WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King announced that the U.S. Department of Labor has approved much-needed Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) for displaced employees at Verso Paper, Eastland Shoe, and Kelly-Smith Printing & Paper.

“This announcement is welcome news for these hardworking men and women in Maine. TAA plays an essential role in helping Americans across our country who, through no fault of their own, have lost their jobs as a result of foreign, often unfair competition. Our workers are the best in the world, and they can compete when there is a level playing field. TAA programs provide a crucial lifeline that enables displaced workers to acquire the new skills and the new training necessary to prepare for and purse jobs in other industries,” Senator Collins and King said 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 to help them find new jobs and get back to work

This June, the Senate passed a bipartisan reauthorization of Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA), which was based upon The Trade Adjustment Assistance Enhancement Act of 2015 that Senator Collins co-authored with Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR).

In the 2013 fiscal year alone, more than 700 Mainers used TAA programs, and more than 70 percent of those participants found employment within three months of completing their retraining programs. In addition, of the participants who found employment, more than 90 percent were still employed in their new jobs six months later.

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