Mill Workers Ruled Eligible For Benefits

The U.S. Department of Labor has made workers at several Louisiana-Pacific mills eligible for assistance under provisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Workers at Idaho LouisianaPacific’s mills in Chilco, Moyie Springs, Priest River and Rexburg will be eligible for some state employment benefits. Workers at mills in Walla Walla and in Libby and Deer Lodge, Mont., also are eligible, the department said.

The transitional adjustment assistance program provides aid to workers who lost jobs because their companies were adversely affected by imports from Canada or Mexico.

Canadian lumber producers have increased their market share to 40 percent from 20 percent in the last year because of a favorable exchange rate and government subsidies, said Ken Kohli of the Intermountain Forest Product Association in Coeur d’Alene.

Eligible workers can receive unemployment income and retraining services from the state.

, DataTimes