Laid-off workers from Maui Pineapple Company’s Kahului Cannery are eligible to receive a wide range of job assistance from the federal government. The ILWU successfully filed a petition requesting these benefits under the Trade Act of 1974, which provides Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) to workers who lose their jobs because of increased foreign imports and additional assistance for workers over the age 50.
Maui Pineapple is the only company still canning pineapple in the US, as other companies such as Dole and Del Monte have long moved their canning operations overseas. In recent years, the cheaper, imported canned pineapple has been hurting sales of Maui Pineapple’s canned products.
In response, the company moved ahead with plans to cut back on canning, and expand its fresh pineapple products, which continues to do well. The move resulted in the permanent layoff of 150 cannery workers in January 2005. About 40 of these workers tranferred to fresh fruit operations at Haliimaile, but about 100 workers, many of whom were over the age of 50, were laid-off.
Imports cause job loss
An investigation by the US Department of Labor found a direct link between increasing imports of canned pineapple and declining sales and employment at the Maui Pineapple Cannery.
“The investigation revealed that sales and employment at the subject firm declined in 2004 compared with 2003.
“The investigation also revealed that United States imports of canned pineapple far exceeded U.S. production in 2003 and 2004. In addition, the ratio of imports to U.S. production increased in January through November, 2004 compared with the same period one year earlier, from 282 percent of production in January through November 2003 to 353 percent of production for the same period in 2004.”
The US Department of Labor approved the ILWU’s petition on January 27, 2005. The ruling covers all Kahului Cannery workers who lost hours or their jobs on or after December 15, 2003, and continues for two years until January 27, 2007. This means eligible workers may apply for assistance anytime within this two year period.
Benefits include
In additional to the regular 26 weeks of state unemployment insurance, laidoff Maui Pine workers are eligible to receive: 1) retraining and assistance in finding a new job; 2) reimbursement of expenses in seeking work outside of their normal commuting area; 3) relocation expenses if the worker must move to get a new job; 4) training up to a maximum of 104 weeks including an additional 26 weeks if basic education such as English is required; 5) income support while a worker is receiving full-time training (this must be done within 8 weeks of certification); 6) a tax credit of 65 percent of the monthly health insurance premium.
Eligible workers over age 50 may also receive a wage subsidy if they get a new, full-time job that pays less than their old job.
There are time limits and deadlines for applying for these benefits. See box for a list of services and benefits available.
Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) Services and Benefits
Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) and Alternative Trade Adjustment Assistance (ATAA) help trade-affected workers who have lost their jobs as a result of increased imports or shifts in production out of the United States. Certified individuals may be eligible to receive one or more program benefits and services depending on what is needed to return them to employment. [This information is from the US Department of Labor website at http://www.doleta.gov/tradeact/benefits.cfm.]
Rapid Response Assistance - a special team of people from the State’s Dislocated Worker Unit is assigned to help the laid off workers apply for the benefits listed below
Reemployment Services - offer workers assistance in finding a new job. Many TAAeligible workers will be able to return to employment through a combination of these services. For individuals who require retraining, these services will help identify appropriate training programs, and help them obtain reemployment at the conclusion of the training program. To ensure workers are referred to appropriate job openings and placed in jobs that utilize their highest skills, the following services are generally provided through One-Stop Career Centers: 1) Employment counseling; 2) Resume writing and Interview skills; workshops; 3) Career assessment; 4) Job development; 5) Job search programs; and 6) Job referrals
Job Search Allowances - may be payable to cover expenses incurred in seeking employment outside a certified worker’s normal commuting area, if a suitable job is not available in the area. Job search allowances reimburse 90% of the total costs of allowable travel and subsistence, up to a total of $1,250.
Relocation Allowances - may reimburse approved expenses when certified workers must move to a new area of employment outside their normal commuting area. Relocation allowances may include:
1) 90% of the reasonable and necessary expenses of moving workers who have secured employment outside of their normal commuting area, their families and their household goods. The amount will be reduced if the worker is entitled to reimbursement from other sources.
2) A lump sum payment equal to three times the worker’s average weekly wage (but no more than $1,250) to help them get settled.
Training - is provided to certified workers who do not have the skills to secure suitable employment in the existing labor market. Training is targeted to a specific occupation and provided to help certified workers secure employment at a skill level similar to or higher than their layoff employment, and sustain that employment at the best wage available. Based on the individual’s existing skills and labor market conditions, training will be of the shortest duration necessary to return the individual to employment, with a maximum duration of 104 weeks. Individuals who require remedial education in order to complete occupational training may be eligible for an additional 26 weeks of training.
Allowable types of training include: 1) classroom training; 2) on the-job training; 3) customized training designed to meet the needs of a specific employer or group of employers; 4) basic or remedial education, which may include training in literacy or English as a second language.
Income Support - Trade Readjustment Allowances (TRA) - are available to provide income support to individuals while they are participating in full time training. Under certain circumstances TRA is also available to certified workers for whom training is not feasible or appropriate. TRA benefits are defined in two (2) categories: Basic TRA and Additional TRA. Each category has its own set of eligibility requirements.
• Basic TRA is payable if the worker is enrolled or participating in TAA training, has completed such training, or has obtained a waiver of such training requirement.
• Additional TRA is payable only if the worker is participating in TAA approved training.
In general, certified workers may be eligible for 104 weeks of income support, usually broken out as follows: 1) Normally 26 weeks of state unemployment insurance (UI) compensation; 2) Followed by 26 weeks of basic TRA; and 3) Up to 52 weeks of additional TRA to assist the worker in completing a TAA training program.
Important Deadlines: Within 8 weeks of certification or 16 weeks of the most recent qualifying separation workers must be enrolled in approved training, or have a valid waiver, to receive TRA. In order to qualify for additional TRA, an individual must have submitted a bona fide application for training within 210 days of their layoff or of the certification, whichever is later.
Important Deadlines: Within 8 weeks of certification or 16 weeks of the most recent qualifying separation workers must be enrolled in approved training, or have a valid waiver, to receive TRA. In order to qualify for additional TRA, an individual must have submitted a bona fide application for training within 210 days of their layoff or of the certification, whichever is later.
Alternative Trade Adjustment Assistance (ATAA) Program Benefits
Alternative Trade Adjustment Assistance (ATAA) program benefits are provided as an alternative to the benefits offered under the regular TAA program. Participation in ATAA allows older workers, for whom retraining may not be appropriate, to accept reemployment at a lower wage and receive a wage subsidy. [Many of the benefits are similar to those under TAA, except for the wage subsidy benefit below.]
Wage Subsidy - Eligible workers age 50 or older who obtain new, full-time employment at wages of less than $50,000 within 26 weeks of their separation may receive a wage subsidy of 50% of the difference between the old and new wages, up to $10,000 paid over a period of up to two years.
Note: A worker receiving a wage subsidy under the ATAA program may not receive benefits under the TAA program.
Important Deadline: To qualify for ATAA a worker must obtain qualifying reemployment within 26 weeks of layoff. This remains true even if the certification is not issued until after the 26 weeks have passed.