I have worked for the Scottsboro plant for 17 1/2 years, it was goodyear when I first started and have seen it change hands about 5 times since I have worked there. Performance Fibers aquired the company a year ago and told the employees that they bought the company to run it and the future looked good, well that future lasted a year and they have announced the idleing of the fibers production part of the plant.
About three months ago they had a layoff which left me the lowest senior in the plant that would have a permanent job. During the layoff they shut my job down so those of us running these machines had to fill opening jobs by seniority being a union plant. I was the last one to get a job so I didn't get to chose, had to take what was left. The job I was awarded was a misc. Job which covers most of the jobs left in the plant.
I worked the job 2 weeks and was called back in the office and told that I had to be displaced from the job because I was disqualified from one of the jobs I had to qualify on about 10 to 14 years ago. I didn't have a problem with this if they would have abidded by the contract as discribed below straight from the contract.
"Contract Layoffs and Recalls"
Whenever a reduction in the working force is necessary and a surplus of employees exists, and it appear this condition may continue for short periods of time, the parties will meet to determine the distribution of abailable work.
In the event that agreement is not reached probationary employees shall be immediately laid off, and for a period not to exceed four (4) continuous or accumulative weeks in a year the work week may be reduced for the time further reductions are necessary to maintain the standard work week, employees unable toexercise their transfer privileges shall be laid off.
"Pension and Insurance Contract, Service Award"
Each Employee who retires or is retired from service with an Employer on or after the Effective date, shall be eligible to cecieve out of the trust fund, in lieu of any pension on account of such retirement, a lump sum payment, refered to herein as a "Service Award" determined in accordance with the provisions of Paragraph 2 of this Article XI, if (a) such Employee has completed at least five years of continous service immediately prior to such retirement, (b) such Emplyee has been reitred by his Employer because he/she is no longer able to meet the requirements of his/her job and is unable to qualify for transfer to another job.
According to the contract I should have been laid off because I could not exercise my transfer priviledes to another job because I did not have enough seniority to roll someone else off their job, and under this situation I also shoud have receive my Service Award. I filed a grievance and the HR leader made me carry it through the steps of the qrievance procedure starting with the area manager, department manager and the contract say that if it pertains to the pension it goes straight to the HR Department skipping the first two.
I have now been waiting nearly a month to get it to the HR Department but he refuses to meet on. Now Keep in mind the Plant is closing on Dec. 29 and my last day will be the 28 of December. I have also tried to submit concent letter from my spouse by contract in order to receive my Service Award and the HR Leader refused to accept it.
Now the United Steel Workers of America are tell me that they will not carry the grievance any further, I beleive they have been bought off. This is breach of contract of both the Company "Performance Fibers" and Union "United Steel Workers of America". All I want is what the contract says I am entitled to and what I have worked for the last 17 1/2 years.
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