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Federal funding to help Wausau employees

6 mins read

JAY – Federal funding has been approved and is now available to aid the 149 permanently laid-off mill workers at Wausau Paper Corp.

The federal Trade Adjustment Assistance funding, which the Maine delegation petitioned for on behalf of the Wausau workers who were permanently laid off on Saturday, is given in instances where workers lose their jobs due to foreign trade agreements. The funding allows for an extended unemployment benefit period of 130 weeks and provides funding for the education and retraining of displaced workers. In Maine, the federal funding program has been enacted 24 times as the shoe industry, wood and paper mills and other companies faced downsizing and/or closures.

Wausau has notified the workers of the TAA funding and will send out more information with the workers’ final paychecks, expected to arrive tomorrow. The state’s Department of Labor has set up four scheduled sessions on Monday, Dec. 22 to talk about the funding benefits at the CareerCenter in East Wilton, said Judy Pelletier of the Department of Labor.

“The workers need to sign up within 16 weeks of their lay-off date to receive the benefits,” Pelletier said today. She added that Monday’s sessions may need to be rescheduled due to the weather forecast of a possible nor’easter on its way.

“The TAA program has long served as a vital tool to help workers displaced by trade get back on their feet,” said Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins in a joint statement today. “These benefits will not only provide financial assistance to help ease the burden of unemployment on these workers and their families, but also ensure they have access to the resources they need to update their skills and get back into good paying jobs.”

The funding has come at an especially good time.

“We are very pleased TAA was approved so that workers can proceed with registering for approved training and educational classes and not have the added stress of waiting,” said Diane Jackson, an aide to Sen. Snowe.

Wausau Paper announced on Aug. 25 that it would permanently shut down the Number 10 machine, putting 149 of the 235 employees out of work. The Number 10 paper machine, with a capacity of 40,000 tons annually, manufactures coated paper products, such as release liners used to label products, grease-resistant protective barrier paper and tape-backing paper.

The shut down has left one of the two paper machines, Number 11, operational at the mill. Last week it was announced that employees on Number 11 machine were to be laid off temporarily, which began on Sunday, Dec 14. The move has effectively halted production completely at the mill, as the company regroups and readies for a downsized workforce, said Patty Ladd of the Wilton CareerCenter. Workers on the Number 11 machine are expected to be called back to work on Jan. 5.

The state’s Department of Labor has met regularly with mill workers since the lay offs were announced, United Way of the Tri Valley Area has published a resource guide focusing on surviving unemployment, and spearheaded a task force consisting of representatives of the mill, employees, local businesses, community colleges and other related agencies. Some of these organizations have offered advice, ranging from finding retraining opportunities to how to reduce stress, while others have looked into new resources workers could tap into. For helpful contact information and the United Way’s resource guide, click here.

In addition, career assessments were conducted at the mill over the last months and the adult education programs of Franklin County and Livermore Falls provided computer training classes at a computer lab set up at the mill. Workers have also been referred to other educational facilities, such as Central Maine Community College, to provide guidance.

“Quite a few of the workers started their career job search and resume writing some time ago,” Ladd said. “They’ve known for a few months, although the lay offs took place a week before they said they would.”

A resource fair was held on Dec. 2 where fully one third of the affected workers attended. Among those interested in employing the former mill workers is Barclays in Wilton. The company announced recently it is expanding its Wilton call center operation. In addition the U.S. Census Bureau is looking for workers.

“I think its going to all right if we all work together to make it happen,” Ladd said of getting the mill workers back to work. “Wausau’s an extremely big impact for this area, but we just need to hang in there.”

 

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