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KANNAPOLIS — Ralph Dunham was elated to get a job at Pillowtex about four months ago. A 43-year-old with a history of heart problems, he “finally got some decent health insurance.”
When a Pillowtex worker with seniority bumped Dunham from his second-shift job in the washcloth department at the struggling textile manufacturer, he figured he’d better put his previous experience to work.
Dunham applied for a position in the maintenance department at NorthEast Medical Center on Monday during a job fair hosted by Pillowtex for employees let go as the company scales back production.
“It’s a shame,” Dunham said, after dropping his completed application off at the NorthEast table. “It’s a nice job, it’s a nice company, the people are nice. I hate to see the company go down.”
The company is trying to avoid going down, and that’s why Pillowtex officials said in May they had to eliminate 590 local jobs, closing Plant 4 altogether and trimming the work force at Plant 1.
Pillowtex shed another 190 jobs in a plant closing in Columbus, Ga. announced in May. In April, the company said it would close plants in Rocky Mount and Newton as it tries to emerge from bankruptcy reorganization.
In an effort to help laid-off workers find new jobs, the company invited employers from Rowan and Cabarrus counties, as well as other parts of the region and state, to meet with them.
Company officials counted about 300 people who came through the fair, held in the towel mill at Plant 1 where some 390 workers have either already been let go or can count the days until they are.
In addition to seeing the 13 employers, the workers had the chance to discuss educational opportunities with local colleges, retirement rollover accounts with financial advisors and child care during the job search.
Don Mallo, the company’s vice president for human resources, said he thinks the job fair went well, and that it demonstrated Pillowtex’s commitment to the workers.
“Decisions concerning closings are always difficult, but we do have an obligation beyond the announcement,” he said. “If we can place employees who wouldn’t have found a job on their own, it’s been a success.”
Unlike Dunham, many of the employees who lost their jobs in the cutbacks have been with the company for decades. Some, like James Parks, haven’t had to look for a job in nearly 30 years.
“I’m just taking it one day at a time,”Parks said, after speaking with human resources officials from S&D Coffee and before visiting the table for Philip Morris U.S.A., both Concord companies.
Some of the workers don’t have high a school education, because they didn’t need it to work in the mill.
Leslie Eagle, human resources manager for S&D, said her company requires a diploma or equivalent, but will work with new employees who don’t have one, but are willing to get it.
“We have hired some excellent people who have gone through that program,” Eagle said. “And it’s been the encouragement they needed to go through it.”
Eagle, who said S&D has hired about a dozen ex-Pillowtex employees in recent months for its growing operations, also said age is not a big factor in hiring decisions, as did others.
The Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office took applications for about 140 openings for detention officers at county jails. Officer LaTonya Johnston said her department targets older people “because we know they’re going to work and they’re going to stay.”
Other employers included the city of Kannapolis, Cabarrus County, Perdue Farms and Piedmont Communications. Milt Thomas, a human resources manager for Revlon, came all the way from Oxford, north Durham, to recruit workers for the plant there.
“I’ve been all over the state in the last two weeks,” Thomas said. “I’m willing to offer a good opportunity to people in this plant if they’re willing to relocate.”
Thomas said the Revlon plant in Oxford, with about 1,900 employees, isn’t starved for applications in its own area. But he said finding experienced machine operators is worth the travel.
He offered workers $50 to drive to Oxford and take two mechanical aptitude tests. Those hired are eligible for $2,000 to pay for relocation. If they stay six months, they get a $500 bonus.
Even with all that, Thomas said he didn’t expect to find many willing to take him up on his offer. It’s hard, he said, to get people to pull up roots when they’ve lived and worked in the community so long.
For those who want to stay and are willing to put in some time in college before they go to work, NorthEast’s Dottie Settlemyer — though looking for workers to fill various jobs right now — has a suggestion.
“I’m pushing radiology, because that’s where the need is,” she said. Technicians can start at nearly $13 an hour after two years of college. Specialists in ultrasound and MRI radiology can make more.
Mallo said he hopes Pillowtex helped workers connect with local companies, so they can maintain their place in this community. He said company officials have a “moral obligation” to help them do that.
While they look for jobs, or decide to go back to school and learn a trade, workers can keep their health insurance without cost for up to three months, under an agreement reached this week between the company and union.
“It shows that the company and the union, when faced with difficult decisions, we work together as one,” Mallo said. “Both of us have the best interests of our employees in mind.”
Contact Scott Jenkins at 704-797-4248 or
sjenkins@salisburypost.com .
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