Sen. Max Baucus, D-MT, wants to make truck drivers who lose work as a result of NAFTA eligible for the same benefits manufacturers get when they lose jobs as a result of trade policy.

Thebill, S. 2157, which has 17 co-sponsors, amends the Trade Act of 1974 to extend the Trade Adjustment Assistance program to include the services sector. The measure has been referred to the Senate Committee on Finance.

The TAA program traditionally has provided aid only to manufacturing workers who lose their jobs or whose hours of work and wages are reduced as a result of import policy.

“We only give TAA benefits to workers who make things,” Baucus said. “This bill provides TAA benefits … to workers who lose their jobs due to competition from imported services. For example, if a U.S. truck driver loses his job because his employer loses routes to a Mexican-domiciled trucking company, the U.S. driver would be eligible for TAA.”

Meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court will soon decide whether Mexican trucks will be allowed to operate on U.S. highways. Specifically, the court is considering whether a federal environmental impact statement is needed before allowing Mexican trucks to operate beyond U.S. commercial zones.

TAA – the benefits

TAA offers a variety of benefits and re-employment services to help unemployed workers prepare for and obtain suitable employment. Workers may be eligible for training, job search and relocation allowances, income support and other re-employment services.

The TAA program is administered by the Employment and Training Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor. States serve as agents to the Labor Department in administering the program.

TAA services include:

• Training for employment in another job or career. Workers may receive up to 104 weeks of approved training in occupational skills, basic or remedial education, or training in literacy or English as a second language.
• Income support known as trade readjustment allowances, which are weekly cash payments available for 52 weeks after a worker's unemployment compensation benefit is exhausted and during the period in which a worker is participating in an approved full-time training program. Income support is a combination of unemployment compensation and trade readjustment allowances benefits for a maximum of 78 weeks (26 weeks for unemployment and 52 weeks for the allowance).
• A job search allowance, which may be payable to cover expenses incurred in seeking employment outside your normal commuting area.
• Relocation allowances that provide reimbursement for approved expenses if you are successful in obtaining employment outside your normal commuting area for you to relocate to your new area of employment.