Vertis Communications, in Stevensville. Bullet News photo by John Robbins.
JOHN ROBBINS/Bullet News
More than 100 employees of a Fort Erie printing plant are out of work today.
On Wednesday, workers at Vertis Communications in Stevensville were told the plant is closing effective immediately.
The move comes after the assets of its U.S.-parent company was sold through bankruptcy proceedings to another American firm, Quad Graphics.
That company did not purchase the Fort Erie facility, which was previously known as American Color Graphics.
Niagara Falls MPP Kim Craitor, who participated in a conference call Wednesday afternoon with union and Town of Fort Erie officials, says employees were told by the company they won’t be getting vacation or severance pay.
“I’m pissed right off about how they did this to employees,” said Craitor. “They’re going to get zero.”
A spokesperson for Vertis could not be reached for comment late Wednesday.
Claire Ho, a spokeswoman for Quad Graphics, confirmed the Fort Erie plant is not part of the acquisition by that company.
Ho said the acquisition, which was completed Wednesday, was structured as an asset purchase. Quad Graphics committed to purchasing most, but not all, of the assets of Vertis Communications.
“Not included in the transaction was the Stevensville facility,” Ho said.
Jim Thibert, general manager of the Fort Erie Economic Development and Tourism Corp., said the he and town had officials had been monitoring the situation since the fall while bankruptcy proceedings in the U.S. were underway.
There will be further discussions with union and government officials in the coming days to attempt to determine the status of the assets and what if any recourse there is to assist the employees, he said.
Unionized workers at the plant are represented by the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada.
Union officials decried the closure, urging the company to live up to its “legal and moral obligations.”
“A company does not have the right to shut down without notice or compensation for the employees that have worked for them, many for most of their lives,” said Dan Wickson, president of CEP Local 425G.
“The union is demanding that the company pay its legal and moral obligations to these long-standing employees who have built the company over decades,” added Kim Ginter, CEP vice-president for the Ontario region.
CEPis currently in discussions with legal counsel, the Town of Fort Erie and its development agency as well as the local Member of Provincial Parliament, union officials said.
7 Comments on "UPDATED: No vacation or severance pay for 100 workers let go as Fort Erie printing plant closes"
What a brutal action. I wish all the families that are currently losing jobs, the best of luck in this trying time. I hope help comes swiftly.
I would love to hear from Provincial PC Leader Tim Hudak as to what he has to say about this kind of unscrupulous behavior from corporate CEO’s. They still got their millions in salaries, bonuses, and golden parachutes and screwed the hard-working middle class without a second thought. They blatantly violated the Employment Standards law, what will be done about it? Better question to ask is “What should be done about it?”.
Then again, Hudak will avoid the issue like the plague and if pressed by the media, his will weasel out with some disgraceful, lame rationale actually blaming the workers (because after all, they’re unionized). In Timmy’s warped world, he’s got his corporate buddies’ backs.
Don’t believe me? Listen closely to his response (if he ever gives one) and most importantly, his pro-worker legislative solution to finally stop the middle class from getting screwed by corporations. Good luck, you’ll be waiting a long time…
If they did not buy the canadian division and the company is a american bankrupt corp.
then if our politicians had a pair they would seize the building, sell it pay whats owing to our folks
and send the balance to the company that is handling the bankruptcy.
The Causaul Observer is bang on with his/her comments about Mr Tim Hudak. I feel sorry for his parents who are good people,and who were unionised teachers and help mold a great number of us middle class workers in this area.
Is Mr Hudak or his Corporate buddies going to have to worry about how they going to support their families. Or have to worry about their pensions, oh by the way the one the public pays for.
It is time for our politicians from local town councils all the way up to Federal level to start standing up to the Coroporations and saying enough is enough, and start treating workers with the respect and deginity that they deserve. Slavery is not welcome in Canada.
Jamie O’Hara
P.S Thank you to Mr and Mrs. Hudak for being grat teachers.
i agree with you Jamie about where Hudak’s heart lies, however I remember you and the boys did pretty much the same thing when you headed the union. As a low on the totem pole guy, you higher ups didn’t even so much as call me when I was let go due to lack of work. And funny, I remember 6 months after my departure, you left a message on my machine asking for details about how I managed my own departure and severance (obviously to help out another higher up worker). Best thing I ever did was jump that sinking ship
Just sure am glad I got my buyout.
Oh well you can’t put your name to your comments.