Push aims to protect hundreds of jobs at iconic clothing factory in Rochester

Posted by Admin December 20, 2024 Jobs

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Hundreds of jobs at Rochester’s iconic 113-year-old factory could be protected after a one-year extension was secured by U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer on the Wool Trust Fund — but the plans are not set in stone.

Ryan Martin, Schumer’s spokesperson, said the spending bill, including the farm bill extension, is actively being negotiated in Congress. “Right now those negotiations are happening on the House side and Senator Schumer is always fighting to be able to protect and extend the wool trust fund,” Martin said.

Schumer announced on Dec. 18 how he was planning to successfully protect the Wool Trust Fund, securing a one-year extension that the Rochester Tailored Clothing factory, formerly known as Hickey Freeman, relies on for crucial tariff relief.

The tariff relief is essential for the factory to keep its manufacturing operations and 207 workers, including 181 union employees, in Rochester by keeping its costs equivalent with overseas competitors that are not subject to these tariffs.

Clothing ‘Made in the USA’

Sen. Schumer said in statement how this would be a major victory for the factory, its workers and the Rochester community.

“The Wool Trust Fund is vital to creating a level playing field for this 113-year old Rochester institution and its signature ‘Made in the USA’ world-class clothing,” Schumer said. “With another year of the Wool Trust Fund, this factory can continue to compete with foreign competitors, to keep their manufacturing and hundreds of jobs in Rochester.”

This is not the first time Schumer was involved in the fight for funding for the factory.

Schumer helped secure legislation in the federal Farm Bill for 2014 that extended the Wool Trust Fund’s authorization for five years through 2019 and also helped restore adequate trust fund payment levels to address several years when the Trust was underfunded.

When the Wool Trust Fund was set to expire in 2019, Schumer secured a provision in the Senate’s version of the Farm Bill that extended the Trust Fund program until 2023 and fully funded it at 100%.

Todd Browne, CEO of Tom James Company and Rochester Tailored Clothing, expressed how grateful he was for Schumer’s significant and meaningful work when it comes to funding.

“The Wool Trust is absolutely essential to supporting American manufacturing by helping level the playing field against foreign competitors,” Browne said in a statement. “It allows the men and women of Rochester Tailored Clothing to compete fairly on the merits of our garments with any product made anywhere in the world.”

The provisions were included in the end-of-year spending bill.

— Kerria Weaver works as the Government and You reporter for the Democrat and Chronicle, with a focus on how government actions affect communities and neighborhoods in Rochester and in Monroe County. Get in touch at kweaver@gannett.com.

Editor’s note: This article was updated Dec. 20 to reflect the turbulence in Washington around passing of a spending bill.