Severstal workers eligible for college, training funds

By Don Shilling

The money is designed to make laid-off workers more employable.

WARREN — About 1,200 workers laid off at Severstal Warren are eligible for funds for training or college assistance in addition to extended unemployment benefits.

U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Niles, D-17th, announced that the U.S. Department of Labor has approved Trade Adjustment Assistance funds for the workers.

The federal funding is approved when the government determines that workers who have lost their jobs as a result of increased imports or shifts in production out of the U.S.

The question is whether the workers will want to use the funds to prepare for another job or continue to wait for the steel mill to reopen, said Bill Turner, administrator of the Trumbull County One-Stop.

Most workers would prefer to return to their jobs at the mill, but some may decide that they have waited on Severstal long enough and that they would like federal help in retraining, he said.

“It’s an added weapon in our arsenal if people want to take advantage of it,” he said.

Money can be used to pay for tuition and books for college courses, training in a skilled trade or certification in a particular industry. Funds can be used to pay for the entire cost of an approved program.

Turner said use of money will be considered on an individual basis. Determinations will be made on what can make a worker employable, he said.

Workers who are approved also can receive extended unemployment benefits while they are in training.

Turner said meetings will take place to explain the program.

Because of the nation’s high unemployment rate, the government has extended regular unemployment benefits from 26 weeks to as many as 73 weeks.

Severstal shut down the mill’s blast furnace last fall for maintenance and didn’t restart it because of the slow economy. Early this year, all the mill’s finishing operations were idled because of low demand.

Severstal has said it will restart the mill when conditions warrant but has not given a timetable. Severstal, which is based in Russia, has said it remains committed to the North American market.

shilling@vindy.com