Washington, D.C.—Congressman Steve Buyer (IN-04) announced that he will extend the hours of the Hoosier Job Fair that he is co-hosting with State Representative Eric Koch.  The change was made in response to feedback given to Mr. Buyer from local labor organizers.  The job fair will now take place on Monday, March 3, 2008, from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. in the Expo Hall at the Lawrence County Fairgrounds in Bedford.

“In response to feedback that I received from union leaders, I decide that it would make sense to extend the hours to help make the job fair as successful as possible.  Now workers and businesses that want to participate have more flexibility to take advantage of the opportunities that will be available at the fair,” Buyer commented.   

Congressman Buyer and State Representative Eric Koch will co-host the 2008 Hoosier Job Fair to help those affected by the impending closure of the Visteon plant in Bedford, as well as to meet the needs of businesses that are expanding and opening in the area.   Congressman Buyer commented that when he discussed the job fair on the day of its announcement with Phyllis Gassaway, acting president of Visteon and president of the International Union of Electronic, Electrical, Salaried, Machine and Furniture Workers-Communications Workers of America (IUE-CWA), Local 907, she encouraged him to extend the hours to better accommodate local workers.

“Phyllis made a great suggestion - we listened to her and made the change.  Each of these job fairs are unique and because of her input more people will be able to attend—and that is a good thing.  This will be a win-win for all involved—more people will be able to attend by extending the hours and businesses will have a larger pool from which to consider new employees,” Buyer said.

“We are happy to hear that Congressman Buyer listened to our advice and decided to extend the hours of the job fair.  It will allow an additional shift of workers from Visteon and other businesses to participate in the job fair that otherwise would not have had the chance,” said Phyllis Gassaway.

The fair will help job-hunting Hoosiers to match their skills with the needs of employers in the area and will be held in cooperation with Indiana WorkOne, the Bedford Chamber of Commerce and the Lawrence County Fairgrounds.  The event will be free to both businesses and job-seekers.  Businesses who would like to participate should contact Michelle Price in Congressman Buyer’s Plainfield District Office at (317) 838-0404 or visit his website at www.stevebuyer.house.gov to sign up.

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