Omnova strikers want integrity Ronald Crowe and Jerry Aldridge, along with others, strike Friday at the Omnova front gate. Crowe has been with the company 38 years and Aldridge 24 years. / Kelly Tippett/Dispatch Staff
Longtime employees at Omnova's Columbus plant say the strike is not about money; it's about integrity.
Workers have been on strike since Friday afternoon. And they are prepared to stay on strike "as long as it takes" to retain benefits and incentives programs in place for decades, said Ronald Crowe of Millport, Ala. Crowe has worked at the plant for 38 years.
But drastic changes are needed at the Columbus plant, which operates under "very depressed conditions," according to Sandi Noah, director of communications for Omnova Solutions.
In Columbus, "we need significant improvement in worker flexibility and operational costs," Noah said, declining to offer specific details of the proposed contract.
Workers at the union office, across Yorkville Road from Omnova, said the proposal would take most of them back to their pay grades from decades ago.
"They're just asking for so many Draconian steps backward in our contract," Crowe said.
"They put a proposal on the table they knew would put us out here on the street," he added, wielding a sign that said "Unfair Labor Practices."
"I already make less now right now than I did when I was hired. That's now. That's before this," added Jerry Aldridge of Kennedy, Ala. He has worked at Omnova for 22 years.
"It appears from the day I started, certain things on the job, I had. And now they want to take it away from me," said Jimmy Lanier, a 43-year veteran with Omnova. Lanier lives in Columbus. "It's just unfair," he continued. "It appears they are not concerned about the prosperity of the company by the way they treat the employees."
Omnova is an incentive-driven plant, workers said. With the proposed changes, incentives, retirement packages and seniority all would be stripped.
"It's not about the money," said Louis "The King" Trull of Kennedy, Ala. "It's about tearing the plant down." (Trull earned the nickname King after winning a production contest at the plant.)
Along with incentives, shift rights and seniority rights are on the chopping block, according to Trull, who has been with the company for 42 years.
"It's not about the money," Trull reiterated. "It's about destroying 42 years of hard labor, trying to run a factory. ... Our philosophy statement says that employees are our No. 1 resource. Our creed says enthusiastic employees make happy customers. Do we look happy? We're out here when we should be working."
"The only thing we're asking for is a fair deal," agreed Derek Sherrod of Columbus, a 22-year veteran with Omnova. "We've put a lot of time in here at the plant, and we don't feel they're offering us a fair deal. ... We just only want an honest day's pay for an honest day's work."
Position consolidation and massive job cuts have been proposed, Sherrod noted.
"They are saying that the business level is low ... We believe that the business is on an upturn," he added.
Omnova does not disclose production numbers for competitive reasons, but for the past five years Columbus plant volumes have been down 45-80 percent for commercial wall covering and major coated fabrics, according to information posted at the website betterfuturecolumbusplant.com.
While Omnova made gains in 2009 from "new products, company cost reduction actions, and facility process and cost improvements," the company maintains the Columbus plant did not contribute to the progress due to "high costs and uncompetitive work rules."
Jay Lawrence, the local union president, said they are willing to negotiate, but the company has frozen them out.
"They say they can't be competitive with the contract, and we disagree," said Lawrence, adding the union asked for no changes to the contract they've had for 40 years.
"We are committed to getting a contract ratified," Noah said, noting the agreement must be fair to the company and its employees.
Meanwhile, the company has activated its strike contingency plan to keep the Columbus plant running.
Union members voted Wednesday 168-2 to strike, marking the first strike in four decades, according to Lawrence.
"We'll try to man the gates 24 hours, until this is over," he said.
The last strike at the local plant lasted three months.
"We've always had a relationship with managers where we've tried to work things out," said Gene Gore, who has worked for Omnova for 43 years. "This guy (Tob Coss) comes in and wants to change things we've struggled with for years."
Coss, director of operations for Omnova, is acting as plant manager for the Columbus site.
The plant is incentives-driven, and employees are self-directed without much supervision from management, Gore added.
"The last thing I said to them before I walked out was, 'If you have to try to run these machines, be careful and don't get hurt,'" Gore said. "I feel for them. I really do."
Trull is more concerned about the customers depending on Omnova products.
The Columbus plant produces materials used in production of Jeep tops and furniture, he noted: "They depend on us for business."
Omnova Solutions Inc. is prepared to hold out, as its more than 170 hourly workers strike.
The strike began on Friday at 3 p.m., after the Steelworkers Union Local 748-L declined the company's "final offer" May 15 after weeks of negotiations.
Omnova, one of the area's top 12 employers, had about 380 employees in 2009. Now, the Columbus plant operates with 269 -- 174 hourly wage workers and 95 salaried employees.
"The company is doing everything it can to make the Columbus plant more competitive and avoid such an extreme event," a website statement says about the possibility of closing the Columbus plant.
Garthia Burnett is the News Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
You have a good job that pays well. You are more concerned with sitting on your @#$ than working. I'm sure there are a lot of people that will be glad to have your job. The line starts behind me.
I hope these idiots I see on the roadside waving their little signs realize before its too late that there are people falling over one another to have a job right now. Yet here they stand crying over details, BE GLAD YOU HAVE A JOB SOMEWHERE AND GET YOUR ASS BACK TO WORK.
The longer the strike, the more certain that there won't be any OMNOVA jobs in Columbus, MS. It was Management's fault for giving in decades ago to overpriced union demands. Now union members have to decide, can I get a job and benefits somewhere else at the pay I'm getting now? Near Columbus, MS? Anywhere?
I would challenge the statement by Mr. Jerry Aldridge of Kennedy, Al that he makes LESS NOW than he did when when he went to work there 22 years ago. He would not have stayed this long if that were anywhere close to the truth. Come on Mr. Aldridge, Man Up!
One of the problems is the older workers making $20 or $30 dollars an hour. They are driving jobs out of the U.S. & keeping young folks who have families to support from getting a good job. I remember back in the day, you did 20 yrs at a factory & got out. If you still wanted to work you got a part time job or went to a place like Wal-Mart to be a greeter or something. One guy has been there 22 yrs & another for 42?!! Come on! Something had to give. These employees brought this on themselves.
unions? All they do is sell dreams. they take mooney form workers and never fulfill their end of the deal. dyncorp is union and if you are exmilitary you cant get a job there, but a ex-con can. dyncorp only hires family members and some are straight out of high school and start off at $20 a hour. someone who serves thier country cant get a fair shot cause they dont have a family member working their. the union only helps who they want to help. Thom Gieger is an idiot if the rest of you dont know by now.
Let's see if I've got this straight. 1. Economy is way down (improving but down). 2. Worldwide sales of product are down. Profits are down. 3. Increased competition pressure from offshore companies. 4. Materials,operating costs & shipping are up. 5. Government intervention (EPA, OSHA, taxes)is up. 6. Unemployment is up. 7. Interest is down. 8. Price of everything is up (fuel, groceries, electricity) 9. Stockholders screaming for better return on investment. 10. Workers screaming for better working conditions,shorter hours, higher pay. Going on strike. 11. Antiquated equipment and production methods. SOLUTIONS: 1. Increase sales; raise prices in face of competition 2. Cut costs everywhere possible to remain viable. 3. Upgrade equipment, technology and change production methods. 4. Negotiate with union to lower labor costs (only real area of costs that company may have any control over) 5. Layoff workers, close plant until economy improves. 6. Build new plant offshore with new technology,machinery and lower labor costs to be competitive.
It's a no-brainer! Cut costs and survive, continue as you are and drown, or close the plant and move to more favorable conditions.
Workers fail to realize that management must first answer to the stockholders and the banks who put up the money; secondly, to competitive marketing trends and lastly, to the labor force. Management does not want to close the plant, nor do they wish to hurt their labor force. Both management and labor are in this together. Management wants to keep their jobs and homes as much as the plant worker does. That guy that makes so much money as head of the company wants to keep his job just as much as you. He knows how to run a large corporation, knows where to find and intice bankers to lend money for new plants and procuction costs, knows how to pacify boards, bankers and stockholders. Do you plant workers know how to do his job? I doubt it. You don't know how to properly finance a car, much less a multi-million corporation.
This plant is only a small part of the overall corporation. Every bucket has to sit on its own bottom! If you are bleeding money at one plant and raking it in at another, what would you do? A strike at this time is only forcing management to make a decision that they might not want to make. You might find that that decision is not very much to your liking.
I do soooo love the Internet. I found some more interesting facts about how well Omnova is doing, at the expense of their workers. They pulled this very tactic at another plant up north and scared them back to work. They have suffered ever since and are still being told by the company that they are still not making a profit. Liar, liar...pants on fire. The financial reports say different and the 90% raise the C.E.O. recieved certainly reflects something different. The following is found on the Internet: OMNOVA Solutions Inc. just topped earnings projections, sending shares to a new 52-week high. OMNOVA Solutions announced first-quarter results on Mar 24th that included net income of $7.8 million, up from a small loss one year ago. The company saw net sales spike 15% to $184 million. Earnings per shares came in at 18 cents. This was the fifth quarter with sequential earnings improvement. Very Intersting, isn't it? I am still looking for all the facts. p.s. To Terry....very interesting about the equipment installed but not ever started. Nice work. From all I can find out, I still have to side with the workers unless I am shown something different.
The longer the strike, the more certain that there won't be any OMNOVA jobs in Columbus, MS. It was Management's fault for giving in decades ago to overpriced union demands. Now union members have to decide, can I get a job and benefits somewhere else at the pay I'm getting now? Near Columbus, MS? Anywhere?
Does anyone around the situation have a television? The depressed economic state of our country is real. Like it or not, product can be built much cheaper in China, Mexico or other countries. It is necessary for American Companies to work at a more efficient manner. We are all spoiled and need to do what ever it takes to keep jobs in America,Union or non Union, Salaried or hourly. Wake up America!
If they go to china it will not be because of greed or the union. It has nothing to do with the union or Obama. Companies have left this country at a record pace during the last bunch that was in power for eight years. This group needs the support of the community. Looks like some people support companies that are from around the world in place of the people in their community. I hope the people that do not support them are not the next to loose wages or retirement. I think this group would support you if you were in their position.
They have been building plants over seas for years now. Guess who help (and still are) build them? x-employees of omnova. Now that the market is down Omnova will close this plant and ship every order over in the far east. This has been their plan for the last 10-12 years. Now its for real. And we helped them do it. Wake up America! It's going to be this way until we elect people who give a damn about this country. They are only using you. A strick is only playing into there hands. It's a PLAN. They are winning. America is loosing. We have been sold out !!! If you think things are going to get better look around next year wil be worse. We have been too fat too long. Is it too late. Yea, I think so. We have to keep trying. Keep fighting. I hope it's not too late. A few more years like this and it will be. THINK ABOUT IT!
It's sad that the citizens of Columbus can see what this one time Bohemoth of a plant has been wanting to do for years, but it's employees can't see. I'm surprised that it's still open at all.
I have a good friend who works at Omnova and is striking now. I have seen what they were proposed by the company. It was basically a slap in the face. If your job told you that you would have to give up between 10-15%(benefits included) to keep your job, what would you say? Times are already hard for people (oil,gas prices,etc). Why would you not strike? The union just wants them to be fair--and the contract they gave them IS a slap-in-the-face.
I worked at General Tire during a strike, back in the 1970's. Even though I left the company to attend college a few years later, I have always appreciated the opportunity to work there. I had a fair wage of slightly over $2.00/hour. I walked the picket line and was able to get my family on food stamps..those were not fun times for anyone. Even though I am very sympathetic for the workers, I know that many of the benefits I had in those old days are not the same that companies have today. The no-cost health plan is out the window. The traditional retirement plans are all but a dream now for many of us. My hope is that the company and employees can come together. I would really hate for my hometown of Columbus lose another industry. Good luck on the negotiations.
It would seem to me that with the state of the economy, the nearness of maquiladoras and the possibility of turning Omnova into one, and the hundreds of unemployed who would gladly take their jobs, that the Omnova workers seem rather foolish to be going on strike at a time like this.
Looking back at the comments from the stories since this strike started, looks like most in the thriving Columbus area wants to help push ever one down to China's wages. In place of supporting the strikers some of you blame the corparate greed on the union. If we all don't start pushing back against these companies we are headed for third world statis. Keep helping companies take wages away from people and you might just be next. I would not want to be known as a scab the rest of my life, would you? Think about!!!!
"174 hourly wage workers and 95 salaried employees"
??? One salaried employee for every two hourly workers? That seems kind of strange. I can't remember seeing that high a ratio in a production plant before. Could someone shed some light on those numbers?
This is not about the workers wanting more money. This company is out to take everything the men who have worked here most of their lives have built. I worked there 11 years and was laid off once. If I had stayed I would have been laid off again. They could care less about the employees and will stab you in the back just as quick as smile at you.
The employees on strike have my full support!
The company has nothing but idiots in charge. Cutting costs could start with not installing $3 million in unused equipment that will never be turned on. The system was set 5 years ago and was never even hooked up. When a corporation makes decisions like that, why should the workers give up anything?
Has anyone found out about the company structure at the plant? Why is the workforce ratio at one salaried employee to every two hourly workers? Do they have that large an R&D or some other department where the majority of employees are on salary? I've never seen that high a ratio in a manufacturing production facility before.
We lost around 12 major employers of semi-skilled and entry level labor in the past seven years or so and replaced them with 5 or 6 high tech industries. High paying high tech jobs require education and we aren't doing a very good job of that. Of the 250 or so that walked across the stage at CHS last week, I was told that only 124 actually got diplomas. The rest need credits or passing the state tests to get diplomas. In my day if you didn't make the grade, you didn't walk in graduation. I wonder how many will go back and finish. By rough count, we have lost around 4,000 jobs and only gained around 1,000 back that are filled by people that come from out of the area because they have the experience and education to fill those jobs, while our uneducated, unskilled, entry level work force sits on their butts and collects welfare, steals, murders or can only find work at a fast food joint. Now it looks like our our only semi skilled plant is going east.
This is what Omnova wants: Workers to strike so they can say "Oh so you don't want to work, take a pay cut so the company can make it here". "Well we will have to take the whole operation over seas". It's a plan and they will win. The whole American economy has gone to hell in a hand basket. With the leadership we have in the US I will say it will all be gone in 10 years. We will all look around and say what the hell happen. Can you not see it now? In a year or 2 (maybe now) it will be too late. We have sit on our butts and watched the whole country be given away. Does no one give a damn? I guess not. We keep putting the sameones in office and doing the samethings and expect it to change! Get REAL. Omnova will be gone in a year or less. There are not anough new business to take the place of what we are loosing. All the new industries we have gotten have not replaced what we have lost. Is it too late? I think so. Hope not!
jb, sometimes I guess you just have to call a liar what they are. You said; "dyncorp only hires family members and some are straight out of high school and start off at $20 a hour." You're right that that does happen, but I have a clue for the clueless- the union doesn't hire anybody, duh, the company does. Are you saying the company management is either too stupid, too lazy or too cowardly to refuse to hire these people?
"...someone who serves thier country cant get a fair shot cause they dont have a family member working their." An outright lie. DynCorp has one of the, if the, highest proportions of veterans and active duty service members in its workforce than any other employer in this county. We have more employees actively deployed than almost any other business in Lowndes county. Your statement, besides being a lie, is a slander against the good name and service of those employees who are serving now and have served in the United States military. Another anti-military, anti-veteran bigot. By the way, I served my time in uniform, so where is yours, eh?
"...the union only helps who they want to help." I'm not the union, I'm only a member, but a veteran and a member. The company negotiated a contract between it and the union. We all follow the CBA. Now, if as you wrote previously, you feel the company management is lazy, stupid, incompetent or cowardly, then your gripe is with the company and not with me or the union.
"Thom Gieger is an idiot if the rest of you dont know by now." I think what's plain to see is that you are not honest, have no facts and operate only from hate and bigotry. And the name is G-E-I-G-E-R. DUH.
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