New Iowa mobile workforce center to be dispatched to Perry to help laid-off Tyson workers

Iowa Workforce Development says it will be deploying its IowaWorks Mobile Workforce Center, introduced late last month, to aid the 1,276 workers expected to lose their jobs in the closing of Tyson Foods' Perry pork plant.

The converted bus is a 32-foot-long American Job Center on wheels, providing the same services that were previously possible only in an IowaWORKS office.

The vehicle serves as an expansion to Iowa’s network of 18 IowaWORKS offices across the state. Included in the mobile center are 10 computer workstations where staff can assist with job searches and navigating unemployment claims. Staff will be able to use two 40-inch monitors to lead job search workshops or hiring fairs, including one mounted on the outside of the vehicle that can be used for outdoor events during warmer months.

The mobile workforce center also includes an Americans wth Disabilities Act-accessible entrance at the back of the vehicle.

Related:Tyson Foods says it's permanently closing 1,276-employee Perry plant

Notice of the plant closing, said to be slated for late June, triggers Iowa Workforce Development's rapid response, which includes use of the new mobile unit, according to Jesse Dougherty, spokesperson for the agency.

The rapid response involves worker information meetings and making a number of employee assistance services available in conjunction with the employer, Dougherty said.

LULAC director: Jobs available in Iowa for displaced workers, but moving is stressful

Iowa has experienced labor shortages in recent years, with more jobs open than workers available, but it will still be stressful for those affected by the layoffs, said Joe Henry,  political director of the League of United Latin American Citizens Council 307 in Des Moines.

“I'm sure there will be opportunities for them to go to other meatpacking facilities, but you know they have their kids, their families there in Perry so it will be a disruption and it's not something where people are going to be willing to move, at least not right away,” Henry said.

He said LULAC will help the displaced workers ― many of them Spanish speakers ― where it can.

“If we can help in providing coordination and information to the folks there, we definitely will. We're just going to need to get more information,” he said Monday.

He said much of the initial assistance will need to come from the United Food and Commercial Workers, the union representing the workers, but added that the U.S. Department of Agriculture may provide some assistance as well.

Kevin Baskins covers jobs ad the economy for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at kbaskins @registermedia.com.