I read the announcement by Sen. Susan Collins concerning federal training funds being made available for the more than 400 shoeworkers facing recently announced layoffs. It is a tragedy that hard-working, productive employees, paying taxes on a weekly basis, must now be facing an uncertain future. It is also ironic that taxpayers must now foot the bill for retraining.

Where is Sen. Collins’ voice? I seem to recall that she supports most of President Clinton’s international trade proposals while also supporting increased federal regulations on our state’s manufacturers. What does she expect? These are valuable Maine jobs we are losing and I think it’s time our senator took a stand. Jennifer Robinson Ellsworth