Laid off workers at the former Monahan Filaments (formerly Specialty Filaments) plant in Middlebury will be eligible to apply for Trade Adjustment Assistance through the US Department of Labor. This could lead up to an additional $12,000 in benefits. The DOL announced yesterday that approximately 5,500 workers from companies in 12 states California, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Vermont are eligible to apply for assistance related to jobs lost to foreign trade. Monahan laid off 69 workers when it closed the bristle and broom manufacturing facility last November. It previously laid off 54 workers in April 2009.
Monahan bought the Specialty Filaments plant out of bankruptcy in 2007 for $3.125 million. The Vermont Economic Progress Council awarded the Illinois company $758,806 in financial incentives to re-open the Case Street plant. Ultimately, plant officials said competition, market conditions and the cost of doing business in Middlebury caused them to close the facility.
Monahan released the following statement when it announced it was closing the plant last September:
Due primarily to continuing weakness in some of the filament markets it serves, Monahan Filaments is obligated to announce the closing of its plant in Middlebury, VT, effective November 15. While we will continue to serve substantially all of our active customers through our Arcola (Illinois) facility, Brush Fibers, and other strategic partners, the decision has been made to cease operations in Middlebury. As Monahan Filaments competes in the global marketplace, this very difficult strategic decision was made after careful consideration of our ability to offer our loyal customers quality product, on-time deliveries, at competitive prices, while still generating a reasonable level of profitability.
In announcing that Monahan workers were eligible to apply for Trade Adjustment Assistance, the DOL stated:
"Helping workers who are impacted by trade, and ensuring they are better positioned to secure permanent jobs that will bring them family-supporting wages, is an important part of keeping the nation's economic recovery on track," said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. "Trade Adjustment Assistance will help these workers access the employment and training services they need to prepare for good jobs in promising industries."
Workers covered by these latest TAA certifications will be contacted by their respective states with instructions on how to apply for individual benefits and services. Those who apply may receive case management and re-employment services, training in new occupational skills and trade readjustment allowances that provide income support for workers enrolled in training. Some workers may also receive job search and relocation allowances, and the Health Coverage Tax Credit.
"Trade Adjustment Assistance is a key part of the Obama Administration's coordinated response to helping workers and families in communities affected by auto industry restructuring and other mass industrial layoffs," said Dr Ed. Montgomery, executive director of the White House Council on Automotive Communities and Workers. "TAA certification can provide these families with much needed income support, access to health care, job training and other assistance as they transition to new jobs in other sectors of the economy."
While TAA is open to eligible workers of all ages, workers 50 years of age and older may elect to receive Re-employment Trade Adjustment Assistance instead. If a worker obtains new employment at wages less than $55,000 and less than those earned in adversely affected employment, the RTAA program will pay 50 percent of the difference between the old wage and the new wage, up to $12,000 over a two-year period. RTAA participants may also be eligible for retraining and the HCTC.
For more information on TAA and the range of Department of Labor employment and training services, visit http://www.doleta.gov.
TAA Certifications
Company
City
State
Evergreen Pulp Inc.
Samoa
Calif.
LifeSparc Inc.
Hollister
Calif.
Applied Materials Inc.
Santa Clara
Calif.
Boston Scientific
Miami
Fla.
Brose Gainesville Inc.
Gainesville
Ga.
Fort Wayne Foundry Corp.
Fort Wayne
Ind.
Carlisle Industrial Brake and Friction
Logansport
Ind.
Barnstead Thermolyne Corp.
Dubuque
Iowa
QMS Inc.
Glasgow
Ky.
Magna Mirrors
Alto
Mich.
AEES Inc.
Farmington Hills
Mich.
Robert Bosch LLC
St. Joseph
Mich.
Contech Castings LLC
Dowagiac
Mich.
Getrag Corp.
Newton
N.C.
Nuway Speaker Products Inc.
Clinton
N.C.
Ericsson Inc.
Research Triangle Park
N.C.
Claude Sintz
Deshler
Ohio
Springs Window Fashions LLC
Montgomery
Pa.
Alcoa Mill Products Texarkana
Nash
Texas
Monahan SFI LLC
Middlebury
Vt.
Source: US DOL. 3.4.2010