Integration of
Trade Act Services within Local Workforce Systems:
An Evaluation of the First Year
July 1, 2004 to June 30, 2005




New York State Department of Labor
Workforce Development & Training Division
September 2005



During the past year, New York State's local workforce investment areas have made considerable progress in integrating the benefits and services under the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program with those of the WIA Dislocated Worker program. Working with their partners, local areas have examined service provision during this time of integration and transition and have determined how best to serve dislocated workers' needs with available resources.

In anticipation of the full integration of services, in February 2004, local areas participated in one of four regional training sessions regarding dual enrollment in TAA and WIA and the Trade Reform Act of 2002. A technical advisory was released on May 18, 2004 providing guidance on the integration and detailing the policy in implementing the Trade Reform Act of 2002. A section of the workforcenewyork.org website has been dedicated to the TAA program and includes links to reference material, tools to implement the program and resources. State level Rapid Response funds have been distributed to the local areas to support outreach, orientation, case management, and job development and follow up services.

Some local areas were called to action immediately as Trade affected workers were pending layoff or had already been impacted; other areas have had intermittent Trade related activity. Prior to July 1, 2004, the NYS Department of Labor's Division of Employment Services staff were primarily responsible for providing services to Trade affected workers; now local areas that have had the opportunity to test their strategies with mass layoffs have grown more comfortable in assuming control of the program. At the request of local areas statewide, NYSDOL program staff have provided on-site technical assistance to 10 local areas based on local needs as dictated by the questions forwarded in advance of the staff dialogue.

This year end report summarizes the service delivery and outcomes for these Trade affected dislocated workers.

Certified Petitions

To obtain TAA or Alternative Trade Adjustment Assistance (ATAA) services and benefits, a group of workers must first file a petition with the U.S. Department of Labor's (USDOL) Division of Trade Adjustment Assistance requesting certification as workers adversely affected by foreign trade. As illustrated in Table 1 which follows, between July 1, 2004 and June 30, 2005 a total of 56 petitions for TAA, representing approximately 2,056 trade affected workers throughout the state, were certified by USDOL. Thirty-five of the 56 petitions were also certified for ATAA, meaning that a preponderance of the affected workers were over the age of 50, possessed job skills not easily transferable, and that competitive conditions within the specific industries were adverse.

Table 1. Petition Summary
Region Number of Petitions Number of Affected Workers
Capital/Northern 7 293
Central/Mohawk 7 322
Finger Lakes 5 87
Hudson Valley 4 88
Long Island 5 194
New York City 19 514
Southern 3 105
Western 6 453
Total 56 2056


With regard to activity by region, affected worker groups were as small as one individual in the case of New York City petitions Beverly Creations (#56225) and Creo Americas (#55607A) and as large as 256 individuals in the case of Western Region's New Era Cap (#55030). March 2005 saw the highest number of total certifications in a month with seven petitions. Only one petition was recorded as certified during October 2004. The remainder of the months had four to six petitions certified. During this report period a total of 27 petitions were denied certification by USDOL. Appendix A, Tables 1- 8 provides further petition detail by region.

As noted in Table 2, heavy activity was reported during this time from five worker groups whose petitions were certified prior to July 1, 2004. Affected workers from these petitions were primarily served during the report period. These five petitions represent an additional 3,648 affected workers.

Table 2. Additional Petition Summary
Region Company Name Date Certified Petition # Number of
Affected
Workers
Capital/Northern TYCO 5/5/2004 54727 271
Central/Mohawk Carrier Corporation 1/7/2004 53603 1,242
  Oneida Limited 3/31/2003 50372 790
Hudson Valley Imperial Schrade 3/23/2004 54255 271
Southern MT Picture Display 12/2/2003 53578 1,074
Total 5     3,648


Eligible Trade Affected Workers

Upon receipt of a Trade Act Certification, the NYS Department of Labor (NYSDOL) provides written notice to each worker believed covered under the certification. The written notice includes an application for the determination of entitlement to TAA/TRA. Based upon employment information provided by the employer, a determination is made as to whether the individual meets the statutory definition of “adversely affected worker.”

Detail by local area on the number of individuals dual enrolled is provided in Appendix A Table 9 Initial Registrations in TAA and WIA by Local Area.

Benefits and Services

Utilizing the one-stop center as the main point of contact and delivery of benefits and services has ensured coordination and efficient service delivery for Trade affected dislocated workers. The goal of the TAA program is to assist individuals in returning to suitable work as soon as possible.

On the Job Training

Since the integration of TAA with the one-stop system partner programs, the number of approved OJTs has increased dramatically. OJT, the preferred method of training under TAA, had been an underutilized tool. As noted in Table 3:

Table 3 – OJT Summary
Company Name Petition # Number of
Individuals in
Approved OJT		 Average
OJT Wage		 Range of OJT wage
Carrier Corporation 53603 1 $12.00 $12.00
New Era Cap 55030 1 $14.00 $14.00
Exxon Mobil 56270 2 $13.20 $13.20
Imperial Schrade 54255 2 $12.00 $10.00-$14.00
Oneida Limited 50372 14 $10.21 $8.75-$16.35
MT Picture Display 53578 18 $12.39 $6.83-$26.44

Classroom Training

When OJT is not a viable option, classroom training may be employed to assist individuals in gaining the necessary marketable skills. It is apparent that more resources are being utilized more often to support individual training plans. It also appears that since the integration the average length of training has decreased. This is seen as an indication that the intervention strategies employed by local areas are aimed at rapid reattachment to the labor force. As noted in Appendix A, Tables 10 and 11:

Basic Trade Readjustment Allowance

A weekly allowance is paid to an affected worker who has exhausted entitlement to UI and is either waived from training or enrolled in approved training.

Additional Trade Readjustment Allowance

A weekly allowance is paid to an individual who has exhausted entitlement to basic TRA and is in approved training.

Relocation and Job Search Allowances

These benefits are an allowance paid to workers with marketable skills unable to secure suitable employment in the commuting area to attend job interviews and/or relocate to accept suitable
employment.

Alternative Trade Adjustment Assistance

The ATAA program provides a wage subsidy, equal to 50% of the difference between the worker's former wage and the new wage up to $10,000 to qualified workers. To be eligible for the program an individual must find full time employment within 26 weeks of the affected employment, be at least 50 years old at the time of reemployment and not be expected to earn more than $50,000 annually.

For detailed information regarding the number of ATAA participants by petition number see Table 12 in Appendix A.

Employment

A total of 860 individuals were expected to complete occupational training between July1, 2004 and June 30, 2005. Based on data extracted from NYOSOS and the Data Warehouse, 573 individuals or 67% had wages in at least one of the four quarters from July 1, 2004 to June 30, 2005. It should be noted that wage information is limited beyond July 1, 2005. For detail by local area see Table 13 in Appendix A.

Table 14 details the employment outcomes for the 3,913 individuals determined eligible during the reporting period and the 1,755 individuals determined eligible for the period March 1 2004 – June 30, 2004. Based on data extracted from NYOSOS and the Data Warehouse, of the 3,913 individuals a total 3,107 had wages in at least one of the four quarters from July 1, 2004 to June 30, 2005. Of the 1,755 individuals determined eligible a total 1,508 had wages in at least one of the four quarters from March 1, 2004 to June 30, 2005.

It should be noted that the wage match indicator for both tables may include individuals who may have received a severance from the affected employment sometime after the layoff date.

First Year Challenges

Staff capacity to understand the goals and details of the program has been an ongoing challenge.

Although progress is being made, the sequence of service delivery and form submission continues to be a challenge for staff, for example:

Part of the learning has been in helping local staff employment specialists distinguish between what an individual “wants” as opposed to what the individual needs to obtain employment. First and foremost staff need to determine if the individual has the marketable skills to return to the labor market and if so, then helping them map a strategy to become reemployed. If it is determined that the individual does not have the skills to stay attached to the labor market, only then a course of training should be identified.

As staff have become more comfortable with the various forms and deadlines associated with TAA they have been able to focus more intently on the reemployment needs of the Trade affected worker. As with any strategy to serve dislocated workers, the needs of the affected Trade workers coupled with the labor market drive the service delivery. An up-front assessment of the worker group and strategic use of the Employment Plan will help in the identification and delivery of needed services.

Staff are working to ensure that data entry in OSOS is consistent, accurate and up to date so that OSOS case records portray the full picture of the individual and the services and benefits they received.

Appendix A