The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) has joined with Representative Linda T. Sanchez (D-Calif.) and other labor supporters to introduce the Trade Adjustment Assistance Modernization Act. The proposed legislation seeks to renew the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program, which lost congressional funding in 2022.
Laura Ewan, IAM Legislative Chief Counsel, spoke on behalf of the union at a press conference announcing the bill. “TAA must be reauthorized, modernized, and properly funded to help assist and retrain workers who lose their jobs through no fault of their own,” said Ewan. “Their job losses are caused by greedy corporate decisions that rely on bad trade policy and trade loopholes to prioritize shareholder profits over people.”
The TAA program offers displaced U.S. workers services such as job training, income support, health care assistance, and help with finding new employment. According to data cited by supporters, individuals who participated in TAA earned an average of $50,000 more over a decade than those who did not.
Since the program’s expiration, almost 200,000 workers have filed for assistance but remain in limbo due to lack of authorization from Congress.
“Every day Congress fails to act, American workers and their families are left to struggle,” said Rep. Sanchez. “They are not economic statistics. They are our friends and neighbors who unfairly lost their jobs to outsourcing. Trade Adjustment Assistance is a lifeline to them, helping them rebuild their careers, protect their families and hold on to hope. Congress cannot abandon them any longer.”
If enacted, the TAA Modernization Act would extend authorization for programs supporting workers, firms, and farmers for seven years; broaden eligibility; increase funding; improve benefits including childcare expenses; create a new TAA Communities program; and restore funding for community college initiatives related to TAA.
The bill has been cosponsored by several members of Congress including Richard Neal (D-Mass.), Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas), Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), John Larson (D-Conn.), Danny Davis (D-Ill.), Terri Sewell (D-Ala.), Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.), Judy Chu (D-Calif.), Gwen Moore (D-Wis.), Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.), Don Beyer (D-Va.), Dwight Evans (D-Pa.), Brad Schneider (D-Ill.), Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.), Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.), Steven Horsford (D-Nev.), Stacey Plaskett (D-V.I.), Thomas Suozzi (D-N.Y.) and Morgan McGarvey (D-Ky.).
“Louisville is powered by unions, our workers deserve to be made whole if they lose their jobs due to trade changes,” said Rep. Morgan McGarvey (D-Ky.). “I’m proud to join Rep. Sanchez to introduce the Trade Adjustment Assistance Modernization Act, a bill that makes good on our promise to American workers.”
IAM International President Brian Bryant highlighted examples where TAA provided support after major layoffs linked to outsourcing: “The IAM knows firsthand how critical the TAA program is to workers who lost their jobs as a result of outsourcing and unfair trade practices,” said Bryant. “When Caterpillar shuttered its Joliet, Ill., facility in 2018 and 2019 and moved roughly 600 IAM jobs to Mexico, TAA was there. When Truck-Lite closed its Falconer, N.Y., plant in early 2020 and shipped more than 150 jobs to Mexico and China, TAA was there. Now, nearly 400 Whirlpool workers in Amana, Iowa are losing their jobs to Mexico, with hundreds more cuts expected later this year. Without TAA reauthorization these workers lose not just their paychecks but the job training and financial support they need to rebuild their lives. That’s not just a blow to workers—it’s a blow to their families and communities.”
