WESTERLY — Workers at the textile finishing plant completed their final shift Thursday at 3 p.m. Four minutes later there were no workers to talk to at the now-closed Bradford Dyeing Association.

There was no camaraderie, no jocular conversation, no laughter among those on their way out.

A couple of men muttered “see you” to one another; another said his wife was waiting for him and he couldn’t stop. One worker murmured “There’s not much to say.”

And that said it all.

As the men hurried by, heads down, Fred Gardiner paused long enough to say he had no job to go to. “Hopefully I’ll get to go to school,” he added. Before he too, walked away, Tony Amaral, a machine operator said, “There’s no work around.”

When the news about the plant closing broke earlier this month, workers leaving the factory were talkative and some were even optimistic that the day of closing might not become reality. Thursday it did.

Despite the dismal outlook for the current operation, there is a move to preserve jobs. 

Nick Griseto, executive vice president of sales and marketing, reportedly stands ready to take over the plant.

Corporation papers were filed by Bradford Printing and Finishing, LLC Nov. 3 with the Rhode Island Secretary of State. A spokesman for the office said there were no names on the document — which indicates the corporation would be “managed by members” — other than Providence lawyer David M. Gilden, serving as agent.

Vasco Ferreira, comptroller at the now-defunct mill operated as BDA, said “You can form a corporation without ever doing business. You have to start somewhere. The first step is to form a corporation so we can put a business plan together.”

He declined to give specifics about who was interested in taking over the sprawling plant, which has been in continuous operation for 97 years, but the Sun learned about Griseto’s intentions on Thursday.

Griseto asked former employees to participate in a survey to solicit opinions about mill operations, and encouraged them to offer comments and suggestions. The questionnaire that was handed out had Grisetto’s signature on it as president and CEO of Bradford Printing and Finishing.

Now that the doors have finally closed, one former employee, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he views the move to close as a “union buster.” He anticipates any new company will pay its employees less than they have been getting and demand they pay medical coverage as well. He said workers who left on Thursday “were sent away with 20 hours pay and one month’s medical coverage.”

During the past year, the union, Local 431, comprised of textile workers, has had its ups and downs with plant management, while the company has been hounded by environmentalists, labor problems, everincreasing energy costs and disputes with government contractors.

The company finished millions of yard goods for the U.S. Department of Defense for more than 40 years.