Laid off Hershey employees eligible for up to $10,000 each for retraining, living expenses

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.modbee.com/2133/story/86167.html

Labor grant a ray of light for Hershey workers

Employees eligible for up to $10,000 each for retraining, living expenses

By CHRISTINA SALERNO
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last updated: October 06, 2007 05:01:05 AM

In a sudden reversal, the U.S. Department of Labor announced Friday that workers who are being laid off from the Hershey Co. plant in Oakdale are eligible to receive thousands of dollars in aid from the federal Trade Adjustment Act.

The act was set up to help workers who lose their jobs because their company moves production out of the United States. It provides up to $10,000 for each qualified worker to help with job retraining, living expenses and other services.

Hershey is closing the Oakdale plant, along with five others in the United States and Canada, and cutting more than 3,000 workers in the two countries. It is shifting much of its chocolate production to a new plant in Mexico, scheduled to open later this year.

The announcement follows two previous rejections from the Department of Labor, and came as welcome news to those who had followed the application closely.

"The greatest thing is that it opens up additional funding for training. Many of these people have worked at Hershey in production for 25, 30 or 40 years and have no other skills. They can now try to qualify for updated skills, such as computers or the medical field," said Don Wilson of Teamsters Local 386, which represents Hershey employees.

Shortly after Hershey made the closure announcement in April, Stanislaus County work force officials applied for money through the federal Trade Adjustment Act.

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