Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 16, 1995 TAG: 9503160046
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: STEPHEN FOSTER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: FAIRLAWN LENGTH: Medium
For workers at the Radford Army Ammunition Plant, the stroke of midnight Wednesday turned the page on more than a half-century of working for Hercules. When paychecks come next week, they'll be from the Hopkins, Minn.-based Alliant.
The local union president sounded an optimistic note that the takeover would mean more jobs and a better working environment in the long run - though the short term may see layoffs.
"There is a prospect for a brighter tomorrow," said Michael Smith, the recently elected head of Local 3-495 of the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers International Union. While Wilmington, Del.-based Hercules may have become "stale" in its production of weapons' propellant, "Alliant brings a fresh and a new approach," Smith said.
On the surface, it appears that the union, which numbers around 1,000, has little to fear from the acquisition. Alliant signed a successor clause in January that ensures the contract negotiated by the union and Hercules management in October will be honored. "The worries have been laid to rest," Smith said.
But in terms of production schedules, the immediate future probably will include more layoffs at Radford, regardless of Alliant's control, Smith said. The arsenal has seen more than 1,000 workers lose their jobs in the past three years, and "there is a chance of [layoffs] throughout the year 1995," he admitted.
That possibility may have been hinted at in a statement Alliant released Wednesday which said the company would focus in the near term on improving performance and reducing costs.
"We will be working to strengthen performance in our core programs by reallocating resources, redesigning processes and implementing more stringent program cost and scheduling review procedures," said Richard Schwartz, Alliant's president and former president of Hercules Aerospace Co.
Hercules and the U.S. Army, which owns the arsenal, signed a facilities contract last fall that would allow individual contractors onto the compound to do various jobs. Smith said that procedure will mean fewer large contracts for the armed services than in the past, but more work and more jobs in the form of smaller projects.
The Radford arsenal and its workers become part of a 9,000-employee, $1.3 billion aerospace and defense company with facilities in 24 states. The purchase of the Hercules operations included eight plants, of which the Radford arsenal is the second largest.
by CNB