Senators: Plum Creek saw mill to get assistance

Baucus, Tester Pleased Labor Dept. Will Provide Help To Workers In Pablo

(Washington, D.C.) – – Montana’s U.S. Senators Max Baucus and Jon Tester today announced that recently laid-off workers at the Plum Creek Saw Mill in Pablo have been approved to apply for extended federal unemployment and training assistance.
 
The Senators, who have been pushing for the assistance, said the U.S. Department of Labor has approved a request for aid to 29 laid-off workers through Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA), a federal program that helps workers displaced as a result of international trade. 

“They say every cloud has a silver lining, and these workers getting this much needed, much deserved, assistance is a silver lining,” said Baucus, who as chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee recently wrote a new law updating and improving TAA in the coming months. “When I worked to get this program expanded in the recent Jobs Bill, it was folks like these who I had in mind, folks who need a little hand to get back on their feet in these tough economic times.”

“Max and I are working hard to rebuild our economy after eight years of failed policies that hit Montana’s wood-products industry hard,” said Tester, a member of the influential Senate Appropriations Committee.  “Extending benefits to hardworking folks who did everything right is a step in the right direction.  Job training empowers workers with new skills and provides Montana the quality workforce we need to compete in these tough economic times.”
 
Unemployment benefits are typically provided for six months to laid off workers, Baucus and Tester said. However, under the TAA program, the Plum Creek workers can take advantage of extended retraining and collect unemployment for up to two years after they were laid off.  Workers are also eligible for a health care tax credit and job search and relocation expenses.

Baucus and Tester said workers will be able to start applying for the assistance, on an individual basis, immediately.

For additional information, Montanans can contact the Montana Job Service Work Force Center in Polson at:

417 B Main Street
Phone: (406) 883-7880
Job Hotline: (406) 883-3311