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Idaho Department of Labor
05/21/2012 | Press release
Federal Grant to Aid Laid Off Clearwater Paper Workers
distributed by noodls on 05/21/2012 19:12
A grant of nearly $1 million from the U.S. Department of Labor will help about 125 workers who lost their jobs when Clearwater Paper Corp. sold its Lewiston sawmill operation to Idaho Forest Products last year.
Idaho Forest Products reopened the mill before year's end but has hired back fewer than half the 250 workers employed their before the sale.
The National Emergency Grant of $947,841 being administered by the Idaho Department of Labor will provide services to the workers who were not rehired and have not found other jobs. Unlike some other assistance programs, this grant specifically allows the department to assist workers regardless of their residency, a significant aspect since the mill drew workers from Washington as well as Idaho.
"Closure of the Clearwater Paper sawmill resulted in
layoffs that impacted individuals, families and the Lewiston
community as a whole," Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis
said. This federal grant "will help dislocated workers
acquire the skills they need to find new jobs in the local
economy's high growth industries."
The grant will provide workers with extensive services to
prepare them for jobs in advanced manufacturing, green
energy, health care, technology and transportation among
other expanding industries.
