Coert Bonthius to Cortland County Legislature chair Richard Tupper on Smith Corona

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April 24, 1990

Richard Tupper, Chair

ESERVATION
Cortland County Legislature PRE

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County Office Building COPY

Cortland, NY 13045 ORIGINAL
ESTROYED

Dear Mr. Tupper,

The Tompkins/Cortland Labor Coalition represents 38 unions in

our two county area. In Cortland our member unions include the
Paid Firefighters, CSEA, Public School Teachers Association,
building trades, United University Professions and others. Our

interest is in creating and maintaining good jobs which can provide
a higher quality of life for the entire community. While the Labor
Coalition is primarily an organization of “organized” workers it
also sees its role as supporting and helping unorganized workers.

About one month ago Smith Corona announced that it was laying
off 350 additional workers from its Cortlandville plant, bringing
the total of workers laid off since to August 1989 to 750. At the
same time the company announced that it was increasing the number
of workers at its Singapore plant by 300.

As you may know, Congress passed a federal plant closing law
last year, called the Workers Adjustment and Retraining
Notification Act (WARN). (I have enclosed a copy of the law for
your use.) Under the provisions of this law, otherwise known as
WARN an employer can be responsible for providing 60 days advance
notice of mass layoffs or plant closings to affected workers and
communities. Additionally, workers laid off as a direct result of
foreign competition are eligible for special help from the
Department of Labor.

The purpose behind this legislation was to protect American
workers and communities, to provide them with time to absorb the
financial and psychological shock of unemployment. Clearly, these
kinds of corporate decisions are not made on the spur of the
moment. They are made with forethought and calculation.
Therefore, it was determined that workers and communities be
accorded the same consideration to readjust their lives.

The Labor Coalition believes it is possible that SCM has
violated the federal plant closing law by not providing 60 days
notification and that our community may, in fact, be missing out
on special benefits it could receive. Based on newspaper reports,
interviews with SCM workers and available company information we
feel there is ample reason to pursue the issue.

If an employer does not provide the appropriate advance
notification both the affected workers and the "unit of local
government to which the employer pays the highest taxes for the
year" have standing to sue for damages. Damages include wages and
benefits for the workers and up to $500 per day for the local

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governmental unit for each da : i
required notice. y the employer did not give the

For this reason the Labor Coalition has b i i

j = egun trying to piece
eeen information from people who work there, or used to work
ere.

In this way we can try to understand what is going on and
whether or not SCM did, in fact, violate WARN. I have enclosed a
copy of the WARN law for your use,

some newspaper clippings and
some other material.

I will be calling you shortly to discuss this matter with you
and perhaps solicit your support in this informal investigation.
In the meantime, if you have any questions regarding our efforts
please feel free to call me. Whatever the outcome of our
investigation, it is imperative that we do as much as possible to
help the workers and their families who have been laid off.

Sincerely,

Coert Bonthius
Coordinator

encl.

cc: Melvin Pierce, Cortlandville Town Supervisor
Marty Mack, Cortland Mayor

Willis Streeter, Cortland Co-Chair, TCLC
Al Davidoff, Ithaca Co-Chair, TCLC

PRESERVATipy

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