CWA Urges Extension of Aid for Workers Hurt by Trade

CWA is urgently calling on Congress to extend key improvements to the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA), the program that provides aid to workers whose jobs have been outsourced overseas.

Without action by Congress, the improvements to TAA, passed as part of the 2009 economic recovery package and extended in December, will expire this weekend. CWA President Larry Cohen has called on every member of Congress to act. “Since its creation in 1974, TAA has helped millions of Americans whose jobs were lost to outsourcing, offshoring, and increased foreign competition,” Cohen said. “For many, this is a critical lifeline that provides retraining and education that helps service workers pull themselves back up and find good new jobs. Since its creation, TAA has focused on manufacturing workers, but in the American economy of today, service workers are just as vulnerable as manufacturing workers. Every time a company outsources customer service operations to call centers in India or data processing to facilities in Taiwan, American workers lose their jobs through no fault of their own. They need and deserve assistance as well.”

Urge Congress to save the TAA.