The Stel Salaried Pensioners
Organization wishes to thank The Hamilton Spectator for permission to post the
following article by Business Reporter Steve Arnold published in the April 21,
2004 edition
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Apr. 21, 2004. 01:13 AM |
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A Fight for Fairness |
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Former employees of Canadian Drawn Steel sue for
severance |
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By Steve Arnold |
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Alan Wilbur was immersed in the problems of marrying two computer systems when the axe fell. It was Jan. 13, and for weeks he had been toiling over the computers at the Canadian Drawn Steel plant on Chatham Street, helping to transfer the company's records to a new system. At the end of the day, after more than 25 years, he was simply told he was not being offered a job by the new owner and there would be no severance pay because the former owner was bankrupt. "They brought up a manager from the States who told me there just wasn't any money to pay a severance," Wilbur said. "That really made me mad because right up to the time I was let go, the Canadian company hadn't lost any money." Fuelled by that anger, Wilbur and three of his former colleagues have launched a wrongful dismissal suit against Canadian Drawn Steel Inc., a subsidiary of Ohio-based Republic Engineered Products Inc. which bought the Hamilton plant from the wreckage of Republic Technologies International. The plant produces specialty bar steel primarily for the automotive industry. Their claim is that since the Canadian company was never bankrupt, it was obliged to give them reasonable notice or pay in lieu. Hamilton lawyer Ed Canning represents Wilbur, former plant manager Gary Ferguson and office workers Margaret Santarelli and Louise Smith in the suit. Ferguson, who started with the company in 1974, was earning $102,000 a year as plant manager and overseeing 100 people. He is seeking $225,000 in damages. Santarelli served 24 years and was a clerk in the accounts receivable/invoicing department, earning $39,000, while Smith started in 1981 and earned $38,000 as production planning buyer. They're both seeking damages of $80,000. Wilbur was senior systems analyst in the company's information technology department, earning $56,000 a year. He wants damages of $125,000. Each also seeks an additional $20,000 in punitive damages plus interest and expenses. In a March 31 letter to Republic vice-president John Willoughby, Canning argues that under Ontario law "no shareholder ... has the right to take monies from a company without satisfying the financial obligations of that company where the company is not in bankruptcy. As you are aware, Canadian Drawn Steel was never declared bankrupt or put under protection ... Its shareholder happened to be bankrupt but that is irrelevant." In an interview, Canning said he doesn't believe the claim that Canadian Drawn had no money to finance severance payments. "The company must have got money for selling its assets to the new owner, so where is it?" he asked. "If the money was funnelled off to the American bankruptcy, that should not have happened." The lack of severance payments for the salaried workers is only the latest blow former employees of Canadian Drawn have suffered. In March it was reported that health benefits for about 24 salaried retirees had been cut off because premiums for those insurance policies were no longer being paid by the company. In that case, a Republic spokesman said those legacy costs were left with bankrupt Republic Technologies while the assets went to Republic Engineered Products. In an interview, Willoughby said he hadn't seen the suit and couldn't comment. While the suit winds through the legal process, Wilbur struggles to find a new place for himself in an information technology business that values "new" above everything. "Without severance pay I can't upgrade my skills because those courses are pretty expensive," he said. sarnold@thespec.com 905-526-3496 |