for the soon to be former Bank of Cape Cod employees.

New York: Harlem Hand Carwash issued a shutdown WARN for their NYC ops on Adam Clayton Powell Junior Boulevard, due to “non renewal of the lease”, 34 jobs lost by the end of the month.  Also in totally corrupt NYC, a non-profit (sure) political organization connected to the current mayor shutdown.  Campaign for One New York had been accused of operating as a ‘shadow government’, and official investigation requests have been filed.  So called ‘mayor’ de Blassio would only comment “The work is done….bottom line.”  In Buffalo, the Blue Monk beer church (just kidding) shutting down sometime between April and May.  A co-owner of the brew-pub says his partner is also the landlord’s son, and they no longer get along!

Oregon: Washington based Starbucks coffee rip-off artist suddenly shutting down their Lancaster Mall shop this weekend.  The press release gave no explanation why, and local news sources said even the employees refused to talk!

Pennsylvania: Another fine example of what I call Ripple Effect Layoffs (REL). Pittsburgh based US Steel issued mass layoff WARNs in Alabama and Texas saying at least 8-hundred people will become unemployed! It’s blamed on crashing orders for oil pipe from the oil industry.

Rhode Island: The evil state is finally shutting down a nursing home after years of multiple accusations of abuse, and even a death of a disabled resident!  The taxpayer funded College Park Apartments will shutdown next week.

Virginia: Just a few of days after announcing the end of 530 jobs,  British empire based-U.S. tax sucking BAE reduced those layoffs to 265 shipyard jobs gone by the end of the month! Administrators credit new contracts for work, but warn they’re only good ’till May, meaning more possible layoffs.  BAE also laid off 345 employees in November and December last year.  What automotive industry recovery?  In Altavista, bearing maker Timken shutting down their factory, 125 jobs lost by Spring 2017! Just like the rest of corporate America, Ohio based Timken is consolidating operations: “Everybody here works up there at Timken. It’s just the life of a small industrial town… If the plant goes out this town will dry up!”-Corrie Thacker, Altavista resident

WARN=Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification

16 March 2016: “Shame on us!”

Former employees who receive severance are not counted as unemployed!

Employees of religious non-profits might not qualify for unemployment assistance: “If the non-profit organization is a church, you may or may not be entitled to unemployment. It all depends upon state regulations for church employers. In many cases, churches are allowed to set their own rules regarding unemployment benefits, meaning the church can choose whether to offer benefits to former employees.”

The U.S. Department of Labor (DoL) no longer issues mass layoff reports: “On March 1, 2013, President Obama ordered into effect the across-the- board spending cuts (commonly referred to as sequestration) required by the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act, as amended. Under the order, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) must cut its current budget by more than $30 million, 5 percent of the current 2013 appropriation, by September 30, 2013. In order to help achieve these savings and protect core programs, the BLS will eliminate two programs, including Mass Layoff Statistics, and all ‘measuring green jobs’ products. This news release is the final publication of monthly mass layoff survey data.”