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Answers wanted from Kensington Windows
(The Valley News-Dispatch Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Oct. 29--Assistance may be available for shuttered Kensington Windows and its employees, but any aid is being hindered by the company's unavailability, county and state officials say.
Armstrong County may be able to offer help to the replacement window and patio door company, but it depends on the circumstances that led to Monday's plant closing, said county Commissioner Richard Fink.
The state Department of Labor and Industry could offer services to Kensington's 150 employees who suddenly found themselves jobless. But such aid is usually offered in cooperation with the company, spokesman Justin Fleming said.
The company called its employees on Sunday and told them not to report for work the next day at the facility off River Road in the Parks Bend Industrial Park.
Both Fink and Fleming said their agencies have been unsuccessful in reaching representatives of Kensington and its parent company, Jancor Companies, based in Perrysburg, Ohio. It manufactures vinyl siding, windows, fencing, decking, railing and other building and construction-related products through several subsidiaries.
A woman who answered the phone at Jancor on Tuesday identified herself only as an executive assistant and said the company is going through a restructuring. She said no other information was available, and no company officials were available to answer questions.
State Rep. Jeff Pyle, R-Ford City, said the company may be in violation of the federal Warren Act for not giving workers 60 days notice. If so, it could face fines of $500 per day, per worker.
He said workers began coming to his Ford City office at 9 a.m. Monday.
"What is uncertain at this point is whether or not this is a company bankruptcy or outsourcing or something else that we're not aware of," Pyle said. "If it's a bankruptcy, the Warren Act does not apply. If it isn't a bankruptcy, then the Warren Act does."
If jobs were outsourced to a foreign country, workers would qualify for additional benefits, including an additional 39 weeks of unemployment and job retraining.
"It's still so fresh we have to get a better read on what's happening down there," he said.
In a letter to union officials, the company said it lost its financing. Four other Jancor companies were shut down along with Kensington Windows.
Union local President George Latta could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Fink said the county's Planning and Economic Development office had been unsuccessful in attempts to reach the company's management. He said it would be difficult to know what the county could do without knowing the precise issues involved.
"I don't know the true facts of why they closed down other than what I heard on the news. Until we know the issues, I'd hate to speculate and put false hopes out there," said Fink, who himself lost his job as a coal miner in 1999 when the mine he worked at closed. "I do feel sorry for the employees. I've been there. I know what it's like. At least I got a 60-day notice and they didn't. And that's wrong."
Fleming said Labor and Industry has been reaching out to the company so it can stage meetings to offer assistance to out-of-work employees, but has not gotten a response.
He said the department would inform the workers about unemployment compensation and services provided at PA CareerLink offices, which include job searching, resume building and training.
"We usually coordinate that through the human resources division of these companies. More often than not, the company aids us in setting up meetings. We've reached out but haven't been able to reach anybody with Kensington Windows," Fleming said.
"It can happen without the company," he said. "We're still able to inform employees of the services we provide."
Fleming said workers may contact Labor and Industry or the PA Career Link office in Kittanning for assistance. "The services at PA CareerLink are available to anybody," he said.
Fink said Kensington's closing will have "quite an impact" on Armstrong County.
"It just scares me to death thinking about how many companies are out there that depend on lines of credit and how many people could lose their jobs over the next months," he said. "It could be devastating."
Brian C. Rittmeyer can be reached at brittmeyer@tribweb.com or .
To see more of The Valley News-Dispatch or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/valleynewsdispatch/.
Copyright (c) 2008, The Valley News-Dispatch, Tarentum, Pa.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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