SALEM Eljer delays shutdown

The union and company officials are negotiating benefits.
THE VINDICATOR
By NORMAN LEIGH
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
SALEM -- The planned shutdown of Eljer Plumbingware Co. has been postponed but not abandoned, a union official says.
Nearly 250 employees at the South Ellsworth Avenue facility, which makes cast-iron plumbing products, won't be idled in February or March as previously thought.
The plant's closing is now set for May 31, Joe Holcomb, a United Steelworkers of America representative, said recently. The union represents many workers at the plant, which employs 215 hourly and 36 salaried workers. Holcomb said the delay resulted from the company's not knowing what it's doing.
Diana Burton, a spokeswoman for Jacuzzi Brands, the West Palm Beach, Fla., parent company of Eljer, had no comment on the closing.
Jacuzzi Brands said in October that Eljer was being considered for shutdown because the cost to manufacture products in Salem continues to climb, making continued production at Eljer economically unfeasible.
Negotiations
Holcomb said the union is negotiating three items with the company: severance pay, health insurance and pensions.
Severance pay talks are focusing on how much employees will get depending on how long they've been with the company.
Holcomb wouldn't say what range of severance payouts may be available because the matter is still being negotiated.
Health insurance talks center on the length of time the benefit will continue for employees.
Regarding pensions, the union is trying to alter the plan so that workers nearing retirement age won't have to wait until they're 62 to begin collecting.
The union also is seeking lump-sum pension payments for some longtime workers, Holcomb added.
"People are working and doing their job," Holcomb said of the mood among the work force.
Their attitudes will likely worsen as closing day nears, he added.
Besides negotiating benefits, the union also is trying to arrange job retraining for some Eljer employees.
The union also is encouraging employees to seek jobs at Alliance Castings in Alliance, which does work similar to Eljer. About 400 jobs are expected to be available at the Alliance facility, Holcomb said.
leigh@vindy.com