By Jenny Ratzel

Some workers are starting to think about leaving Buena Vista. Following the announcement that car-parts manufacturer Dana Corp. will be shutting down, its employees are searching for jobs. And for some, leaving Buena Vista seems like the only option.

With only 2.7 percent of its 3,175 eligible workers unemployed, Buena Vista seemed to have one of the healthiest local economies in Virginia.

But that was before Dana announced that its plant in Buena Vista will shut its doors by 2007 in a phased pullout. This means that 275 workers will lose their jobs. Dana was Buena Vista's largest employer.

Terry Hamilton, employed by Dana as a materials specialist for 17 years, is one of the workers who will lose a job. The father of two and Virginia native says that his future is unsure but that he’s willing to move in order to make ends meet.

“Myself, I'm thinking seriously about relocating,” said Hamilton. “My two children are out on their own. I've been thinking about leaving anyway.” With his financial future uncertain, he can no longer afford to retire in Buena Vista.

Dana workers, including Hamilton, are now scrambling to look for jobs in the surrounding areas before the competition gets too intense. According to Hamilton, within the next two weeks employees will be provided with a list of job openings within the company all around the United States. Hamilton is considering moving to Tennessee.

The Virginia Employment Commission's Buena Vista field station has been flooded with Dana employees. Sharon Dull, Office Manager at the field station, said that scores of Dana workers have already visited the office and registered for job services.

VEC compiles all of the workers' applications in a database that matches the workers with possible jobs based on their skills and preferences. Most of the jobs for which the workers can register are in Buena Vista, Lexington or Rockbridge County. However, the database can match workers with jobs around the United States.

VEC also administers unemployment insurance, which Dull says a number of Dana workers have asked about.

Hamilton found out about the shutdown when he saw a news crew at the plant, he says. However, Dana was required to notify union officials of the shutdown, allowing the employees time between the notification and the actual closing. According to Hamilton, in other cases Dana officials have told employees they were closing the plant and walked out.

“I think the union had a lot to do with us getting such an advance notice, because the plant is not scheduled to completely shut down until the first quarter of 2007. It's supposed to be kind of a gradual thing,” he said.

The company, based in Toledo, Ohio, is closing two Virginia plants. The plant in Buena Vista will consolidate with the plant in Kentucky, while the Bristol, Va., plant will move its operations to Mexico. Its employees will not necessarily move with it, but some might.

“That's another advantage of the union,” said Hamilton. “The union contract states that we have a right to take those jobs that become available in other plants.” While the union has bought the Buena Vista employees time and training, some contend that it's because of the unionization that Dana is closing the plant.

Hamilton disagrees. He thinks that people use this as a “scare tactic” to keep plants from unionizing. Hamilton claims that “prior to this year, the majority of plants that Dana had shut down were non-union” and he calls the shutdown “strictly business.”

Because of the union, Dana was required to file an “intent to close” with the VEC. Following this filing, the VEC sent a rapid response team to the plant to educate the workers on their rights and the services that the VEC offers.

Dull says that initially the workers were stunned, not at the closing but at how quickly Dana made the decision to shut down. “To be told you'll work for two weeks and then not have a job, it's like a kick in the stomach,” said Dull.

Union or not, Hamilton and his fellow workers must start over somewhere else. “It's like a man told me a long time ago when I went to Dana,” Hamilton said. “You'll never get rich working at Dana, but it's a good place to work.”

Dull remembers when Dana opened in Buena Vista in 1982. “The city was experiencing double-digit unemployment,” she said. Dana's opening “was so exciting.”

Sarah Murray contributed to this report.
 

Auto parts plant in BV closing, 275 people may lose their jobs

Produced by Washington and Lee journalism students.

Lead supervisor:      Prof. Claudette Artwick

Reporting supervisor: Prof. Doug Cumming

Editing supervisor:  Prof. Pamela Luecke

Technical supervisor:  Michael Todd