About 60 former employees of Hercules Fiber have applied for jobs at Hexcel Corp., the company that purchased the firm that makes graphite fibers used in the aerospace industry.
Julie Holzer, international representative of the Oil, Chemical and Atomic International Union, said the employees should know in a day or two if they will get their old jobs back. The plant employs about 170 union workers and 140 salaried staff members.Meanwhile, about 40 union workers are working at Hexcel for wages between $1 and $5 per hour less than they were making before the recent labor problems arose between the union workers and the new company, Holzer said.
Holzer accused Hexcel officials of lying because they told union workers they had to enter into bargaining to keep their jobs. She said the sales contract between Hercules and Hexcel specified that Local 2-591 of the union would be the bargaining agency and the employees would retain their jobs.
By a 3-to-1 margin, union members rejected a Hexcel proposal that would reduce wages and benefits. On June 28, they walked off the job. The company provided packets with job offers for the employees. Some of the people accepted the offers and are working.
Holzer said the goal of the company is to continue having Local 2-591 as the bargaining agent for the union workers.