A grant of nearly $1 million from the U.S. Department of Labor will help about 125 workers who lost their jobs when Clearwater Paper Corp. sold its Lewiston sawmill operation to Idaho Forest Group last year.
IFG reopened the mill before year’s end but has hired back fewer than half the 250 workers employed there before the sale.
The National Emergency Grant of some $948,000 being administered by the Idaho Department of Labor will provide services to the workers who were not rehired and have not found other jobs. Unlike some other assistance programs, the grant specifically allows the department to assist workers regardless of their residency, a significant aspect since the mill drew workers from Washington as well as Idaho.
The grant will provide workers with extensive services to prepare them for jobs in advanced manufacturing, green energy, health care, technology and transportation among other expanding industries. (Idaho Department of Labor)
