NATCHEZ &045; Generous financial and professional help is available to employees losing their jobs as a result of the closing of International Paper’s Natchez mill.

IP

workers qualify for the help under the Trade Adjustment Assistance program, which was established by the Trade Act of 1974 and provides aid to workers who lose jobs or hours and wages because of foreign competition.

The Natchez office of the state Employment Security Commission is the agency through which the federal Department of Labor program works, said Peggy Ballard, manager of the Natchez office.

&uot;When they first announced the closure, we went to the mill and started giving them the information,&uot; Ballard said. &uot;What we’re afraid of is that some are not going to get the information. And there is some time limit attached to this program.&uot;

Opportunities available through the program include funds to assist with training for a new job, traveling outside the local area to interview for another job and moving a household to another location after a job has been secured in another town.

&uot;Most people we have seen really want to stay in Natchez,&uot; Ballard said. &uot;There has been a lot of interest in applying for courses that will provide new training.&uot;

That interest includes courses at Copiah-Lincoln Community College in Natchez, where numerous technical programs are available.

The assistance offered through the program falls in three categories, Ballard said.

4Training. &uot;If it’s training that is approved by the state office, we provide the funds for it. It covers tuition, books and supplies for up to 104 weeks, which is the equivalent of about five semesters.&uot;

4Job search assistance. &uot;We can pay the cost for someone to go outside the commuting area to look for a job. That’s about 50 miles away and more,&uot; Ballard said. &uot;We can pay mileage, overnight stay and meals if the person qualifies. There is a $1,250 lifetime benefit in this category for each person.&uot;

Most important for laid-off workers to know is that all the assistance has to be approved ahead of time, Ballard said.

&uot;Don’t go off to Baton Rouge to look for work and then come back here to be refunded for the trip,&uot; she said. &uot;The worker has to come to our office first. It does not take very long to get the approval.&uot;

4Provide relocation funding. &uot;We can provide up to 90 percent of moving expenses. This includes moving the household and mileage for driving one vehicle at 36 cents a mile. This, too, has to be approved ahead of time.&uot;

Relocation benefits also include a lump sum fee, which is the average weekly wage multiplied by three but no more than $1,250 per person.

&uot;This is an excellent program,&uot; she said. &uot;We already have helped to relocate some people.&uot;

Classes are scheduled this week after regular office hours and again during the second week in August to explain how the program can help.

&uot;There are still people we need to reach. There are services and funds to help them, but they have to make contact with us,&uot; Ballard said. &uot;Then we can start to make a difference.&uot;

The closing of the IP mill in Natchez is one of several recent large closures, Ballard said. Approximately 2,000 in Mississippi now are eligible for Trade Adjustment Assistance help.

Because a large number of people have been affected, money for this fiscal year, which began July 1, has increased from $750,000 last year to $2.29 million for this year.

4A new benefit under the program is assistance with medical insurance, said Alderine Payton, coordinator of the Trade Adjustment Assistance program in Mississippi.

Beneficiaries can get up to 65 percent of their medical insurance covered if they meet the criteria.

IP employees who live in Louisiana may apply for assistance through Mississippi or Louisiana offices, Payton said.

&uot;Louisiana was part of the rapid response team when we visited the plant after closure was announced,&uot; Payton said. &uot;Louisiana residents can go to either state.&uot;

A problem could occur, however, if a Louisiana resident chooses to seek training in Mississippi, Payton said. &uot;That would require out-of-state fees, and the cost of training has to be within what we call reasonable cost.&uot;

The program is growing in Mississippi because of the number of jobs lost in the state in the past year, Payton said.

&uot;Some of the older workers are afraid to be retrained, but they have to realize that manufacturing is going out and they really need the new training before their unemployment benefits run out.&uot;