AID OK'D FOR LAID-OFF FACTORY WORKERS

Laid-off workers from Brown Shoe Co., Chrysler Corp. and Zenith will be eligible for $1.2 million in Trade Adjustment Assistance funds, U.S. Sens. Christopher S. Bond and John Danforth announced Thursday.

The Department of Labor is awarding Missouri money to provide continuing services throughout the state, they said. The Trade Adjustment Assistance program provides weekly trade readjustment allowances as well as training, job search allowances and relocation allowances to eligible workers who have been laid off as a result of increased imports of foreign products.

Bond and Danforth said they had written Secretary of Labor Lynn Martin in November and in February urging her to approve assistance to the displaced workers. The Department of Labor made the required legal finding that increased imports of foreign products had contributed to the loss of jobs.

In November, Zenith announced it was phasing out its color television plant in Springfield, leaving 1,500 workers out of work. Brown Shoe laid off 1,000 workers because of the economic situation and increased foreign imports.

Under the Trade Act of 1974, workers whose employment is adversely affected by increased exports may apply for Trade Adjustment Assistance, designed to help unemployed workers prepare for and obtain other employment.

"This assistance will enable these skilled and productive workers to get back on their feet and back into Missouri's workforce," said Bond. "New job training is vitally important to these workers and their families as well as the local economy of the communities. These funds are a long-term investment in American workers, our strongest resource in a competitive international economy."

Danforth said, "These welcome actions by Secretary Martin will mean help for Missouri workers who need assistance with retraining and job search efforts."

U.S. Rep. Bill Emerson and Mel Hancock also pushed for the designation of funds, the announcement said.