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Source:  News Channel 2 

 

 

On Thursday, a powerful voice joined the chorus of Remington Arms workers, rallying to convince the plant’s former owners to give them benefits they say are provided to them in their contract.

“Old Remington shouldn’t be allowed to pack up and get out of town. I submit to you I don’t care where they go. I don’t care where they hide. We’ll be dead after their (expletive)!” shouted United Mine Workers of America International President, Cecil Roberts.

Roberts traveled to Ilion Thursday to join the latest public rally by the UMWA Local 717. If public pressure doesn’t work, union leaders hope the courts will.

“We filed grievances. It’s going to arbitration. We’ve filed charges with the national labor relations board and we’re in court also. One of those entities could force them to do the right thing,” said President Roberts.

Their pleas are to the Remington ‘old guard.’ However, part of that old guard is carried over into Remington’s future, as former CEO, Ken D’Arcy, is being kept on in that role, by current owners, the Round Hill Group.

“The old company is the one that didn’t contractually want to hold up their end..but again… we have the CEO of the old company that’s gonna be the CEO of the new company, so you see where our issues lie, really, I mean it’s gonna be a tough fight. Gonna be a tough fight,” says Local 717 President Jeff Madison.

Remington Arms’ new owner says blame placed on CEO D’Arcy, for the unpaid benefits or Remington’s spiral toward bankruptcy, is misplaced.

“The judge sets the criteria for who gets paid and who doesn’t get paid and the secured creditors being the bank Franklin Templeton and so on, are the first to get paid,” says Richmond Italia, of the Round Hill Group. “He’d only been in the picture for less than a year. The company was well beyond the point where it could be recovered, so I don’t and nobody should hold him responsible for where the company ended up.”

Written by: Joleen Ferris

Source: Times Telegram

November 12, 2020

ILION — The United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) is fighting — and will continue to fight — for the contractual benefits the Remington Outdoor Company owes Remington Arms workers in Ilion.

That was the message UMWA International President Cecil E. Roberts delivered Thursday when he spoke to nearly 200 former Remington Arms employees, family members and supporters who gathered in the parking lot in front of Franco’s Pizza in Ilion’s Central Plaza.

The call to action stems from Remington’s decision to lay off 585 workers at the Ilion plant around the end of October, cutting off all their health care and other contractual benefits.

Workers have always had to fight for what they’re owed, he said.

“If you’re prepared to continue this fight, I’ll be with you, I’ll be beside you and I’ll lead this fight,” Roberts said.

He said Congress needs to get the message that the people who run a company into the ground are the ones rewarded, not the ones who provided the labor that made them rich.

“They (the owners) go to the bankruptcy court judge and say, ‘We deserve a bonus for the fine job we’ve done’ and the judge gives it to them,” he said. “That’s not America.”

Source: Spectrum News

November 4, 2020

 

Hundreds of Remington Arms employees went from furloughed to laid off on Monday, and by Wednesday they were protesting to get paid. Their union, United Mine Workers of America, says they haven’t been paid severance and their benefits end this week.

 

 

“I get a phone call and they tell me you’re all done. No severance. Twenty-two years, no severance. Our healthcare is done at the end of the month. I’m diabetic I need my healthcare,” said longtime Remington employee Frank Brown.” They’re walking away from us.”

Remington went into Chapter 11 bankruptcy over the summer. The union says this latest move violates their contract. Local politicians saying they’re doing their part to help, including calling for a federal investigation.

“These workers deserve their pay, they deserve their severance, and we need to get this new company in here soon so they can start making firearms again,” said U.S. Rep. Anthony Brindisi. The plant is located in the first term Democrat’s district.

“This company is one of the most important companies in America, founded over 200 years ago, so I’m fighting for these union contracts and the great work they’ve done,” said Claudia Tenney, the Republican running against Brindisi, who used to represent the district from 2017 to 2019.

Investment firm Roundhill Group is in the process of purchasing Remington’s firearms business. They’ve said they’re committed to restoring the company’s name and operating the plant. But there are still hurdles to overcome.

“This company doesn’t have a federal firearms license. So if you understand the business, you can’t even put a serial number on a firearm unless you actually have the license to be able to sell the firearm. So I have a whole lot of faith that all of our local officials are going to help us out get this process done as soon as we can and put us back to work,” said Brown.

Remington has been a central part of the Ilion community for more than two centuries and employees don’t want to see that legacy disappear.

“This would be a huge devastating effect if this place were to close. Put us back to work, we’ll do our best for you, and we’ll make the company thrive,” said Brown.

Union members say they’ll be back on the picket line again on Thursday.

 

Written by: Krystal Cole

Source: AP News

November 1, 2020

 

ILION, N.Y. (AP) — Workers at the sprawling Remington factory in this upstate New York village took pride in a local gunmaking tradition stretching back to the days of flintlock rifles. Now they’re looking ahead with uncertainty.

Jacquie Sweeney and her husband were among almost 600 workers fired by the company this week, a few months after Remington Outdoor Co. sought bankruptcy protection for the second time in two years.

Successful bidders for the idled plant in bankruptcy proceedings have said they plan to restart at least some production, though details remain scarce.

There are high hopes for a successful reload of the plant that dominates the local economy. But these hopes are tempered by questions about how many workers will come back, and when.

“My husband, he’s looking for work, just like everybody else. And I plan on going back to college unless I find a job before I start that up,” said Sweeney, recording secretary for the local unit of the United Mine Workers of America. “That’s all we can really do. We can’t sit around and wait for forever.”

It’s common for people here to say that Ilion is Remington and Remington is Ilion. Company founder Eliphalet Remington started making flintlock rifles on his father’s forge near here in 1816, and the Ilion factory site dates to 1828. Though the company moved its headquarters to Madison, North Carolina, the old factory dominates — literally and figuratively — a village that has long depended on workers making rifles and shotguns to power the economy.

Union signs reading “United We Stand with Remington Workers” are in the windows of local businesses that sell everything from pizza slices to steel-toed boots. At Beer Belly Bob’s beverage center across the street from the plant, Bob McDowell recalled the sales bump on Thursdays and Fridays after shifts ended at 3 p.m.

“I used to call it the beer train,” McDowell said with a smile. “It was busy, and it is gone.”

Remington’s recent history has been a roller coaster ride with a lot of drops. Layoffs have been common. The plant, which employed around 1,200 people eight years ago, was down recently to about 600 union workers plus an estimated 100 or so salaried workers. The company began moving two production lines to a new plant in Huntsville, Alabama, in 2014.

Remington dealt not only with the volatile gun market, but also legal action, after the 2012 Sandy Hook school massacre. The gunman who killed 20 children and six educators at the Connecticut school used a Bushmaster AR-15 rifle, which once was made here.

Most workers were furloughed at the end of September as the company went through bankruptcy proceedings. Locals wondered whether it would ever restart.

The company was divvied up by multiple buyers. The bankruptcy court approved Sturm, Ruger & Co.’s $30 million bid for Marlin Firearms, which were made here, and Anoka, Minnesota-based Vista Outdoor’s $81.4 million bid for Remington’s ammunition and accessories businesses.

Roundhill Group’s $13 million bid included the Ilion firearms plant and a handgun barrel factory in Lenoir City, Tennessee.

Roundhill partner Richmond Italia, a paintball industry veteran, said he was approached by Remington CEO Ken D’Arcy about the opportunity, according to documents filed in the bankruptcy case.

“I believe I was approached by Mr. D’Arcy due to my manufacturing business in the paintball gun market and apparently Mr. D’Arcy believed that there may be some synergy,” Italia said in court papers.

Roundhill pledged in court documents to bring back at least 200 workers. They could eventually add hundreds more, but details are not clear.

Roundhill partners did not respond to calls and emails asking about their plans. But Italia told WUTR-TV last week they plan to bring back as many workers as possible within “a couple of months.”

Local officials believe a number of pieces need to be in place before production starts, from a collective bargaining agreement with the union to a new federal firearms license.

One likely product would be Remington’s Model 870 shotguns, said Jamie Rudwall, a district representative for the union. He said the new owners can rely on a trained workforce to produce shotguns for a hot market.

The FBI reports that it has processed more background checks to purchase or possess a firearm in the first nine months of 2020 than any previous year.

“We certainly have that capability of putting every single person back to work at 870s making literally between 1,200 and 1,800 every day. And every one of them will be sold,” said Rudwall, who once worked at the plant.

The UMW said it has held “productive discussions” with Roundhill. Meanwhile, it also has excoriated the outgoing owners for terminating 585 workers this week along with their health care and other contractual benefits. The union said the company is refusing to pay severance and accrued vacation benefits, sparking pickets in Ilion this week.

Local officials say the new owners have also expressed concerns about the efficiency of the old four-story factory, preferring a modern one-floor plant. Vincent Bono, chairman of the Herkimer County Legislature, met with them Thursday and said he believes something can be worked out to keep keep the long local tradition of gun production alive.

“We’re optimistic that Remington’s going to have a home here,” Bono said. “To what degree, we really don’t know.”

 

Written by: Michael Hill

Source: News Channel 2

October 28, 2020

ILION, N.Y. – Former Remington Arms workers and community members gathered in Ilion Wednesday to rally against the company, after employees were notified they would not receive the severance and benefits promised in their contracts.

Many carried signs, some saying “Honor the Contract” and “United We Stand with Remington Workers.”

The United Mine Workers of America (UMWA), the union that represents the Remington workers, organized Wednesday’s rally after union President Cecil E. Roberts called the refusal to pay severance “outrageous” and “a slap in the face” earlier this week.

The workers are hoping this will push the former factory owners to pay what the union says they owe through the collective bargaining agreement.

“Basically, it’s to get what’s owed. What’s owed through the contract. What they promised us, you know. In the contract, they promised us severance pay if we were to get laid off. They promised us payment for our unused vacation time. None of that stuff — they don’t want to pay,” said former employee Jeff Madison. “I guess my 19 years in there don’t mean nothing to them people.”

Another rally is planned Thursday outside Franco’s Pizza, 6 Central Plaza, at 10 a.m.

Local politicians have showed support for Remington workers, including Congressman Anthony Brindisi, Sen. Chuck Schumer and congressional candidate, Claudia Tenney.

Brindisi attended Wednesday’s rally, and sent a letter to the National Labor Relations Board on behalf of the workers.

“These hard working men and women deserve to be treated with dignity and they deserve the benefits they fought for. Remington is trying to leave this community and these workers high and dry, but we aren’t going to let them. I am calling on the National Labor Relations Board to step in and investigate this issue,” he said.

Tenney, the Republican candidate in the 22nd Congressional District race, also attended the rally.

“I want to say to the Remington workers – you’ve always had my back and I will always have yours. You have made firearms of the highest craftsmanship for generations and you are the heart of our community. This is a tragedy of epic proportions but we will keep fighting for you, your families, and your rights and we will come out stronger,” she said. “I’ve spoken to White House officials and they are on top of it. The message has gotten to President Trump. The Treasury Department and Department of Labor are engaged. You will not be forgotten and I will keep fighting for your livelihoods, rights, and our community because it’s the right thing to do.”

Schumer released the following statement on Wednesday as well:

“I stand in solidarity with the men and women of the United Mine Workers of America as they fight for their heard-earned benefits callously stripped away by Remington Arms. Generations of Remington workers in Ilion made billions of dollars in profits for this company and they deserve better. Today, I am calling on Remington to do what’s right and fulfill the commitment they made to their loyal and productive workers. I am also calling on the National Labor Relations Board to investigate whether any laws were violated by this outrageous action.”

Source: Star Gazette

October 27, 2020

 

 

ILION — It was through a voicemail that Jeff Madison learned that he, and hundreds of other workers with the Remington Arms plant in Ilion, were laid off.

Remington Outdoor Company announced the move Friday, terminating the employment of the Ilion plant’s 585 workers by Monday, while cutting off their health care and other contractual benefits at the end of the month.

The company also said Remington would not pay severance and accrued vacation benefits — despite the terms of a collective bargaining agreement with union employees, according to the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA).

The layoffs are the latest chapter for Remington workers in Ilion, who faced uncertain futures as Remington Outdoor Company assets were auctioned off to individual bidders amid the company’s latest bout with bankruptcy. The sale of the Remington plant in Ilion to the Roundhill Group, LLC was approved late last month in federal bankruptcy court.

Representatives from Remington and Roundhill could not be reached for comment Monday.

UMWA Local Union 717 has filed grievances against Remington under the agreement, while the UMWA International Union is exploring additional legal action, union representatives said.

Amid the legal feud, Madison — president of Local 717 — and Remington’s other workers are coping with the immediate fallout.

“I’ve been there 19 years,” Madison said. “Apparently, I wasn’t worth anything. They don’t want to abide by the terms of the contract.”

Benefits a major concern

Madison was joined Monday morning by several other UMWA members at union headquarters on First Street in Ilion.

Martin Seamon commented that he just wants to see the new owners get the Ilion plant up and running so he can get back to work. Chris French agreed.

Union members are concerned with the loss of medical benefits. By law, workers can continue their health insurance coverage through COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act).

“That’s expensive,” French said.

The elimination of benefits, including disability, makes for additional problems for employees, said Jackie Sweeney, recording secretary for Local 717. She spoke with an employee who was on disability after undergoing heart surgery two weeks ago.

French said some are blaming the new owners for the decision to eliminate benefits, but that is not the case. The Remington Outdoor Company made that decision.

As part of the announcement, a Remington Arms representative advised workers to make appointments to pick up personal belongings and return any company property.

When asked about the number of vehicles in the Arms parking lot Monday, Seamon and French said there were still salaried workers at the plant along with 22 hourly employees who handled maintenance, plumbing and electrical work.

Layoffs ‘extremely frustrating,’ state officials say

Madison said most workers have been collecting unemployment since they were furloughed at the end of September.

“A lot haven’t received their paychecks yet,” Sweeney said, adding that state and federal representatives have offered assistance through their offices.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office deferred comment to the state Department of Labor.

A spokesperson for the Labor Department said the agency has been providing assistance to Remington employees since the middle of the summer, when the company filed a notice under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, which requires companies to alert the state prior to any mass layoffs.

“Our team has been working with impacted employees since the WARN notice was first filed this summer and will continue to provide support, including job placement assistance,” said Deanna Cohen, the agency spokesperson.

The state’s Jobs Express website, which culls job listings from across the state, has 2,500 current openings listed in the Mohawk Valley, Cohen noted.

“We stand ready with the resources to connect unemployed New Yorkers with these jobs,” Cohen said.

Meanwhile, the area’s state and federal representatives decried the actions of Remington Outdoor Company and express support for workers.

The Remington layoffs, along with the union’s claim that the company won’t pay out severance and vacation time, drew a rebuke from Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, the New York Democrat.

“Remington Arms should fulfill the commitment they made to their loyal and productive workers throughout the Mohawk Valley and pay them their rightfully deserved severance and benefits with all due speed,” Schumer said in a statement.

State Sen. James Seward, R-Milford, and other state officials said they remain in communication with the Roundhill Group about bringing Remington employees back to work. Roundhill is working to receive a federal firearms license, Seward said.

“The action is extremely frustrating and I stand with the union as they work to resolve these issues and provide workers with the benefits they have earned and deserve,” Seward said.

Both Assemblywoman Marianne Buttenschon, D-Marcy, and Assemblyman Brian Miller, R-New Hartford, said the workers are entitled to their severance and medical benefits. Empire State Development, the state’s economic development arm, has been asked to work with the new owners, Buttenschon said.

“The members of the United Mine Workers of America Local 717 have kept this business in operation and produced some of the finest firearms in the world,” Miller said. “They deserve far better than this. … Severance and vacation benefits are guaranteed to the workers and they must be honored.”

Donna Thompson is the government and business reporter for the Times Telegram. For unlimited access to her stories, please subscribe or activate you digital account today. Email her at donna@timestelegram.com.

 

Written by: Donna Thompson