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SENATOR SUSAN COLLINS URGES LABOR SECRETARY CHAO TO ASSIST LAID-OFF WORKERS AT GEORGIA-PACIFIC’S BAILEYVILLE PLANT

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Senator Susan Collins today urged U.S. Secretary of Labor, Elaine Chao to grant Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) to Georgia-Pacific's Oriented Strand Board (OSB) facility in Baileyville in order to help retrain the 131 workers who lost their jobs as a result of the mill's closure in September.

"Washington county's natural resource-based industries have encountered significant financial problems in recent years," said Senator Collins. "The job losses in Baileyville have created serious hardships for the employees and their families and TAA certification will be of tremendous help in helping them acquire the skills that they need to find meaningful and productive employment. I will continue to press the Labor Secretary to grant TAA assistance."

TAA is made available through the Trade Act of 1974 for individuals certified by the Federal Government as having lost their jobs due to the more competitive nature of goods produced outside the United States. The program provides resources for training and extended unemployment benefits