Collins Appeals to Labor Secretary to Help Dislocated Bass Shoe Workers

COLLINS APPEALS TO LABOR SECRETARY TO HELP DISLOCATED BASS SHOE WORKERS

Collins requests more than $730,000 to help Wilton and South Portland workers

Washington, D.C.-Senator Susan Collins is appealing to U.S. Labor Secretary Elaine Chao for federal funding to help retrain workers who are expected to be laid-off from G.H. Bass in Wilton and South Portland. Senator Collins asked that Secretary Chao approve a $731,073 National Emergency Grant to support 285 workers who will be dislocated when the factories close in April 2004.

"G.H. Bass is a company that has been strongly rooted in Maine and associated with our practical, hardworking, and outdoor way of life. Its loss is devastating to our state, Maine's shoemaking heritage, and the workers who dedicated years of their life to the business," said Senator Collins. "Given the devastating impact that job losses at the Wilton and South Portland factories will have on the workforce and the economy of these two regions, I urge the Department of Labor to act quickly and favorably to approve this request for a National Emergency Grant. The funding will help to provide job retraining programs that are essential for these employees to gain the necessary skills to re-enter the workforce at this challenging time."