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JH -- on Pi 10 -- PORT PERRY STAR -- Wednesday, October 14, 1987 (From page 1) employer, but as for plans for the severance pay package and job search assistance or re-training, she said 'we'll just have to wait and see if they (the company) come through." John Malcolm, business agent with the Teamsters, who was also present at the meeting last Tuesday afternoon, told the Star the next day that the announcement "comes as a surprise and a shock." Mr. Malcolm said the union will start immediately to help its members find other jobs, and by Thursday, ten jobs had been posted on the bulletin board at the Flam- ingo plant. And Mr. Malcolm said the com- pany has 'agreed in principle' to a severance pay package for all employees, no matter how many years of service they have. He declined to say publicly just how much the union thinks the employees should get in severance pay By law, the company is required to pay each employee with at least five years service a week's pay for each year they have been with the company. It is believed there are about 23 union employees with less than five years service. Mr. Malcolm said the announce- ment to shut down production by December 18, just before Christmas Flamingo/Vachon "is very tough for the workers," and it means the company will not have to pay the employees for Christmas holidays when the lines normally shut down for seven days. In an effort to ease the blow for the workers, a six person Adjust- ment Committee has already been set up with three reps from the union and three from the company. An outside chairperson has yet to be appointed. This committee will attempt to negotiate details of an across-the- board severance package, assist people in finding other jobs, and help employees to up-grade their education and skills for other kinds of work. Culinar vice president Camillien (Cam) Bolduc told the Star that while top officials with Culinar had discussed the future of the Port Perry plant, the final decision was not made until Friday, October 2. He said the first layoff will take place December 3, a second lay-off will take place December 18. The production equipment will be mov- ed to a Culinar plant in Aurora, and the locks will go on the doors by the end of January. The land and the building on Sim- coe Street will go up for sale. Scugog Mayor Jerry Taylor said he will in- form the Industrial Development department at Durham Region that the plant is for sale in the hopes that ONE WOMAN'S VIEW by Chris Carlisle jogger was a minister. and lock them all in. And Miami Vice. (From page 6) and by the time the guy speaks, Grandpa, who thinks he'll demand the bag, has the gun out and blam, the guy is dead. By the way, the And tell me it's not going to make it all that much easier for criminals to actually increase their activities. Pretty easy now to walk into a store and whip out the gun. Pretty easy now to walk up to some guy on the street and stick the gun in his ribs. Soon all the criminals will have flocked to Florida to take ad- vantage of the relaxed rules and a sunny crime spree. Then police will be able to just put gates up at the Florida border Should be pretty good for the surrounding states' tourist industry. to close Port Nes h | BR So ' OX 5 ORIINX (XX . RRR A XX QR: BOSS ROY PRR? a, x a 4 XN) $6 4 DARK IRY SR X 0 PIXON ON (RIO an x Officials with Culinar Inc. were in Port Perry October 6 to break the grim news to Flamingo plant workers that as of mid-December this year, the production lines will stop and the plant will the Region can help line up a buyer who will set up another kind of business there. Rumours about the future of the Port Perry plant began circulating quietly in the community last sum- mer when Culinar bought a 50,000 square foot Granny's Pastries plant in. Aurora from the giant Weston Bakeries. The Aurora plant is almost double the size of the Flam- ingo plant here. The company will move the pro- duction lines to Aurora and retain the Flamingo brand name for its various brands of tarts. Personnel director Gaetan Hubert said last week Port Perry workers 'will be given "preferential hiring" if they wish to re-locate at the Gran- ny's plant in Aurora. However, he said they will have to wait until VY N\Y4 = DC Men's & Ladies' Quterwear FOR HER: Wool and Wool Blend Jackets, Solids and Tweeds in all the latest styles and colours. FOR HIM: {ACHR 3 18 "Northern Spirit" Down and Feather-filled Parkas, Fur Trimmed Hood, Storm Lining Available in Navy, Beige & Taupe. hd:=1:1 1 al- 1d --1HL" costs at The Bay OSHAWA ly 4 = Ei REG. What S 5° 9 "eQSay RIENCE ARTE ATI TTT) 571-1211 about 20 employees at the Granny's plant get jobs first. Those 20 employees were out of work when the company cut out production of a line of Mexican tacos and tortillas. Culinar employees in Aurora are not affiliated with a union, but have an in-plant employees association which is registered with the same legal rights as a union local. The base hourly rate for Flamingo workers was $9.70, about $1 an hour more than the employees are paid in the Aurora plant. The Flamingo workers also enjoyed a superior benefits package. Their contract ex- pires next April. The Flamingo plant has been making money for the company over the past several years, but with the acquisition of the Granny's plant this summer, it was a case of bad economics to run two production facilities within 40 miles of each other when a single plant could turn out the same production. The Port Perry plant was built 20 years ago by Ken Jackson, who was - instrumental in earning Port Perry the nick-name of the "home of the butter tart." Vachon acquired the Flamingo plant and brand name in 1978 and has twice added to the physical size of the plant and has extensively up- graded production equipment over the last decade. The Flamingo plant produces several different kinds of We care for you at ... close. More than 100 people will be laid off as the company is moving to a recently bought pro- duction plant in Aurora. tarts which are shipped all over Canada. Culinar Inc., the parent company operates several four food produc- tion plants in Quebec, two in Ontario (one as of the end of this year) employs some 2500 people and has annual salés of about $200 million. Culinar is a private company own- ed 51 per cent by the Caisse Populaire (Credit unions) of Quebec. The Quebec government also owns part of the company and there are a few minority shareholders, including members of the Vachon family in Quebec. The news that the Flamingo plant will be shutting down in Port Perry was greeted with sadness by Scugog Mayor Jerry Taylor. "We really hate to see this loss. It will be a real hardship for the employees and the community," he told company officials last week. He said the company has been "a good corporate citizen in Port Perry over the years," contributing to numerous local projects and com- munity activities. The monthly payroll generated by the plant is estimated to be in the $130,000 range. 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