Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, December 29, 1994 TAG: 9412300078
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: MARTINSVILLE LENGTH: Medium
Three textile workers who lost their jobs because foreign companies were producing the same goods cheaper are studying to be paralegals, with the help of the government.
Their education is being paid for with a federal grant that Sara Lee Knit Products sought after it laid off several hundred Virginia workers this past summer.
The program allows employees to get retraining and unemployment benefits if their layoffs follow company sales decreases linked to foreign competition, Sara Lee spokesman Sonny Dykes said. It pays for tuition, books and supplies and provides for a stipend.
The program was started after the 1974 Trade Act, and Dykes said it provides better benefits than the job retraining program enacted with the North American Free Trade Agreement. Both are administered through the Virginia Employment Commission.
Justine Owen was a health technician who administered drug tests and assisted a Sara Lee factory nurse. Johnny Crawford operated a machine where clothing is dyed. Serita Manley was a packer at the distribution center.
All three are successful students at Patrick Henry Community College and believe they are better off than when they were employed.
``We're preparing ourselves for better-paying jobs and better opportunities,'' Owen said.
This month, Owen was elected president of the Patrick Henry Community College Paralegal Association, Crawford its vice president and Manley its treasurer.
A paralegal assists in research and title searches and does ``a lot of the footwork for the lawyer,'' Owen said.
``I feel like I'm challenged now,'' said Crawford, who had a 4.0 grade-point average in the first semester. ``I feel like I'm getting a second chance. I feel better about myself than I did when I was standing there, staring at a machine all day.''
Manley, a single parent with two children, also had straight A's in the first semester.
``I didn't want to have to go back to a plant and work in a factory. I wanted something better for myself,'' said Manley, who hopes one day to work in criminal law.
The grant requires recipients to send forms to the federal government each week showing they are attending school regularly.
Crawford said he was nervous about returning to school.
``I'd been out of school for 15 years. You wonder if you can do it again. But after a few weeks, it all started clicking. You learn how to learn again.''
by CNB