Guardian permanently closes Erin fibreglass plant

Guardian Industries has decided to permanently close the fibreglass plant here, ending a three-year strike that left 85 members of the local United Steelworkers of America union out of work.

The union met last week with a company lawyer to discuss possible severance pay for the workers, who walked out of the plant in northern Erin in June 2007.

The plant has remained inactive since then, other than the picketing station at the front of the plant and the occasional company staffer performing basic maintenance like cutting the grass.

Strike pay ended last month for former workers and members of the Local 271 union, most of whom moved on long ago to other jobs.

The unions is now negotiating severance pay for those with at least five years experience at the plant.

Officials are allegedly requesting at least one week of pay for every year worked, up to 26 weeks.