I empathize with the 193 workers facing layoffs at the Mexican-owned McKinley Paper Mill.
In 2000, I was laid off from a foreign-owned company and discovered the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program.
TAA offered benefits to employees laid off from foreign companies, including tuition and fees for retraining.
The program paid for my college courses and books, enabling me to start a new career.
Sadly, TAA wasn’t reauthorized in 2022 due to a Republican filibuster, as reported by NBCNews on July 23, 2022.
This is unfortunate, as over 75 percent of TAA participants found new jobs within six months of completing the program.
Keep this in mind when voting this November.
Thomas Rogers
Port Angeles