Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE — Workers at Columbia Forest Products, Inc. in Presque Isle, who were displaced by a decline in the building industry that occurred over the past couple of years, now will have access to benefits to help them get back on their feet.
U.S. Sens. Olympia J. Snowe and Susan Collins (R-Maine) made the announcement last week that the U.S. Department of Labor has certified Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) for workers at Columbia Forest Products, Inc., following a successful appeal to an initial denial of these benefits in 2010. All workers who became totally and partially separated from employment on or after May 18, 2008, are eligible for the TAA benefits, which include reemployment services and training, as well as job search allowances.
“Trade Adjustment Assistance is critical to helping ensure that these workers in The County, who lost their jobs through no fault of their own, will have access to the resources they require to get through this difficult time,” said Sens. Snowe and Collins in a joint statement.
TAA is a program of the Department of Labor that helps workers who have lost their jobs as a result of increased imports or a shift of production outside of the United States. TAA provides these trade-affected workers with a variety of reemployment services and benefits, including educational options and retraining programs, to help them find new jobs and get back to work.
