AFTER REMINGTON UNION HUDDLE, BRINDISI ANNOUNCES PUSH FOR FED INVESTIGATION INTO LAYOFFS; CONGRESSMAN SAYS ACTIONS BY REMINGTON AND HEDGE FUND OWNER DEMAND FEDS PROBE LAY-OFF PROCESS TO ENSURE BENEFITS LIKE WORKER PENSIONS & HEALTHCARE ARE PROTECTED

Brindisi Says The Way Layoffs Went Down Could Be In Violation Of Fed Law Given Broken Promises To Union 

Congressman Wants Feds To Probe Remington And The Hedge Fund That Owns It— Cerberus Capital Management 

 

Brindisi: Hedge Fund That Owns Remington Needs Probe To Ensure Best Chance For Workers 

 

Congressman Anthony Brindisi joined the United Mine Workers Association informational picket today in Ilion. Brindisi announced a push, backed by the union, for a federal investigation into Remington Arms’ decision  to deny benefits from union workers.

 

“These hard working men and women deserve to be treated with dignity and they deserve the benefits they fought for,” Brindisi said in Ilion. “Remington is trying to leave this community and these workers high and dry, but we aren’t going to let them. I am calling on the National Labor Relations Board to step in and investigate this issue.”

 

Following bankruptcy, Remington Arms unceremoniously terminated nearly 600 workers and is denying severance pay among other benefits from the union’s collective bargaining agreement. Earlier this month, Brindisi met with the union and offered his help to the displaced workers. Union leadership praised Brindisi’s actions.

 

“These workers built this company,” said Cecil Roberts, UMWA International President. “They worked hard and expected old Remington ownership to recognize that and live up to the terms of the collective bargaining agreement. Instead, on its way out the door old Remington ownership is refusing to pay money it is legally obligated to pay the workers. That is more than an unfair labor practice, it is theft, and must be investigated by the National Labor Relations Board. I commend Representative Brindisi for his swift action to call old Remington ownership to account, and urge the NLRB to move quickly to investigate and resolve this issue.  We continue to work in a positive way with the new, incoming owners of Remington to get the plant open again and get our members back to work.”

 

“This decision by Remington is an affront to union jobs everywhere,” Brindisi wrote in his letter. “While I understand that the UMWA Local Union 717 has already filed a series of grievances under their collective bargaining agreement and that many of these decisions will be made by a bankruptcy court, I believe that the NLRB has a duty to investigate this case on behalf of these workers. This betrayal of the rights their union fought for is unacceptable and cannot stand.”

 

Brindisi’s full letter to the NLRB is below:

 

The Honorable John F. Ring

Chairman 

National Labor Relations Board

1015 Half Street, SE 

Washington, DC 20570

 

Dear Chairman Ring: 

 

I write in support of the hardworking men and women of the Ilion, New York plant of Remington Arms. As you may know, on October 23, 2020, Remington Outdoor Company announced it would be terminating the employment of the Ilion plant's 585 workers, cutting off their health care and other contractual benefits at the end of the month. Remington also announced it would not pay severance and accrued vacation benefits to these workers, despite a contractual obligation with the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA). I am calling on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to investigate this matter and determine whether the company has engaged in unfair labor practices that require remediation and action. 

 

The workers at the Ilion plant have earned their benefits through many years producing of quality products in the Mohawk Valley. I firmly stand with the workers who have been predicting for months that the company will try to use its bankruptcy proceeding to take away benefits that have been collectively bargained, or deny the safety rights of workers who’ve made the company profitable over the years. Unfortunately, those predictions have been borne out. 

 

This decision by Remington is an affront to union jobs everywhere. While I understand that the UMWA Local Union 717 has already filed a series of grievances under their collective bargaining agreement and that many of these decisions will be made by a bankruptcy court, I believe that the NLRB has a duty to investigate this case on behalf of these workers. This betrayal of the rights their union fought for is unacceptable and cannot stand.

 

Thank you for your attention to this matter and I look forward to your response. 

 

Sincerely, 

 

Anthony Brindisi