Friday, November 21, 2008 10:53 AM EST
BDA to fold next week
 Tentative interest in purchasing the complex has surfaced, but is by no means firm. |
BRADFORD – When the doors are closed next Monday at the Bradford Dyeing Association, brought to America by an English conglomerate nearly a century ago, it spells the end of the continuously operating textile plant known as a village staple, but it’s unlikely the sprawling factory will remain vacant forever.
Tentative interest in purchasing the complex has already surfaced, Michael Grills, president and chief executive officer, said, but is by no means firm. He did not provide further details about the possible purchase.
Plagued by the uncertainty of rising energy costs, government contract disputes, criticism by environmentalists and labor problems, the 49-year-old plant owner has reluctantly given up the fight to save the facility. Grills purchased the business a little over a year ago.
The company specialized in printing, coating and finishing specialty fabrics. In 1995 it established Bradford Fabric, Inc., to market products to military, law enforcement, hunting and health care sectors.
Personnel Manager James Jackson said that while some workers have left the plant for other jobs already, 115 will be leaving, among them 68 union workers, after their final duties are completed on the day the mill complex shuts down.
Grills said employees have been cooperative in facilitating a smooth closing. Details about union pension plans are being reviewed and pay-outs have yet to be determined, Grills noted.
He may fund a one-month extension of medical benefits for factory workers following the closing, but there are no provisions for severance pay in the union con- tract. Management and labor failed to reach agreement on concessions Grills sought in early February when he announced cuts to about a third of his then estimated 160-member workforce.
He asked members of Unite Here! Local 431 textile workers to open the union contract to discuss flexibility and work rules. The union refused to reopen the contract, set to expire this month, on grounds company stipulations could become mandatory and be injurious to union textile workers in other mills. They argued they were flexible enough as it was.
Grills had good rapport with workers following a May 2007 fire that devastated the factory print shop, bleach house and roof. The fire caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages and forced the outsourcing of some goods for processing. He provided benefits and salaries to those unable to work because of the blaze.
BDA has finished millions of yard goods annually for the U.S. Department of Defense for more than 40 years.
A recent dispute between the mill and the military evolved over the agency’s procurement of the Airman Battle Uniform (ABU) for the U.S. Air Force.
Last month, a spokesman for the Defense Logistics Agency in Fort Belvoir, Va., said service representatives and the fabric producers met in late summer in an effort to resolve shade differences between blouses and trousers that prompted the Air Force to insist the contract shade standards be consistently enforced in compliance with contract requirements.
Bradford Dyeing Association has been operating here for 97 years, when the parent company in England, then the world’s largest finishing organization, established the U.S. plant on the Pawcatuck River in Bradford, a site chosen for water quality.
The factory in Bradford village dates to 1886 when the site was leased by the Niantic Woolen Manufacturing Company.
Westerly and the surrounding towns have suffered job losses throughout the past year as a number of businesses closed or moved to other locations.
Paragon, a 37-year-old catalog firm on Tom Harvey Road, shut down in March, leaving 119 workers without jobs.
The Charbert Plant in Richmond, after announcing its closing, left more than 100 workers jobless in March.
Garrity Industries, which manufactures flashlights, has indicated it will close its Hopkinton plant next spring, cutting 53 jobs from the region.
Tentative interest in purchasing the complex has already surfaced, Michael Grills, president and chief executive officer, said, but is by no means firm. He did not provide further details about the possible purchase.
Plagued by the uncertainty of rising energy costs, government contract disputes, criticism by environmentalists and labor problems, the 49-year-old plant owner has reluctantly given up the fight to save the facility. Grills purchased the business a little over a year ago.
The company specialized in printing, coating and finishing specialty fabrics. In 1995 it established Bradford Fabric, Inc., to market products to military, law enforcement, hunting and health care sectors.
Personnel Manager James Jackson said that while some workers have left the plant for other jobs already, 115 will be leaving, among them 68 union workers, after their final duties are completed on the day the mill complex shuts down.
Grills said employees have been cooperative in facilitating a smooth closing. Details about union pension plans are being reviewed and pay-outs have yet to be determined, Grills noted.
He may fund a one-month extension of medical benefits for factory workers following the closing, but there are no provisions for severance pay in the union con- tract. Management and labor failed to reach agreement on concessions Grills sought in early February when he announced cuts to about a third of his then estimated 160-member workforce.
He asked members of Unite Here! Local 431 textile workers to open the union contract to discuss flexibility and work rules. The union refused to reopen the contract, set to expire this month, on grounds company stipulations could become mandatory and be injurious to union textile workers in other mills. They argued they were flexible enough as it was.
Grills had good rapport with workers following a May 2007 fire that devastated the factory print shop, bleach house and roof. The fire caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages and forced the outsourcing of some goods for processing. He provided benefits and salaries to those unable to work because of the blaze.
BDA has finished millions of yard goods annually for the U.S. Department of Defense for more than 40 years.
A recent dispute between the mill and the military evolved over the agency’s procurement of the Airman Battle Uniform (ABU) for the U.S. Air Force.
Last month, a spokesman for the Defense Logistics Agency in Fort Belvoir, Va., said service representatives and the fabric producers met in late summer in an effort to resolve shade differences between blouses and trousers that prompted the Air Force to insist the contract shade standards be consistently enforced in compliance with contract requirements.
Bradford Dyeing Association has been operating here for 97 years, when the parent company in England, then the world’s largest finishing organization, established the U.S. plant on the Pawcatuck River in Bradford, a site chosen for water quality.
The factory in Bradford village dates to 1886 when the site was leased by the Niantic Woolen Manufacturing Company.
Westerly and the surrounding towns have suffered job losses throughout the past year as a number of businesses closed or moved to other locations.
Paragon, a 37-year-old catalog firm on Tom Harvey Road, shut down in March, leaving 119 workers without jobs.
The Charbert Plant in Richmond, after announcing its closing, left more than 100 workers jobless in March.
Garrity Industries, which manufactures flashlights, has indicated it will close its Hopkinton plant next spring, cutting 53 jobs from the region.
I Heard It Threw The Grapevine wrote on Nov 20, 2008 5:59 AM:
" I've heard that this is a temp situation.Its a way of getting out the union.The workers will be out for a month and they will be given a months worth of health care...so the policy wont laspe..then in Jan the plant will reopen under (New Name New Management?) and a job fair will take place.I hope that true.Its sad to see any one lose their job in these economic hard time.Good Lucky to you all. "
Mike wrote on Nov 19, 2008 2:31 PM:
" Joe, if a company doesn't hire people to make their product, how does the product get produced? Make it overseas,you say, well eventually when everything is made overseas and the majority of people are unemployed, who will be able to purchase these products?
Many companies are looking for the easy way to cut cost by reducing the pay of the worker on the line, yet the CEO of failing companies still reap millions in salary,stocks and golden parachutes.Wher's the outrage over that?
Why does the CEO of GM receive a salary of $20Mill compared to $900,000 for the CEO of Toyota?
Are you willing to take a paycut so as to be able to compete with third world labor? I'm not. "
Many companies are looking for the easy way to cut cost by reducing the pay of the worker on the line, yet the CEO of failing companies still reap millions in salary,stocks and golden parachutes.Wher's the outrage over that?
Why does the CEO of GM receive a salary of $20Mill compared to $900,000 for the CEO of Toyota?
Are you willing to take a paycut so as to be able to compete with third world labor? I'm not. "
BDA Union wrote on Nov 18, 2008 10:38 AM:
" I worked at BDA back in the late 70's/early 80's. I remember the union send around a check off card asking us who we wanted the union to endorse for president. Although Ronald Reagan was running against Jimmy Carter, Reagan was not an option for us to choose. As a young man this was my first inkling that unions can be very corrupt. I know some of my former colleagues never got out of BDA. I feel bad for them, but we knew in the 80's the union wasn't good for business. I'm amazed they've hung on as long as they have. "
Joe Hill-top wrote on Nov 18, 2008 10:27 AM:
" Unions are significantly limiting the quality of life of their members.
Ownership has no obligation to keep people employed- it is, after all an investment. If their invested dollars will yield a greater return elsewhere why should they continue to pour good money after bad (including insurance reimbursements)?
Textile unions, as well as most other unions, have contributed significantly to the high costs of doing business/government/eduction. Pay hikes with little improvement in those factors that drive excellence or competitiveness like productivity, quality or cost savings in other areas.
Once there was a need for unionization, there were employers and management that took advantage of their employees. Now federal law protects all employees against exploitation.
Unions are killing this country. What do we need a teacher's union for? To prevent against exploitive taxpayers?
We should be concerned with the competition from foreign-labor and doing whatever we can to stem job losses as a result of globalzation. Owners, managers and workers need to partner as each group depends on one another to realized each group's goals.
Exploitation is rare today, Unions make US-manufacturing less competitive. "
Ownership has no obligation to keep people employed- it is, after all an investment. If their invested dollars will yield a greater return elsewhere why should they continue to pour good money after bad (including insurance reimbursements)?
Textile unions, as well as most other unions, have contributed significantly to the high costs of doing business/government/eduction. Pay hikes with little improvement in those factors that drive excellence or competitiveness like productivity, quality or cost savings in other areas.
Once there was a need for unionization, there were employers and management that took advantage of their employees. Now federal law protects all employees against exploitation.
Unions are killing this country. What do we need a teacher's union for? To prevent against exploitive taxpayers?
We should be concerned with the competition from foreign-labor and doing whatever we can to stem job losses as a result of globalzation. Owners, managers and workers need to partner as each group depends on one another to realized each group's goals.
Exploitation is rare today, Unions make US-manufacturing less competitive. "
Joe Hill-top wrote on Nov 18, 2008 10:23 AM:
" Unions are significantly limiting the quality of life of their members.
Ownership has no obligation to keep people employed- it is, after all an investment. If their invested dollars will yield a greater return elsewhere why should they continue to pour good money after bad (including insurance reimbursements)?
Textile unions, as well as most other unions, have contributed significantly to the high costs of doing business/government/eduction. Pay hikes with little improvement in those factors that drive excellence or competitiveness like productivity, quality or cost-savings.
Once there was a need for unionization, there were employers and management that took advantage of employees. Now federal law protects employees against most of the types of behavior exploitive employers used to engage in.
Unions are killing this country. What do we need a teacher's union for? To prevent against exploitive taxpayers?
Today we should be concerned with the competition from foreign-labor and doing whatever we can to stem job-losses as a result of globalzation. Owners, managers and workers need to see themselves as a partnership that depend on one another to realized each group's goals.
Exploitation is rare today, Unions make US-manufacturing less competitive. "
Ownership has no obligation to keep people employed- it is, after all an investment. If their invested dollars will yield a greater return elsewhere why should they continue to pour good money after bad (including insurance reimbursements)?
Textile unions, as well as most other unions, have contributed significantly to the high costs of doing business/government/eduction. Pay hikes with little improvement in those factors that drive excellence or competitiveness like productivity, quality or cost-savings.
Once there was a need for unionization, there were employers and management that took advantage of employees. Now federal law protects employees against most of the types of behavior exploitive employers used to engage in.
Unions are killing this country. What do we need a teacher's union for? To prevent against exploitive taxpayers?
Today we should be concerned with the competition from foreign-labor and doing whatever we can to stem job-losses as a result of globalzation. Owners, managers and workers need to see themselves as a partnership that depend on one another to realized each group's goals.
Exploitation is rare today, Unions make US-manufacturing less competitive. "
Bob from Iowa wrote on Nov 18, 2008 8:39 AM:
" Wow hard to believe. BDA was my first REAL job when I got out of High School in the 70's. I worked for the Grills family for 9 years (Richard and Peter) I worked in 4 different departments there and learned a lot of valuable knowledge. Sorry to hear that it is closing after so many years. Good luck to all of you misplaced workers. "
fed-up wrote on Nov 18, 2008 8:06 AM:
" I have worked at B.D.A. for several years and it's always been the UNIONS fault any time things did'nt go managments way. The article in the paper states it's a conflict with the goverment purchaser. I ask you this. How is this the UNION fault? The company is responible for the shades. If they are not good they should have taking steps to improve them by replacing those responsible for the shades. They chose to do nothing!! As for the fire I ask the company this Where did all the insurance money go? You did'nt repair anything that burned in the fire. You even scrapped all the machines in the bleach house wheres the money from that? As usual you never took care of your plant or mantained it. You just reaped the rewards and cried foul! We were told that the vice president and controller at the plant were in the process of buying the plant. We were told we would all have to reapply to try and get our jobs back. How convienent we would be stripped of seniority vacation time and probally all for lower wages. Sounds like a UNION buster does'nt it? THANKS!! "
RIGuy wrote on Nov 17, 2008 11:20 PM:
" Find a union shop, watch that business fail. Unions care only for their leadership jobs which allows them to live the nice life while beating up on hard working managers and destoying businesses in the process. Another chapter to the end of unions! "
Sally wrote on Nov 17, 2008 8:35 PM:
" Sad to see BDA closing. I wish all the workers the best in finding re-employment. "
Roger wrote on Nov 17, 2008 5:43 PM:
" That's what happens win you sell the company to your son who has no intrest in the business. If he would have spent as much time building stone walls , BDA would be going strong. "
Jake wrote on Nov 17, 2008 5:23 PM:
" What has this generation done to America? "
Saddened wrote on Nov 17, 2008 4:03 PM:
" Very sad day in Westerly when BDA closes it doors. Mr. Grills has been a real gentleman in taking care of his employees during tough times. Too bad they couldn't re open the contract. Wonder who's going to put food and keep the lights on in those union households.
Certainly not the Union big shots. They shot themselves in the foot this time. Good luck to all involved. "
Certainly not the Union big shots. They shot themselves in the foot this time. Good luck to all involved. "
mike wrote on Nov 17, 2008 3:24 PM:
" While I agree unions deserve some credit to business problems, one must remember it is a two way street. Many times companies want more and more back from negotiated contracts and eventually unions will say no. Why weren't these concerns raised at the last contract negotiations? Why are'nt you mentioning the problems with government contracts,rising energy costs,credit and economic decline or the fact that it is an outdated facility that is not very efficient? It's so easy to blame the union. "
Kathy wrote on Nov 17, 2008 3:15 PM:
" Right when it hurts the most...during the Holidays. I know it takes several weeks for unemployment to kick in. I hope you all find good job soon! Don't dispair, relocating isen't so bad if need be. The North East seems to have been hit the hardest. Good Luck to all of you, and try to have peaceful holidays. God Bless You All "
Survival wrote on Nov 17, 2008 2:34 PM:
" Businesses (union and management) have to work with each other to survive. If not, more will go the way of BDA. Look at what is happening in our school system! It seems like unions are not flexible, so schools close and layoffs happen. Let's give a little to get through these rough times. "
Former BDA wrote on Nov 17, 2008 12:28 PM:
" I worked at BDA for 3 years. They had the habit of taking the most irrating union people and putting them into managment. It was if they were trying to get them out of the union. Never understood the logic?
The union was an impediment to good business practices. Sounds like the union put their own general interests ahead of the local union members. Perhaps if they had agreed to be more reasonable the company could have remained viable. I wonder if union workers will have it get it? Or maybe union leaders will continue to prey upon the ignorant. Too bad...hate to see anyone lose their jobs. "
The union was an impediment to good business practices. Sounds like the union put their own general interests ahead of the local union members. Perhaps if they had agreed to be more reasonable the company could have remained viable. I wonder if union workers will have it get it? Or maybe union leaders will continue to prey upon the ignorant. Too bad...hate to see anyone lose their jobs. "
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