Closing of Corelle plant delayed again

The Charleroi facility will continue to operate through at least the middle of May.

Many employees of the Corelle Plant in Charleroi were expecting to work their last shift today as glass production came to a halt, but they were informed Thursday afternoon they will remain on the job for at least three more months.

To commemorate the end of an era, the plant’s whistle was supposed to sound today at noon for the last time and a time capsule filled with mementos and other nostalgic items was set to be buried. Those events have been postponed after employees found out that production will continue.

Daniele Byrne, vice president of Corelle Brands Charleroi Division of United Steelworkers Local 53G, was told Thursday that production will continue — for at least a few more months — making it the third time layoffs have been pushed back.

The reason this time, which hasn’t yet been distributed in an official letter, is because of a “miscalculation” in the amount of product still needed.

The plant is now expected to continue to operate until the middle of May.

While that means many union workers won’t yet be out of a job for a while, some of them in production already worked their last shift this week.

“I don’t know much else, other than I am scrambling to make calls to all of these workers,” Byrne said. “I don’t know how many of them can or will come back.”

She expected at least 100 people to be out of work when production was slated to end today, creating a bit of a chaotic situation.

Since the closure was announced, it’s not been smooth sailing.

Morale took a hit and some employees started to actively seek other opportunities, Byrne said.

While Anchor Hocking said about half the jobs are intended to be relocated to the company’s Lancaster, Ohio, facility, hundreds of workers were left with questions and not many have decided to relocate.

Hires had to be brought in from temp agencies to fill positions.

“Emotions are crazy,” she said. “It takes a lot of work and preparation to shut it down, and it will take a lot of work to reverse it. It’s stressful, and psychologically it’s hard too for the workers.”

Management is also struggling. There is currently only one person in the personnel department, and because of the decision to continue production instead of shut it down, a schedule hasn’t been made for next week.

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“Emotions are crazy. It takes a lot of work and preparation to shut it down, and it will take a lot of work to reverse it. It’s stressful, and psychologically it’s hard too for the workers.”

DANIELE BYRNE “I have a lot of calls to make,” Byrne said.

The union is expected to meet with company representatives next week to continue negotiations.

Most recent talks were held Jan. 28, 29 and 30, but no resolutions were made.

The current union contract is set to expire Feb. 28, but a six-month extension has been requested.

Employees of the factory found out Sept. 4 that the facility was slated to close and move its operations to Lancaster, Ohio. It’s been rocky ever since, as employees learned what the next steps would be.

On Oct. 10, a letter was sent to Charleroi Mayor Gregg Doerfler and Steve Wolf, Rapid Response TAA State Coordinator for the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry.

The letter said the first round of layoffs would start “on or about” Dec. 9.

The day they were supposed to begin, employees received an amended notice from Don Good, HR director, that stated “the reason for the amended notice is to postpone the layoff of employees due to the operational needs of the company throughout the transition of the plant closing” and to “provide a list of updated affected employees.”

It pushed back the start date of layoffs until Jan. 27 and said they would continue through April 16, when the plant was scheduled to shut down.

That meant many employees got to keep working through Christmas and the start of the new year.

Layoffs slated to begin Jan. 27 were pushed back again — with about 10 days’ notice.

On Jan. 16, Byrne was informed that layoffs were being pushed back again until today, when glass production was expected to stop.