Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 23, 1995 TAG: 9503230068
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JEFF STURGEON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
John Winske said he will know in about a month whether he can count on the recent upturn to continue and justify hiring permanent employees.
Worldwide sales of nylon goods began to jump four months ago, and the Martinsville plant responded by boosting its output by 20 to 25 percent, Winske said.
Meanwhile, the United Mine Workers of America, which lost an organizing election last year at the plant, has failed in a bid to have the election rerun.
The National Labor Relations Board notified DuPont in a letter received Monday that it had rejected the mine workers' case March 15, Winske said.
In fall 1993, saying that the world's nylon markets were overbuilt, DuPont announced plans to cut its Martinsville work force of 1,300 people nearly in half by offering retirement incentives or laying off employees. Affected employees included production workers making $30,000 a year and managers earning as much as $50,000. The payroll has shrunk to 600 people, Winske said.
The increased demand for nylon fiber, which goes into products such as clothing, swimsuits and carpet, means "we've got way more equipment running today than we thought we would a year ago," Winske said. "We started up a lot of the equipment we shut down."
Retired workers were invited to work as temporary employees, and regular crews are working overtime, Winske said.
"More and more, it looks like this is business we're going to have for quite a while," Winske said.
With the potential for more job openings looming, DuPont negotiates next week for the first time with a newly certified employee labor organization, the Martinsville DuPont Employees Union, which is not affiliated with any international labor organization.
DuPont employees for years belonged to another in-house union, the Martinsville Nylon Employees Council. But after 1987 the council failed repeatedly to negotiate a contract with the company; in 1994, its leaders turned to the UMW for help.
The union allowed the UMW to stage an organizing drive. Not all workers wanted the UMW, however. A second home-grown union was formed and defeated the UMW 294-218 in a Nov. 5 election.
The mine workers demanded that a new vote be held, contending that during the campaign DuPont managers said they would close the plant if the mine workers' group prevailed, and that managers supported the new home-grown union in speeches employees were required to attend. On election day, the mine workers contended, DuPont "chilled" the resolve of workers to vote freely by having managers act as balloting observers.
The NLRB ruled that the UMW failed to prove its case. Sarah Starrett, the UMW's lawyer, said the union did not plan to appeal.
Winske said he was relieved by the decision.
"A plant always agonizes over stuff like this. It always causes hard feelings," Winske said. "Our goal is to get the plant back together."
by CNB