May 5, 2008
Press Release
Reed Announces Trade Adjustment Assistance for Former Saint-Gobain Employees
WASHINGTON, DC -- U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) today announced that employees in Bristol being let go by Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics will be eligible for extra help through the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program. This federal program helps laid-off workers whose jobs were lost due to global trade. Displaced Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics employees who are eligible for the program will get federal help with income support and employment re-training in another job or career, among other benefits and services.
On October 12, 2007, Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics announced plans to layoff 90 of the company’s 160 local workers from their manufacturing plant on Metacom Avenue in Bristol. The layoffs are a result of Saint-Gobain transferring one of its production lines to a new facility in Mexico. According to paperwork recently filed with the state, the layoffs will begin on June 1st.
“These are hardworking people who are being laid off through no fault of their own. This federal assistance will help these folks get job training and enable them to continue paying their bills while they look for work,” said Reed a senior member of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee. “The TAA program will help ease the transition for these workers. TAA has proven very effective at helping people retool themselves for new jobs, quickly getting them off unemployment and back into the workforce. And more important than just a check, it also provides them with hope.”
On October 25, 2007, Reed sent a letter to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor in support of TAA and any other services requested by Rhode Island on behalf of Saint-Gobain employees who lost their jobs due to this layoff.
The Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program, administered by the Employment and Training Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor, provides aid to workers who have become unemployed as a result of increased imports from, or shifts in production to, foreign countries. The goal of the program is to help these workers return to suitable employment as quickly as possible. To facilitate this goal, TAA certified workers may access services that can include job training, income support, relocation allowances, job search allowances, and a health coverage tax credit.
Workers are eligible to apply for Trade Adjustment Assistance only once they have been let go by their employer. In order to apply, a worker must independently file a claim with the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training (RI DLT). After the claim has been filed, a representative from RI DLT meets with the individual to explain the options.
According to RI DLT, Saint-Gobain’s anticipates the following number of layoffs each month; in 2008: June (5), July (10), and November (25) and in 2009: February (22), May (16), July (9), October (1), and November (2). The company’s facility in Bristol manufactures high-performance piston rings, seals, and bearings in two patented plastic materials, Rulon and Meldin, which are used by a variety of industries. Rulon is the product line being transferred to Mexico.
Saint-Gobain plans to keep its plant open in Bristol and has joined with RI DLT to host ten orientation outplacement sessions and job search workshops. Saint-Gobain has also hired an outplacement firm.
###
