Hundreds start job search
ahead of December plant closure

IUE-CWA | TNG Canada Local 80400

Members of IUE-CWA 80400, a TNG Canada/CWA Local, attended career counselling sessions Monday in the wake of last week's announcement that La-Z-Boy Inc. will be closing its manufacturing plant in Waterloo, Ont., just before Christmas.

Chris Grogan

Chris Grogan, president of the Local that represents about 330 workers at the plant, says many of the members are angry about the closure while others see it as a chance to move on.

Although the Michigan-based company said last week it would close its only Canadian upholstery facility on Dec. 16 and shift production to plants in Tennessee and Missouri, Grogan says there's a small possibility "it may go beyond that date."

"We regret the impact this will have on the lives of those employees working at the Waterloo facility," Kurt Darrow, president and chief executive officer, said in a news release. "We will provide transition assistance and the appropriate benefits to these employees during this difficult period."

The plant, which employes 413 people, produces five per cent of La-Z-Boy's recliners and reclining sofas. The company says the plant has "been operating at less than optimal capacity for some time." Darrow said the closure "is necessary for La-Z-Boy to remain competitive and improve our remaining operations."

Grogan says he's been aware for several years that the Waterloo plant is such a tiny operation compared to the company's U.S. plants that it was an easy target. "And with the Canadian dollar really high, that didn't help." He notes there have been many layoffs in recent months, reducing the Local's membership from its peak of 385 last year.

Grogan plans to meet with company officials next week in Michigan to explore options and "try to get them to change their minds."

Meanwhile, "I'm trying to find jobs for everyone" and he's also trying to negotiate severance packages greater than the legislated minimum of one week's pay for each year worked.

He's optimistic that many of the skilled workers will find employment because Waterloo is a large manufacturing area. A half dozen companies have already made inquiries about hiring La-Z-Boy employees, and Toyota will be looking for 1,500 people to run the plant it will soon be building in nearby Woodstock.

The Local had signed a new three-year collective agreement with the company in May 2004 that provided wage increases of six per cent and improved benefits. At the time, Grogan said that, had there been a strike or lockout, the company would not have hesitated to move the work to its non-union plants in the United States.

As for the future of the Local, Grogan says it will continue to exist. At the core will be the bargaining unit for the Beacon Herald of Stratford, members of which in 2003 voted to merge with IUE-CWA 80400.

Meetings to be held over the next few weeks will determine what course the Local will take. Elections for the Local's executive scheduled for November will be postponed until January or February, says Grogan.