Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, August 19, 1994 TAG: 9408190090
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MICHAEL STOWE and TODD JACKSON STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: MARTINSVILLE LENGTH: Medium
That's what a crowd of about 150 Tultex employees chanted Thursday night after the company's workers voted for representation. After failing on four previous attempts, the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers finally succeeded in getting enough votes to win a union election.
The unofficial results of a two-day election that ended late Thursday showed 1,305 votes for the union and 706 against. More than 100 votes were challenged.
Ernest Bennett, campaign director for the union, met the crowd and a host of media representatives about 10 p.m. with his clenched fist in the air.
Willis Ferguson, who works in the housekeeping department at Tultex, said, "It feels great. We'll never get run over again."
Vickie Callahan, who also works in the housekeeping department, said " I was a little nervous" before the vote. "We have learned the company isn't fair. Now it is."
The election ended a seven-week battle between union representatives and Tultex executives, who believe a union only can hurt the Martinsville plant.
Tultex Chief Executive Officer John Franck said that, while he was not happy with the results, the company now must change its focus.
"We must begin the healing process and come together in order to be successful once again," he said. "We must get focused on taking care of our business and taking care of our customers."
Asked if the company would challenge the results, Franck said, "At this point we're weighing all the options we have."
With more than 2,000 workers, Tultex is one of Martinsville's largest employers. Its employees join those of six other companies, including the Fieldcrest Cannon towel mill and the DuPont nylon plant, in voting for union representation.
The textile union had failed in previous attempts - in 1979, 1981, 1989 and 1990 - to unionize Tultex's Martinsville plant. It lost the last two of those elections by 250 votes.
A rallying point for union supporters this year is that Tultex has cut hourly workers' pay and benefits over the past 18 months. Company officials contend, however, that pay cuts were needed to save jobs and keep Tultex competitive.
Tultex was having a good year in 1993 until autumn, when some of its customers did not accept orders they had placed. That left the company with a lot of inventory and little work for employees.
The company made $5.9 million last year, compared with $13.2 million in 1992. It reported losses of nearly $8 million in the first half of this year.
Franck said he hopes the company is back on the road to profitability.
"There has been a lot of emotion on both sides of this issue, and it's important for this company and this community to put our differences aside and begin to work together again," he said. "This whole campaign has not just been about Tultex; it's been about Martinsville and Henry County and what it will take to be successful in the future."
by CNB