Program Founded 31-Years Ago -- Union Says It's Outdated

Northwest Airline mechanics say Congress and the Bush Administration need to update a federal program that was made into law in 1974 to help manufacturing workers who lose their jobs to outsourcing. The Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program, adopted before the expansion of the U.S. service economy, should extend the same temporary unemployment benefits, retraining assistance and health care credits to service employees whose jobs have been outsourced, said Ted Ludwig, president of Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA) Local 33.

"It is unfair and un-American to abandon displaced service workers and their families, just because treating them the same as displaced manufacturing workers would cost more. This simple reform has been discussed for quite a while. Now it's time for President Bush and Congress to do the right thing," Ludwig said. Reforms to allow certification of worker eligibility by industry and occupation, instead of at individual worksites, are also necessary to make TAA more efficient and fair, according to Ludwig.

Ludwig said the TAA renewal must be included in the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), which the Administration presented to Congress last week for approval. "CAFTA is a logical vehicle for TAA reform and is the last chance we'll have for a while to fix TAA," said Ludwig.

TAA says it's helped many thousands of American workers laid off because of outsourcing move into new careers. But because of the gaping hole that excludes service workers, TAA benefits haven't been available to the more than 2,500 aircraft technicians in the Twin Cities alone who have lost their jobs to outsourcing in the last few years.

"Most of our members are breadwinners, and enrolling full-time in a partially subsidized two-year retraining program isn't an option for them when they need to support their families -- especially when unemployment benefits run out after 26 weeks," said Ludwig. "TAA would allow our laid-off members and thousands like them across the service sector to move into new careers, minimizing the potential for long-term dependence on government assistance. It's money well spent."

FMI: www.northwest.com