JAY – Wausau Paper mill employee Byron Cook stopped and talked to representatives of different agencies Tuesday who were offering information on resources available to dislocated workers.

Cook, a 20-year employee of the mill, and his wife, Cyndy, of Livermore, listened to each person explain what they offered at the resource fair at St. Rose Parish Hall.

“I am getting information,” he said. “I saw there were two or three hiring.”

Wausau Paper announced in August it would permanently shut down one of two paper machines and lay off about 150 people of its 235-member workforce. The last update was that the final day for No. 10 machine to run was Dec. 21, but employees received new information Tuesday that the layoffs could be moved up.

“The company is waiting to see what the sales are going to be but it appears that the shutdown will begin earlier than expected based on orders,” Dean Ouellette, president of Fireman and Oilers Union, which is part of the Service Employees International Union.

That could change Wednesday, he said, after the company finds out what its customers’ needs are, Ouellette said.

Ouellette commended the organizers of the resource fair and those agencies that participated.

They were well prepared and looked forward to helping people get the information they needed to move ahead.

He attended the fair after work and was impressed with the number of people that turned out to check out the resources, he said.

Mill Human Resource Manager Steve Wilkins, who was also looking over information, said due to the current climate layoffs may be moved up a little bit earlier. The mill is trying to keep the machine running as long as possible to meet customers’ need, he said.

Mill officials and workers are also waiting to see if the Jay mill gets certified for a trade petition by the U.S. Department of Labor, which would open more doors for training opportunities and extended unemployment benefits.

Christine Greenleaf, a peer support coordinator for the Maine AFL-CIO, who is on the Maine Department of Labor Rapid Response Team, said there have been talks between the federal government and Wausau officials.

So there is some movement, she said.

The petition was filed Nov. 5, and an answer is expected within 40 days.

Bryan Wallace, a student services representative for Central Maine Community College in Franklin County, said he had some people stop by his table and fill out applications for courses.

While workers were trickling in during early hours of the fair, Wilton CareerCenter representative Patty Ladd said they were hoping to catch more of them when the shift changed midafternoon.

People are interested in truck-driving courses offered through Region 9 School of Applied Technology in Mexico as well as other educational, training and employment opportunities, Ladd said.

SAD 36 Adult Education Director Carrie Castonguay said she had conducted a fair amount of reading and math assessments at the mill for people planning to pursue secondary education or training.

“We’re at the point now, we’re waiting to hear from trade. If they get approved, it is going to be a quick turnaround,” Castonguay said. The winter semester starts in January.

Maine Staffing Group representative David Farr said that quite a few people stopped by to check out manufacturing and construction employment opportunities.

Even workers who would keep their jobs after the layoffs were looking at information.

“We’re all affected by the changes in the job and the fact that so many people, so many years are going to be out on the street,” mill worker Randy Berry of Livermore said. He will stay on at the mill as emergency management coordinator.

He is worried about the workers being laid off first, he said, but he also has safety concerns about those keeping their jobs and working in places they are not familiar with.

“We’re all worried about the future,” Berry said. “It’s going to be hard. You just can’t transfer papermaking experience to another job. Someone in the trades will have a little bit of an advantage with their experience.”

Cyndy Cook said she feels like they’ve been through this before. Her husband was laid off early on in their 42-year marriage.

“We managed. We’ll manage again,” she said.