Last week, Rep. Pete Aguilar wrote a letter to U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Thomas Perez advocating for federal assistance for the 840 employees laid off as a result of the Colton Ashley Furniture facility closure. In an official letter to Secretary Perez, Rep. Aguilar offered his full-fledged support for the petition filed by the State of California Economic Development Department (EDD) on behalf of the displaced workers with the U.S. Department of Labor, which requests federal employment assistance through the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program.

Trade Adjustment Assistance is a federal program that offers employment services through counseling, on-the-job training, and more for American workers who have been adversely affected by foreign competition. Rep. Aguilar’s letter advocated for Ashley Furniture workers to receive federal assistance if the Department of Labor finds that workers were impacted by jobs being shipped overseas to Vietnam, as the TAA petition indicates. Rep. Aguilar followed up earlier this week with the Department of Labor with regard to the TAA petition, and his office has been working with the City of Colton and the San Bernardino County Workforce Development Board to help displaced workers find employment.

Neil Nisperos with the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin has the story, which can be read in full here.