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FOR IMMEDIATE RELASE: June 15, 2004

SCHUMER PRESSES LABOR DEPT TO DESIGNATE EMERGENCY GRANT SO LAID OFF WORKERS CAN GET JOB RETRAINING & EDUCATION

Funds have run out for federal TAA program that guarantees unemployment insurance and job re-training to those who lose their jobs due to foreign competition; Laid-off workers now sit on a waiting list instead of getting help

Schumer: New Yorkers laid off from companies like MT Picture Display, Imperial Schrade, Tyco, Diefendorf Gear, Bow Industrial, Oneida Limited, Vibratech, and Randolph Dimension should get emergency support to help get back on their feet

US Senator Charles Schumer today pressed the federal Labor Department to immediately send a National Emergency Grant to cover aid to states like New York that have been forced to create waiting lists for job retraining funds for laid-off workers. The Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program provides aid, retraining and reemployment services to workers laid off because of foreign competition. There are laid-off workers in nearly every part of New York State who have been approved for the funds but have not received any assistance because the program is underfunded and the laid-off workers now sit on waiting lists.

"There is nothing more disheartening than losing a job, but this just adds insult to injury," Schumer said. "These payments and training programs are made to help these unfortunate workers have a soft landing and get them a decent job as soon as possible. Telling these laid-off New Yorkers that they now have to sit on a waiting list for several months before they can get any assistance is unacceptable. We need to direct funds to keep this program afloat and we need to do it now."

The Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program is a federal program that provides aid to workers who lose their jobs or whose hours of work and wages are reduced as a result of increased imports. The program extends the following benefits:

Training for employment in another job or career. Workers may receive up to 104 weeks of approved training in occupational skills, basic or remedial education, or training in literacy or English as a second language.

Income Support. Workers can receive weekly cash payments called trade readjustment allowances (TRA) for 52 weeks after a worker's unemployment compensation benefit is exhausted and during the period in which a worker is participating in an approved full-time training program.

Job Search Allowance. Workers can get reimbursed for expenses incurred in seeking employment outside their normal commuting area.

Relocation Allowances. Workers can receive reimbursement for approved expenses if they are successful in obtaining employment outside their normal commuting area and they need to relocate.

When former employees of New York companies like Vibratech, Oneida Limited, MT Picture Display, Carrier and Randolph Dimension, apply for TAA benefits and are accepted, they are now being placed on a waiting list. Many workers are forced to wait for months hoping that the program receives an influx of funds before their unemployment runs out. Their abilities to move on with their lives are being put on hold. Schumer today said that the assistance cannot wait until the FY 2005 Labor HHS Appropriation Bill is passed and should be addressed now when thousands of workers who have lost their jobs to trade are struggling to recover from the trauma of losing their employment and the stress of balancing their financial responsibilities in the wake of joblessness.

As a result, Schumer today urged Labor Secretary Elaine Chao to immediately allocate a National Emergency Grant to cover aid to those states that have been forced to create these waiting lists. "I have recently been contacted by men and women from across New York State whose job losses have been certified by the U.S. Department of Labor as eligible for Trade Adjustment Assistance. These constituents are anxious to use the career counseling, job retraining, and other support systems in order to recover from their loss of employment due to trade," Schumer wrote today in a letter to Secretary Chao. "However, it appears that funding in the Trade Adjustment Assistance program is growing smaller and smaller, at a time when more and more people are qualifying for the program’s aid."

Among the companies affected by TAA waiting lists is MT Picture Display, based in Horseheads, NY, which employed roughly 1,100 people manufacturing cathode ray tubes for color picture televisions. Early in November, the company announced it would downsize in an effort to restructure in the face of increased imports from China. To soften the blow of these layoffs set to take place before Christmas, the company applied to the U.S. Department of Labor for Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) and was accepted but put on a waiting list. Workers continue to wait for the assistance.

Other affected companies include Imperial Schrade (Ellensville), Diefendorf Gear (Syracuse), Bow Industrial (Plattsburgh), Oneida Limited (Oneida), Vibratech (Orchard Park), and Randolph Dimension (Randolph). Schumer said that when Tyco workers in Argyle are approved, they too should be added to the list.

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