Sawmill Workers Qualify For Assistance

Workers at the closed Crown Pacific sawmill at Albeni Falls near Priest River, Idaho, are eligible for assistance under the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Crown Pacific shut the mill down last month because it would have been too expensive to upgrade the facility. One hundred eighty-four workers lost their jobs.

Under the transitional adjustment act, the workers can receive a variety of benefits, such as extended unemployment or financial help for retraining.

Other former workers at closed sawmills around the Inland Northwest have applied for the program and used the benefits.

The transitional program was started to help workers who lose their jobs or become part-time workers because of competition from Mexican or Canadian imports. Mills around the region have struggled because of cheaper imported Canadian lumber.

, DataTimes