Thanks to State Senator Roy Herron(D) Dresden TN.sen.roy.herron@legislature.state.tn.us/
Labor Dept. Responds to Goodyear U.C. Closure
Friday, July 29, 2011
Unemployment benefits, training grants available to affected workers. The announcement on Monday, July 11, that Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company has ceased production at its tire manufacturing plant in Union City has prompted key sections of the Department of Labor and Workforce Development to come together to develop plans for assisting dislocated workers. "We've already had joint meetings with company management and union officials, and those will be continuing," said Labor Commissioner Karla Davis. "The Goodyear shutdown project is a tremendous, collaborative effort." A special Career Center has been established to assist Goodyear employees and is currently holding orientation and workshop sessions. The office is located at 204 S. 2nd St., in Union City, across the street from the Tennessee Career Center serving Union City residents.
On Wednesday, Labor's Workforce Development Division began holding Rapid Response meetings with Goodyear employees at the University of Tennessee at Martin. The meetings, covering benefits and eligibility for services, will continue through Aug. 4. Meetings will take place from 7 a.m. until 10 a.m., 11 a.m. until 2 p.m., and 4 p.m. until 7 p.m., Monday through Friday and from 9 a.m. until noon on Saturday. Goodyear's unemployment insurance claims have been expedited by utilizing the Automated Partial System, a database which processes all employees' claims electronically, rather than having employees file individually. Employment Security staff worked diligently to input employee information necessary to build the database. Goodyear hourly employees can expect their initial benefit payments this week. Approximately $2 million in Trade Adjustment Assistance has been approved for 1,900 employees of Goodyear and some suppliers. TAA generally provides up to two years of training at a Board of Regents-approved school for employees affected by foreign trade. Training programs must be in a high-demand occupation such as Registered Nurse, Licensed Practical Nurse, Paramedic, Certified Production Technology, Truck Driving, Welding and Industrial Maintenance. State Trade Adjustment Assistance Coordinator Barbara Boyd will be available in Union City this week to assist workers with questions related to training. Once individuals have exhausted the initial 26 weeks of Tennessee Unemployment Compensation, Trade Readjustment Allowances provide income support to individuals while they are participating in full-time training. Certified workers may be eligible for 104 weeks of income support. More than 300 Goodyear employees are residents of the state of Kentucky. Tennessee Department of Labor staff are coordinating with labor officials in Kentucky to streamline training efforts, unemployment benefits and other job services so workers may receive the same service in the state in which they live. Contractors associated with Goodyear are also covered under the TAA petition, including the following: Hamilton-Ryker, Securitas Security Services, Take Care Corporation, Conestoga Rovers, Phillips Engineering, Rockwell Engineering, Excel Logistics and American Food and Vending. The Department of Labor's Workforce Development Division has applied for a $3.4 million National Emergency Grant to serve 850 workers in multiple counties that have requested training services, subsidized employment and on-the-job training. The application is currently being reviewed by the USDOL in Washington, and is expected to be announced in the next few weeks.
Editorial : I would personally like to Thank State Senator Roy Herron(D) for his tenacity, diligence and loving kindness in this time of our dire need and uncertainty ! God Bless You Sir !
Thanks to Mike Stanley for this one !
Lux e tenebris
7 comments:
Dear Anonymous ; 8/08/11
No one should go bald either...but they do ! Thse jobs are now in other Country`s ! Do you have a problem with that ? I do !
Goodyear simply can't afford to pay all of the costs associated with retirements, health care costs, salaries, etc., to make a profit in Union City. Other tire companies build high tech plants which are much more efficient and competitive. Your "no one should go bald either" comment just shows how entitled you feel, which is a major problem with unions. By the way, I worked at Goodyear, and I worked at General Tire for 5 years, and in the union, no doubt. There were a lot of good employees there, and a lot who simply were not productive. Be glad that Goodyear provided you a job for all of those years and gave you a high salary with very generous benefits. What would you have done otherwise? They are in business to make a profit, not to provide a living for everyone for infinity. Did you save your money and invest in yourself, or did you waste your money and have nothing to show for it?
Dear Anonymous; 8/09/11
If I lived in my own world,as you seem too ? Everyone in neat catogory. You speak, as if these company`s have no allegience to America ? I do stand on my own two feet, I always have. You are so wrong about unions causing manufacturing to move. I know, we can work for minimum wage. Oop`s, we`d have to change Tennessee State Law, We`d still make to much money. Wake up, BUD ! I could go on, but you still would`nt get it !
I feel like you, that there should be more of an effort to create jobs in America, especially when they ultimately will be sold in America. Costs, not unions per se, drive manufacturing elsewhere, so don't feel that this is an attack on you or unions. I worked in a union for 5 years, like you, so I do know the argument that you make, and I can see things from each perspective. And, no, you shouldn't have to work for minimum wage, but if you have something to offer the job market, you will never have to work for minimum wage. I can say that if the union had policed it's ranks, it would have been in a much better position. I personally would like for everyone to make a great salary and have great benefits, sir, but we all have to survive in a highly competitive market. Please "go on" because I DO get it. I can give your argument for you, that's how well I know and understand your argument. I did not want anyone to lose their job at Goodyear, but knew how competitive the market was and also know that the lifespan of a plant is 40 years, and Goodyear and General were at that point. What the area needs are high skilled jobs that cannot be replicated in foreign countries. America has the greatest workforce, sir, union or not. I have much respect for my union friends, especially those who did the right thing.
Dear Anonymous ; 8/09/11
Now you sound like ME = Sir Underdog !
Free Democratic Trade Unions, are the greatest form of Democracy, I know of ! Finally you agree with me...Thank you for seeing the light !
Underdog, I support the freedom to form a union, don't misunderstand, because I do know that companies can be oppresive. However, I know, and I think that YOU know, that there a lot of bad apples out there, and they cost YOU AND ME. There must be a balance between union needs and demands of the market. I don't think the unions supported bad workers, or poor workmanship, nor constant absenteeism, but the unions enabled that. I think we can both be honest and admit that. But let's get back to the point of jobs in America--why do we have the highest corporate tax rate in the world? Let's face it, people pay taxes, not corporations, and if you tax corporations too much, they pass their costs along to you and me, the consumer. Right or wrong, that's always the way it works out. But imagine if the US were to re-think it's stance, bring back the trillions of dollars of money sitting in foreign countries, and put all of us back to work. We would have plenty of money to pay our bills, get out of debt, and secure our country's interests. Though it sounds counterintuitive, lowering taxation actually creates more wealth for everyone. Remember the days of Jimmy Carter?
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