Switch to 401K plan big issue leading to closure of Tamarkin plant, officials say

AUSTINTOWN

Rather than build a new facility in the Youngstown area, Tamarkin Co. has opted to close its Victoria Road plant that employs about 200.

Operations there will cease in May.

On Friday, Pittsburgh-based Giant Eagle, the parent company of Tamarkin, confirmed operations are planned to end at 375 Victoria Road because of a labor dispute with about 165 employees who are a part of Teamsters Local 377, and other issues.

“The company provided a final offer two times to the Teamsters Local 377 team members at the outdated and deteriorating Tamarkin facility to extend the labor agreement for four years,” said Dan Donovan, marketing manager of corporate communications at Giant Eagle.

“The offers, which included building a new facility in Youngstown, increasing wages, maintaining health benefits and adding a generous 401K plan, were rejected by the union members both times,” he said.

The Tamarkin retail support center for frozen foods was constructed in 1968. It supplies 427 retail locations across four states, Donovan said.

Teamsters Local 377 Secretary Treasurer Sam Cook said the company told the Teamsters — which has represented workers for more than 35 years — on Thursday that the facility would close in May.

“We asked if there is anything we can do, and they said no,” Cook said.

A majority of the 165-member union voted down a contract in October and December that included a switch from a pension fund to a 401K plan which called for a dramatic decrease in company contributions, Cook said.

“That was a lot of the issue,” Cook said.

Read more about the situation in Saturday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.