Jobless benefits extended
Help also came from local autoworkers, who donated 35,000 pounds of food.
By CYNTHIA VINARSKY
VINDICATOR BUSINESS WRITER
WARREN -- Some 1,300 jobless CSC Ltd. workers got definite word Monday that their unemployment benefits will be extended up to a year under a U.S. Department of Labor program.
United Steelworkers Local 2243 heard two weeks ago that CSC had been approved for the federal Trade Adjustment Assistance and Trade Readjustment Assistance, said John Kubilis, local president, but it was awaiting official notification.
Fred Spahlinger, vice president of the local, said the program will provide 26 additional weeks of employment benefit coverage for any CSC employee laid off since January 2000 and who is still not working.
A second, 26-week extension will be available for workers enrolled in an approved job retraining or educational program, he said. The program also provides funds to help pay tuition and training fees.
TAA and TRA were established under the Trade Act of 1974 to help workers whose employment has been adversely affected by increased imports.
Background: CSC officials applied for coverage shortly after the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January, saying that a flood of discount-priced foreign steel imports was one of several factors leading to the company's financial troubles.
The steel bar mill, Trumbull County's fourth largest employer, ceased operations April 13. Managers and union officials are trying to find a buyer to reopen it.
Without the TAA and TRA programs, most laid-off CSC workers qualified for 26 weeks of unemployment benefits, and union officials said many have already exhausted their benefits. Those benefits amount to 50 percent of a workers average weekly wage, up to a maximum of $303 for a single person and $407 for those with three or more dependents.
Bill Turner, a spokesman for the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services, said the agency's local offices have information about TAA and TRA benefits and will be administering the programs.
He said about 600 furloughed CSC workers have signed up for the agency's help in investigating retraining options, and about 400 have either signed up for classes or made a commitment to do so.
Food donation: In another development Monday, United Auto Workers Local 1112, which represents workers at the General Motors Assembly Plant in Lordstown, donated 35,000 pounds of nonperishable food items for the laid-off steelworkers.
Jim Graham, president of the local, said funds for the donation came from GM workers, retirees and the local's general fund. "We know a lot of the workers' families have children, so we thought this was the best way to help them out and do it quickly," Graham said.
Kubilis said Steelworkers Local 2243 will sort and pack the food, with plans to begin distributing it to members by mid-week. CSC workers should call the union hall for pick-up information.
"Jimmy and the UAW membership are showing what unions are really all about, helping one another in a time of need," Kubilis said.