Boralex workers receive assistance
By Kathy McCarty
Staff Writer
ASHLAND — Assistance is being offered to former workers at Boralex Ashland LP.
Congressman Mike Michaud praised the U.S. Department of Labor’s recent announcement stating former workers of the Ashland energy plant will be eligible for the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) Program.
Michaud said the program will greatly benefit the workers, who were displaced earlier this year due, in part, to continuing economic problems.
“The granting of this assistance is very welcome news because it will provide these workers with the reemployment services they need to help them get back on the job quickly,” said Michaud.
He noted how important such programs are to workers who’ve lost their jobs through no fault of their own and said Congress needs to continue to support American workers by making decisions that improve programs like the TAA.
“The granting of this assistance is a somber reminder that Congress must renew the important improvements to the TAA Program that were passed in 2009 and allowed to lapse earlier this year. While I am deeply disappointed that Congress is taking steps to pass more NAFTA-like trade deals, passing improvements to the TAA Program is the least we can do to help the workers impacted by our flawed trade policies,” said Michaud.
On May 19 of this year, Michaud sent a letter signed by 162 members of Congress to President Barack Obama expressing their support for the immediate enactment of a five-year reauthorization of the 2009 Trade Adjustment Assistance reforms. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, since May 2009, 3,678 Mainers were certified for assistance under TAA — approximately 100 of which were displaced mill workers in the Ashland area.
Trade Adjustment Assistance is a Department of Labor program 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 trade-affected workers with a variety of reemployment services and benefits to help them find new jobs and get back to work.
Boralex remained closed as of this week, following a decision earlier this year to shut down operations, in part, due to the difficulty of getting power produced to market.
