ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, March 20, 1996 TAG: 9603200059
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: YORK, PA.
SOURCE: Associated Press
Caterpillar Inc. said Tuesday it will begin closing an earthmoving equipment parts plant, eliminating 1,100 jobs over two to three years, because the operation is not competitive.
A parts warehouse employing 300 members of the United Auto Workers union will remain open in York, Caterpillar said at its headquarters at Peoria, Ill. The factory was among those targeted in a 17-month strike that ended last year without a new contract.
Caterpillar first raised concerns with union leaders about the facility's cost competitiveness and the possibility of closing it in December 1991. Since then, the company said, it has held repeated discussions with UAW leaders.
The company said it had offered wages of $17.50 to $21 per hour and a guarantee the plant would stay open through September 2001. Union workers rejected the proposal in December and went back to work, the company said.
``They wanted to bust the union. They wanted to take everything away from us,'' said Barry Koicuba, president of UAW's Local 786, where 800 of its members are to lose their jobs.
LENGTH: Short : 31 linesby CNB