PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- A group of unemployed and underemployed Rhode Islanders gathered at the State House rotunda Thursday, calling on lawmakers to address the state's continued high levels of unemployment.
"Enough with the reports, statistics, long-term educational and job skills studies that we have paid expensive consultants to generate," said James Carrington, an unemployed Providence resident among the event's speakers. "Enough with the finger pointing. "Where is the action? Leadership is action."
The group, calling itself Where's the Work?, supports a bill introduced by state Rep. Art Handy, D-Cranston, and Sen. Adam J. Satchell, D-West Warwick, that would create a subsidized training and employment program for small businesses that hire unemployed workers.
The Senate version was heard Wednesday. The House Finance Committee takes it up April 23.