The U.S. Labor Department and Texas Workforce Commission, both responsible for approving NAFTA retraining benefits, announced on Thursday, May 2 that four El Paso Factories will soon move a combined 283 jobs to their plants in Mexico. Should any of the workers be approved for the retraining program, they will receive unemployment insurance benefits and financial assistance for up to two years towards a technical school or college.
The four firms who submitted lists of employees for benefits were: Sheneco, a manufacturer of seat covers for military vehicles and other equipment, will let 94 workers go. Final Finish Inc., a stone-washing and finishing firm will merge with a Juarez firm and close its El Paso plant. This will displace 105 workers. Sun Belt Fixtures, a metal fixtures manufacturer has 58 employees in its El Paso shop that will be let go as the firm moves production to its Juarez plant. MBCA, an El Paso T-shirt plant released 26 workers due to increases in imports from its Mexico plant.
El Paso Energy Corp. laid off 40 percent of its employees in April. The firms spokesperson attributed the lay off to increased competition from Canada rather than Mexico. Prior to this current string of lost jobs, El Paso's March unemployment rate stood at 11.9 percent.
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) took affect January 1, 1994. Since then, El Paso has had 3,385 workers form 32 companies qualify for the NAFTA retraining program. Unfortunately, no such exact data is kept for jobs created by NAFTA in El Paso. However, the Texas State Employment office reported that since NAFTA began, El Paso, Texas has had a 4.3 percent net increase in jobs. Most of these jobs were in higher paying, trade related fields, such as customs brokering, trucking, and international warehousing. The Los Angeles, California Center for North American Integration and Development says 240,000 net new jobs were created in the U.S. as a result of NAFTA.
Sources: Diana Washington Valdez, El Paso Times, Center for North American Integration and Development, U.S. Labor Dept., Texas Employment Commission