Losing a longtime job in manufacturing due to a layoff is hard enough. But when federal programs designed to help the workers actually restricted their access to retraining programs, Bloomington, Indiana, Local 2249 went to work on behalf of its former members.
General Electric moved another line of side-by-side refrigerators from Bloomington to Mexico last spring, putting 470 workers out of work. Under federal trade adjustment assistance rules, the displaced workers are eligible for additional training. But options under TAA are limited by proximity to an educational institution and demand for workers in the desired line of training. Those rules would have forced the workers, most in their 40’s, 50’s or 60’s, to attend a comprehensive two-year associate’s degree program at Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana’s nearby campus. Those who were hoping to take shorter programs with more hands-on training at Lincoln Technical Institute in Indianapolis were out of luck because the school is outside the prescribed 50-mile radius.
Former Bloomington, Ind., Local 2249 members attending
electronic systems technician courses at Lincoln Tech are,
front row from left, Wesley Buher, Carolyn Wininger, Jeff
Owens, Tim Fulford and Froylan Clemente. Back row from
left are William New, Ed Barbarick, Scott Hash, Darren
Christenberry, Tracy Pritchard, Brent Thompson and
Chris Bottorff. Mike Cagle is not pictured.
Then members Joy Finley and Rhonda Kenworthy got involved, intervening with the local’s transition committee, Finding Resources and Information to Guide Employees (FRIDGE). Finley and Kenworthy took it to the state Department of Workforce Development, which eventually agreed to hire a shuttle service for those interested in attending the Indianapolis school for programs that train for fields where job opportunities exist. For the first time ever, the state approved the establishment of a weekday shuttle service that allows 26 people to attend classes in Indianapolis. Most are standouts for their excellent grades and outstanding attendance.
Aside from those attending Lincoln Tech, 225 members are attending classes at Ivy Tech, 17 are going to Vincennes University, six take classes at Indiana University and seven are going to a Wisconsin program for heavy equipment operators and CDL drivers.
Once designated the largest assembly line in the world, the Bloomington General Electric plant employed 3,500 in 1999. Today, 955 people work there.
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