TRURO, N.S. — At times, the grief of losing her job nearly overwhelmed Deb Cock.
Her 33 years at Tarkett’s Tandus Centiva plant are coming to an end next month, when the carpet factory relocates to Georgia and she fears there will be no severance pay.
“I’m just trying to work through one day at a time, there’s not much else I can do,” said Cock. “I can’t focus on me at this point, because I’d just completely lose it, I don’t know what else to say.”
On June 7, Tarkett workers in Truro were joined by fellow Unifor members from across Atlantic Canada in a solidarity rally outside the carpet factory on Willow Street.
Cock and more than 200 of her colleagues will be out of work come July 16, but Unifor is calling on Tarkett to negotiate in good faith and offer its Truro workers a fair severance package and closure agreement.
Tarkett says it has been talking with Unifor and will fulfill its obligations under the collective agreement, but this is not enough for Cock.
“The people in this facility have given their lives to this place, 46 years down to the person who started 90 days before the announcement, it doesn’t matter,” said Cock. “We don’t deserve nothing. We deserve more than the bare minimum.”
Unifor spokesperson Lana Payne said Tarkett have refused to negotiate with its members, nor discussed a fair closure agreement including severance pay.
Unifor says Nova Scotia’s Industry Closing Act provides few obligations from employers and businesses who decide to vacate communities, noting penalties for breaking it are just $100 per day.
She further accused Tarkett of moving operations to Georgia as the state has few labour protections and a minimum wage of $5.15 per hour, saying market conditions in Nova Scotia were not the reason.
She described Tarkett as a “massive operation,” with $3 billion in revenues and $1 billion of profits last year.
“They’re not a mom and pop shop – they could certainly afford to come to the table,” said Payne.
But Tarkett representative Bridget Burgess said the choice to relocate to Georgia was purely a business decision as 95 per cent of products from Truro are exported to the United States.
Burgess also said the decision was in no way a reflection of the quality of work produced in Truro.
“It’s important to remember this is an extremely emotional time and there are high emotions involved,” said Burgess via phone on June 5.
To help its Truro staff, Tarkett has hosted sessions with Nova Scotia Works and the Department of Labour and Advanced Education, among others. The company will also hold a resume writing workshops and is “actively seeking,” a buyer for the property.
Local politicians including Truro Mayor Bill Mills, Truro-Bible Hill-Salmon River-Millbrook MLA Lenore Zann and Cumberland-Colchester MP Bill Casey joined Unifor members and workers who spoke at the rally.
