200 workers could be idled by Tamarkin closure

AUSTINTOWN — Two hundred workers could be out of work when Tamarkin, a subsidiary company of Giant Eagle, relocates operations out of the area this spring.

Teamsters and Tamarkin representatives met today and the company said the decision was made to move work at the facility from its current address on Victoria Road to a third-party company in Solon, Ohio.

The goal is to move operations by May 9, but if employees accept a severance package that is on the table, the employees may be kept longer to make the transition smoother, Local 377 Secretary Treasurer Principal Officer Ralph “Sam” Cook said.

Cook said the Teamsters, who have represented workers at the plant for more than 35 years, asked the company if there was anything that could be done to keep them here and keep the relationship with the Teamsters.

“They said ‘We don’t see it happening at all,’” Cook said.

About 165 Tamarkin Teamster members of the plant voted down a contract with the company in October and December 2014. The contract sought reductions in benefits which the workers rejected, Cook said.

The company said it needed those reductions in order to build a new facility.

The Vindicator is waiting on comment from Tamarkin.