Report: Wabtec’s Erie Rail Plant Could Close If New Labor Agreement Is Not Reached (UPDATED)
Written by Carolina Worrell, Senior Editor
Manufacturing operations at Wabtec Corp.’s Erie County, Pa., rail plant could end if a new labor agreement is not reached with some 1,400 striking union workers, County Executive Brenton Davis said Aug. 16, according to a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette report.
According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette report, Davis said in a statement that he’d recently confirmed that a “major third-party contractor” had visited the facility and that the contractor “manufactures many, if not all, of the locomotive components currently assembled at the Erie plant.”
“This is a troubling development that suggests the company could be considering a plant closure,” Davis said, as reported by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “This plant should not disappear without at least a vote of the workers whose livelihoods are at stake. Any strike, layoff, or plant closure would have grave effects on our local economy.”
Wabtec spokesman Tim Bader, according to the report, declined to comment on Davis’s press release, but said in a prepared statement that the company is “being forced to consider difficult decisions to continue supporting its customers and deliver on its commitments.”
“From the beginning, Wabtec’s goal in these negotiations has been to reach an agreement that would best position its employees and the Erie site for success,” said Bader. The Erie plant has been a “laggard in terms of cost and efficiency for years as compared to other Wabtec sites and suppliers.”
“These challenges seriously hinder the site’s ability to attract new or even keep existing production work in Erie,” Bader added.
According to the report, Wabtec said it had offered an additional $41 million in wage improvements in a new contract, but the union’s “current demands on increased new hire wages and unfettered right to strike seem out of touch with the economic realities.”
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that “union officials were not immediately available” to provide a comment.
County Information Officer Chris Carroll, according to the report, said the information about the third-party manufacturer’s visit to the plant came from a “close source” at the company.
According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette report, a four-year contract at Wabtec expired June 10 with members of UE Locals 506 and 618 walking off the job on June 22.
Wabtec said it made its “last, best and final” contract offer on June 10, which was rejected by workers, and received a preliminary court injunction on Aug. 3 to “limit picketing activity at the gates to the Erie plant,” the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.
Bader, who also declined to provide a comment to Railway Age on Davis’s statement, added the following:
“This entrenched stance could negatively impact our 1,400 hourly employees, the site, and the community. To be successful in the long term, the Erie site must be cost competitive, efficient, and provide labor stability. In this current climate, the company is being forced to consider difficult decisions to continue supporting its customers and deliver on its commitments.”
Wabtec met with UE bargaining representatives this morning. According to the company, the parties reached a tentative agreement on new language pertaining to vacation scheduling. Bargaining will resume on Aug. 22-23. Updates will be posted here.
