NewsVine_Mariyam
Diamond Member
I'm not sure why this program is not more widely known, I only know about it because I was contracting with Boeing during a time when they had a mass layoff and presumably sent out a WARN notice to the state (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification - WARN)
Congress let the program expire at the end of June 30th 2022 and has not provided additional funding for it. Instead of squabbling about the usual petty issues, this is something everyone could get behind because it's protection for U.S. workers who are victims of company mass layoffs due to foreign trade or competition. In other words, although there is a lot more involved, if your job is off-shored to a foreign country, then you meet the definition of having loss your position due to foreign trade/competition.
I wonder if it's strictly coincidence that the mass layoffs in the tech industry that we've seen here in the Puget Sound area have anything to do with the fact that this program which would have had oversight of such layoffs, has expired.
In any case, Congress appears to have no sense or urgency or concern for how their lack of action is negatively impacting the lives of the American working class.
Congress let the program expire at the end of June 30th 2022 and has not provided additional funding for it. Instead of squabbling about the usual petty issues, this is something everyone could get behind because it's protection for U.S. workers who are victims of company mass layoffs due to foreign trade or competition. In other words, although there is a lot more involved, if your job is off-shored to a foreign country, then you meet the definition of having loss your position due to foreign trade/competition.
I wonder if it's strictly coincidence that the mass layoffs in the tech industry that we've seen here in the Puget Sound area have anything to do with the fact that this program which would have had oversight of such layoffs, has expired.
In any case, Congress appears to have no sense or urgency or concern for how their lack of action is negatively impacting the lives of the American working class.
July 23, 2022, 2:00 AM PDT
By Phil McCausland
The Department of Labor has estimated that thousands of workers have already lost access to retraining assistance and other federal resources after a decades-old program aimed at helping those who lose their jobs to globalization and trade expired this month.
The program lapsed July 1 and Congress does not appear to have found a clear path to renewing it, as Democrats claim Republicans are blocking efforts to reauthorize it.
The Trade Adjustment Assistance for Workers program, or TAA, provided funding for retraining programs, worker relocation, job-seeking services and more for trade-affected workers. Because Congress allowed the program to expire, any worker who lost their job after July 1 can't apply for or appeal an application for any of those services.
The Labor Department estimated that around 4,500 workers have missed out on the programs’ benefits since it lapsed, a number that is expected to quickly grow.
"I can tell you that number's just a start," said Brent Parton, acting assistant secretary of Labor's Employment and Training Administration. "We'll be able to see what the numbers will be and the impact of the program overall in the coming weeks and quarters."
If a company closes a factory in the U.S. and ships jobs overseas or shuts down a plant because it can find cheaper materials abroad, advocates said this decades-old safety net — that at one time boasted bipartisan support — has been there to help millions of Americans who qualify find new jobs.
About 100,000 people sign up for TAA annually, and the Department of Labor said more than 5 million people have used it since its inception in 1974, even though it is a relatively little-known program.
Now, it won’t be there to catch those who have lost their post.
