International Brotherhood of DuPont Workers

 

Jim Flickinger - President      Tony Davis - Vice President

Donny Irvin- Secretary/Treasurer 

Kenneth Henley - General Counsel 

"Workers Representing DuPont, Bemis and INVISTA Workers"

 

From IBDW President -

Jim Flickinger

 

May 11, 2009

Dear Members:

To say the least, this has been a year most would like to forget.  Regardless of region or plant site, this has been an exceptionally difficult time for all workers.

Throughout this year, some workers and locals have had to make some very painful decisions: Decisions such as unprecedented pay reductions in lieu of greater number of layoffs; decisions such as modifying seniority provisions to make plants more competitive and hopefully less likely to be closed; decisions based upon what is good for the plant but not necessarily its employees or the union.

While unions are often viewed unfavorably, many unions have been working without publicity and fanfare to find ways to keep their members working. We are trying to find alternatives to layoffs, trying to find alternatives to closing gates.

I am not referring to the officers of huge international unions - although they too are working hard for their members - but I am referring to the average local president who works side by side with their membership during the day and then spends their off hours doing the business of the union.  These elected union officers spend their off hours working up proposals to maintain benefits, wages and employment for their members instead of spending time with their families.

They do this not for the money, because they receive little compensation; and they don't do it for the fame, because when things are bad, they - not the company - receive the blame and when things are good, the company - not the union - receive the credit.

The IBDW is made up of eight locals from Old Hickory, TN to Clinton, IA, with each local's leadership having to make many decisions that in some cases are not popular with the membership.  However, these difficult decisions often result in real success stories, even during times of hardship; successes that require real leaders and real decisions; successes that do not win popularity contests, but rather keep plants running and employees working.

The IBDW is fortunate to have leaders at the local level who make these tough decisions. On behalf of our Union and membership, I thank you!

Update - Waynesboro, VA - IBDW Local 381

2009 will not be known as a good year for Waynesboro.  A significant portion of the site was idled due to the collapse in the housing market, which has resulted in significant layoffs at the site.  During this same time, our contract expired.  After about 3 months of intense negotiations, the Union and Management reached a tentative agreement.  Even though the tentative agreement contained hard concessions, the Membership realized what was at stake and ratified the Agreement by a 97 percent margin.  The new Contract Agreement was signed and implemented April 1, 2009.

Special Interest:  The UWI Vice President, Mr. Bruce Wiseman, recently accepted the voluntary layoff and retired in March 2009.  To say he will be missed will be a gross understatement. His experience and approach has been a constant to which I quickly learned to depend upon.  While most were sleeping, Bruce and I were discussing the strategy of the next day.  This cannot easily be replaced. You always offered your assistance - and for that I will always be grateful.  More than anything, I will miss your warm friendship.

 Update - Philadelphia, PA - IBDW Local 1186

It was just announced on May 8, 2009 that DuPont will close the Philadelphia (Marshall Lab) facility by June 30, 2009.  This closure was, while not at altogether unexpected, came without warning and without the Company coming to the Union seeking an alternative to total closure.  To put it mildly, all at the site are horribly disappointed at this development.

Update - Clinton, IA - IBDW Local 999

Clinton has laid off 10 people so far. Bemis states that this layoff should only last about 3 months, but time will tell.

 Update - Old Hickory, TN - IBDW Local 593

Management announced on May 7, 2009 that an additional 13 employees would be laid off in addition to the 47 employees that had already been laid off, with 15 employees accepting voluntary layoff through CTP; the union was also able to reduce the layoff by taking back 41 contractor jobs.

 Update - Martinsville, VA - IBDW Local 503

Here at Martinsville we are going to be cut by about 20%. As small as we are, that will make us even smaller. that will get us even smaller where eventually we will probably be gone. 

 Update - Louisville, KY - IBDW Local 1201

Much of our site was shut down for the entire month of December and March.  So far there have been no layoffs.  The plans for the rest of the year are very bleak, running at very low rates. We are hoping that this will not cause any interruptions in work weeks or downsizing of any kind.

On the DPE side, which is now shut down, they have started bull-dozing the DPE side of the plant (it really looks strange), they are supposed to take the entire DPE site down to grade. The Company will not allow us to take any photographs or videos. It does not mean as much to them as it does to us.

The Company has really started to utilize the Management's Rights Clause of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. They are cross training in every area, and as usual there are several managers that are going overboard with their ideas. The Union is continuing to try to work with the Company so that we have some say as to how these changes are implemented. The Local leadership also realizes that during these hard times, there is a need for us to keep members employed by any means necessary.

Special Interest:  Steve Clubb, a long time Secretary/Treasurer for our local retired on March 31, 2009. Although we are excited for his new opportunities, we hated to see Steve leave.  On the bright note, Steve's replacement, Mr. Bobby Sedoris, brings a lot of experience to the Board.

  Update - Richmond, VA - IBDW Local 992

It was announced on May 8, 2009 that a significant number of employees will be laid off at the Richmond facility.  At this time, the exact number of affected employees is not known. 

The following are excerpts from the May 8, 2009 edition of the Wilmington News Journal:  

Another facility impacted by the job cuts is DuPont's Spruance site in Richmond, Va., where products including Tyvek, Kevlar and Nomex are made. Donny Irvin, a plant employee and treasurer of the International Brotherhood of DuPont Workers Local 992, said employees were told 290 union workers will be laid off, as well as 150 to 200 managers.

Irvin said the plant, which employed more than 2,300 before the cuts, has suffered because of lower sales of Kevlar and Tyvek.

"Nobody on the plant site really expected the cuts to be that deep," Irvin said. "It's just shocking to us."

Kenneth Henley, general counsel for the International Brotherhood of DuPont Workers, which represents DuPont employees at sites in five states, said he was disappointed the company didn't work with the union to lessen the impact of the job cuts.

"I really thought we might be through the worst of the economic recession," Henley said. "It's a sad day for workers."


 

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