Schumer Announces Feds Grant Federal Trade Adjustment Assistance To Workers At M.A. Moslow & Brothers, Inc
Following A Production Shift To Offshore Site In China, Many Workers Were Left Unemployed
TAA Can Provide Income Support, Retraining And Benefits To Workers Displaced By Foreign Trade
U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced that the U.S. Department of Labor has approved much needed Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) and Alternative Trade Adjustment Assistance (ATAA) benefits for laid off workers at M.A. Moslow & Brothers, Inc., located in Buffalo. The company has recently shifted more of its production to an offshore site in China, leaving many workers unemployed. The TAA program, administered by the U.S. Department of Labor, provides aid, retraining and reemployment services to workers laid off because of foreign competition. ATAA benefits are similar to TAA benefits, but available only for workers 50 and older who possess skills that are not easily transferable to other trades.
This is wonderful news for the M.A. Moslow & Brother, Inc. workers and their families, Schumer said. They work hard, play by the rules and yet are out of work due to complications from foreign trade. This is exactly why Congress set up the TAA system in the first place. This vital aid will get these New Yorkers back on their feet and help them to find a new job.
Following their investigation, the Department of Labor concluded that workers at M.A. Moslow & Brothers, Inc, who have lost their job due to production shift from the Buffalo site to an offshore site in China, are eligible for both TAA and ATAA benefits. The company has shifted its production of wooden trophy bases and plaques to China for subsequent import and sale in the U.S., leaving many workers unemployed. Many of the displaced workers at the firm are age 50 or over and possess skills that are not easily transferable, making them eligible for ATAA benefits. On December 3, 2006 the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers, District 65, Local Lodge 330, filed a petition for TAA and ATAA benefits on behalf of workers of M. A. Moslow & Brothers, Inc in Buffalo.
The 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 fulltime 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.
Alternative Trade Adjustment Assistance (ATAA) program benefits are provided as an alternative to the benefits offered under the regular TAA program. Participation in ATAA allows older workers, for whom retraining may not be appropriate, to accept reemployment at a lower wage and receive a wage subsidy.
