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Interlake workers to learn more about their employment situation Thursday(The Pantagraph (Bloomington, IL) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Mar. 5--PONTIAC -- United Fixtures/Interlake workers in Pontiac who will lose their jobs as part of the company's impending sale still were in the dark Wednesday about whether they will be rehired by the new owner. United Auto Workers Local 2488 President Ralph Timan there will be a special union meeting Thursday to discuss the situation. Timan said he heard nothing new Wednesday, but a hearing Thursday in Delaware in the company's bankruptcy case may yield new information. "I'm hoping we will talk about what happened in the court case, and prepare for the fact that (Thursday) might be their last day of work," he said. Workers were told Tuesday that the sale of the bankrupt shelving and storage rack manufacturer to Spanish company Mecalux Inc. for $30 million will take place either Friday or Monday. The announcement said all company workers, including around 260 at the Pontiac facility, will be terminated on the day before the sale. Timan said Interlake is wants to end its union contract as part of the bankruptcy proceedings, and that request will be heard in Thursday's hearing. Meanwhile, workers do not know if they will be rehired or if they will receiving severance packages as part of the sale, Timan said. Company representatives at the plant in Pontiac and the corporate headquarters in Naperville did not return phone calls Wednesday. Eric Monical, the union's bargaining chairman, previously said Mecalux was seeking a $3.45 decrease in hourly wages, which currently run $16 to $18 an hour, a 20 percent increase in health insurance costs for workers and a halt to pension contributions. To see more of The Pantagraph, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.pantagraph.com. Copyright (c) 2009, The Pantagraph, Bloomington, Ill. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |