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Article published Jun 24, 2009 ALCOA workers eligible for training under new law
By Robert Norris of The Daily Times Staff
Employees of ALCOA Tennessee Operations who lost their jobs because of foreign competition are eligible for training and employment services under the new Trade Adjustment Assistance TAA program, the U.S. Department of Labor announced Tuesday.
Laid-off ALCOA workers from the Blount County facilities are included in the certification of the first 20 petitions filed under the TAA program.
The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development will send letters to affected employees and provide information they need to schedule appointments to process their claims, said Christy Newman, Tennessee Operations spokeswoman."It's good timing, and we hope it has a good outcome," she said.
More than 450 layoffs were announced at Tennessee Operations in recent months, and both potlines at the South Plant smelting facilities are currently shut down. The total number of actual layoffs was reduced somewhat by early retirements and job shifting.
Since May 18, when the revised TAA program went into effect, more than 1,200 petitions were filed with the U.S. Department of Labor, compared with 137 petitions filed during the same period in 2008.
The Tennessee Operations employees are included in the first group of certifications under the new TAA law that among other changes, expanded program access to previously ineligible service industry workers.
Newman said the company began preparing its petition for certification when it learned the pool of eligible TAA recipients had been expanded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act).
Workers certified as eligible for TAA have access to a variety of resources such as re-employment services, job search allowances, relocation allowances and various types of income support.New opportunity
"These certifications mark the beginning of a new era of opportunity for service workers who lose their jobs as a result of direct foreign competition," said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis.
The Recovery Act expanded the pool of eligible TAA recipients to include: workers in companies that supply services; workers whose companies have shifted production to any foreign country; workers in public agencies; workers whose companies produce component parts of a finished product; workers in companies that supply testing, packaging, maintenance and transportation services to companies with TAA-certified workers; and workers whose companies are identified in an International Trade Commission "injury" determination listed in the Trade Act of 1974. The Recovery Act also raised the cap on annual TAA training funds from $220 million to $575 million.
Among the first 20 certifications accepted under the new TAA law, two facilities are in Tennessee. Along with ALCOA Tennessee Operations, workers at Dana Commercial Vehicles Products in Humboldt are also now eligible for services.
For more information on Trade Adjustment Assistance, visit www.doleta.gov/tradeact. For information on the array of Department of Labor training and employment programs, visit the same site's home page at www.doleta.gov.