Employees wonder where they’ll work
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“You look at me and I’m close to retirement,” said Luneack. “But you look at this younger bunch coming up and Carrier is a good place to work. It’s not going to be there for them.”
Carrier’s announced departure Monday continues an unfortunate trend of plant closings that began to strike the county around five years ago.
Carrier’s shutdown figures to have a far greater impact than any manufacturer that’s left Warren County before for several reasons: 1) the number of jobs lost; 2) the pay of the jobs lost; 3) the number of small businesses which rely on Carrier for their livelihood.
“You take Bridgestone and Calsonic and they are the only ones we have left,” said Mark Grimes, a nine-year Carrier employee. “I say there will be some people moving out of McMinnville. What else are they going to do? Where are these folks going to work?”
Grimes said finding similar paying jobs is going to be the hardest aspect. The Sheet Metal Workers Local Union 483 reported yesterday the average Carrier worker earned $15.19 an hour last month, along with an additional 17 percent of their wages in bonus money for a total hourly wage of $17.77.
“You might be able to pay your bills on $8 or $9 an hour,” said Grimes. “But if you want to make a living and raise a family, you need jobs like Carrier.”
The main chore for the Carrier union now rests on negotiating severance packages which will likely include money, educational scholarships and training. The state of Tennessee, through its Department of Labor and Workforce Development, will then try to fill in the cracks and offer unemployment benefits, along with other educational and training opportunities.
David Hendrix, a Carrier employee since May of 1969, said going back to school might be appropriate for some people, but he doesn’t think it’s right for him.
“I’m not going back at 50-something years old,” said Hendrix. “Maybe for someone who is 30 that might be a good deal.”
The Hendrix family will be especially hard hit by Carrier’s closing since David’s wife and son also work there.
Since rumors of Carrier’s shutdown have been circulating for months, no employee said they were completely stunned by Monday’s announcement. Others said they believe it was a decision which was reached many months ago.
“We’ve been hearing for six months that there would be an announcement in February and the plant would be closed 18 months later,” said six-year Carrier employee Ryan Hargis. “Now how could that rumor be so accurate if it wasn’t already decided?”
Hargis said he will turn his part-time job as a diesel mechanic into a full-time job when he is forced to leave Carrier. “Of course a lot of the trucks I work on now do business with Carrier so we’ll just have to see how it works out,” he said.
It’s the second plant closing for a Spencer lady who talked with the Standard yesterday but refused to be identified. She worked 33 years at Powermatic and had just found a job at Carrier nine months ago.
“There’s not a lot you can say. You have to pick up the pieces and move on,” she said.
Announcement read to Carrier employees Monday
Today the company is announcing its intent to close the McMinnville plant subject to the completion of our collective bargaining obligations. This move is consistent with Carrier’s ongoing strategy to leverage manufacturing scale and to reduce the overall complexity of our business model. As hard as it is, this decision is necessary to continue to reduce excess manufacturing capacity, to achieve greater efficiencies, and ultimately, to better serve our customers. I truly believe today’s decision is necessary to improve Carrier’s long-term ability to better serve our customers.
Under this plan, all manufacturing production will cease in McMinnville by the second half of 2005. Fabrication operations will be outsourced to external suppliers and product assembly will be relocated to other Carrier factories in North America. Over the course of this year and next, work staying inside Carrier will be moved to other plants including: Tyler, Tex., Charlotte, N.C., and Monterey, Mexico. These moves are not happening immediately. Your job will be the same when you come to work tomorrow.
This announcement will raise many questions. Resources will be available to address your questions. They include your supervisor and manager; the human resources department; employee assistance counselors; LifeChoices representatives and Right Management staff.
This has not been an easy decision. I understand the substantial impact this decision will have on you and we are committed to provide support and assistance during this transition as well as to continue to serve our customers. Your understanding, continue focus, and ongoing dedication during this difficult time are sincerely appreciated.
Todd M. Bluedorn
President
Carrier Corporation
North American Commercial