ERIE (TNS) — Erie County’s third largest employer could end manufacturing operations at its sprawling rail plant if a new labor agreement is not reached with some 1,400 striking union workers, County Executive Brenton Davis said.
Davis said in a statement that he’d recently confirmed that a “major third-party contractor” had visited Wabtec Corp.’s train plant and that the contractor “manufactures many, if not all, of the locomotive components currently assembled at the Erie plant.”
”This is a troubling development that suggests the company could be considering a plant closure,” he stated Wednesday. “This plant should not disappear without at least a vote of the workers whose livelihoods are at stake. Any strike, layoff, or plant closure would have grave effects on our local economy.”
Wabtec spokesman Tim Bader declined to comment on Mr. Davis’ press release, but said in a prepared statement the company is “being forced to consider difficult decisions to continue supporting its customers and deliver on its commitments.”
”From the beginning, Wabtec’s goal in these negotiations has been to reach an agreement that would best position its employees and the Erie site for success,” he said. The Erie plant has been a “laggard in terms of cost and efficiency for years as compared to other Wabtec sites and suppliers.”
”These challenges seriously hinder the site’s ability to attract new or even keep existing production work in Erie.”
Wabtec said it had offered an additional $41 million in wage improvements in a new contract, but the union’s “current demands on increased new hire wages and unfettered right to strike seem out of touch with the economic realities.”
Union officials were not immediately available.
County information officer Chris Carroll said the information about the visit to the plant by the third-party manufacturer came from a “close source” of the company.
A four-year contract at Wabtec expired June 10, with members of Locals 506 and 618 of the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America walking off the job June 22. Negotiations were scheduled to continue Thursday. Differences over wage increases, health insurance premiums and other issues have stalled negotiations.
The company said it made its last, best and final contract offer June 10, which workers rejected. North Shore-based Wabtec, which manufacturers locomotives and freight car components in Erie, received a preliminary court injunction Aug. 3 to limit picketing activity at the gates to the Erie plant.
Erie Insurance is the county’s biggest employer, followed by health care giant UPMC and Wabtec.
