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Philips Workers Honored for Their Fight

 

June 24, 2011

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Sparta, Tenn., Local 2143 President Bo McCurry talks about the campaign to keep the Philips lighting fixture plant from being outsourced to Mexico at the annual awards celebration sponsored by American Rights at Work.

Employees of the Philips lighting fixture plant in Sparta, Tenn., were among those honored for their efforts to keep an award-winning light fixture plant from moving to Mexico June 20.

 


They were invited  to tell their story before 400 people at the annual awards celebration sponsored by the labor rights organization American Rights at Work in Washington, D.C.

Local 2143 President Bo McCurry, 25-year employee, told the crowd:

Philips gave us an award for the best productivity in the country. The next week they said ‘We're closing the plant.’

The factory had received numerous awards over the years for excellence, including being named one of North America’s top 10 plants by Industry Week magazine in 2009.

But without explanation, Netherlands-based Philips – which purchased the factory in 2007 – announced last fall that it was shutting down it down and moving most of the work to Mexico by 2012, putting 275 workers out of a job.

As industry analyst Kevin Meyer wrote about the closure announcement, it was:

Yet another decision completely disconnected from business reality … Build a new plant, hire a couple hundred new people at a cheaper wage, training them, and deal with initial quality issues. Somehow that is cheaper than preserving the knowledge, creativity, and experience of a couple hundred employees at a 46-year old facility that has reinvented itself.

The Sparta plant would be the sixth U.S. facility outsourced by Philips since 2007.

Also honored was actor James Cromwell and United Streetcar, an IBEW-represented company known for its close partnership between labor and management.

Says McCurry:

It’s good to know that we aren’t alone and that people around the country know what Philips is trying to do to Sparta and support us in our efforts to spread the word.

Go to www.tellphilips.com for more information.

 

Photo Credit: American Rights at Work