The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) has joined with Representative Linda T. Sanchez (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee, and other labor allies to introduce the Trade Adjustment Assistance Modernization Act. The proposed legislation seeks to renew the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program, which lost congressional funding in 2022.
IAM Legislative Chief Counsel Laura Ewan emphasized the need for updating and restoring TAA during a press conference announcing the bill. “TAA must be reauthorized, modernized, and properly funded to help assist and retrain workers who lose their jobs through no fault of their own,” said Ewan. “Their job losses are caused by greedy corporate decisions that rely on bad trade policy and trade loopholes to prioritize shareholder profits over people.”
Trade Adjustment Assistance offers support such as job training, income assistance, healthcare help, and services for reemployment to U.S. workers who have been displaced. According to information provided at the event, individuals participating in TAA programs earned an average of $50,000 more over ten years compared to those who did not receive such support.
Since Congress allowed TAA funding to expire, nearly 200,000 workers have filed petitions seeking assistance; however, these cases remain unresolved due to the lack of authorization.
“Every day Congress fails to act, American workers and their families are left to struggle,” said Rep. Sanchez. “They are not economic statistics. They are our friends and neighbors who unfairly lost their jobs to outsourcing. Trade Adjustment Assistance is a lifeline to them, helping them rebuild their careers, protect their families and hold on to hope. Congress cannot abandon them any longer.”
The new bill would extend TAA programs for workers, firms, and farmers for seven years; expand eligibility; increase funding; improve benefits—including provisions for childcare expenses—and establish a new program for communities impacted by trade-related job losses. It also proposes renewed investment in community college initiatives supporting affected workers.
In addition to Sanchez’s sponsorship, several members of Congress from multiple states have signed on as cosponsors.
Representative Morgan McGarvey (D-Ky.) expressed his support: “Louisville is powered by unions, our workers deserve to be made whole if they lose their jobs due to trade changes,” he said. “I’m proud to join Rep. Sanchez to introduce the Trade Adjustment Assistance Modernization Act, a bill that makes good on our promise to American workers.”
IAM International President Brian Bryant referenced recent plant closures affecting IAM members: “The IAM knows firsthand how critical the TAA program is to workers who lost their jobs as a result of outsourcing and unfair trade practices,” said Bryant. “When Caterpillar shuttered its Joliet, Ill., facility in 2018 and 2019 and moved roughly 600 IAM jobs to Mexico, TAA was there. When Truck-Lite closed its Falconer, N.Y., plant in early 2020 and shipped more than 150 jobs to Mexico and China, TAA was there. Now, nearly 400 Whirlpool workers in Amana, Iowa are losing their jobs to Mexico with hundreds more cuts expected later this year. Without TAA reauthorization these workers lose not just their paychecks but the job training and financial support they need… That’s not just a blow to workers—it’s a blow to their families and communities.”
