UMWA Local 717 Archives -

RemArms Reopens Ilion Plant

The former Remington plant in Ilion, New York has finally reopened under the Roundhill Group’s ownership. It opened last week with 45 workers plus management.

From the Herkimer Times Telegram:

“We have called back approximately 45 employees as of this week that along with the 20 management people that have been back for several weeks now,” Richmond Italia, a managing partner for the Roundhill Group Inc., owner of RemArms, the plant’s new operator, said in an email. “And we expect to round that number off to over 200 before the end of the month.”

It appears that the sticking point to the plant reopening was the contract with United Mine Workers Local 717. Most of the plant’s workers are members of that Local. It will formalize the recall process of furloughed workers and sets a 60-day window for starting negotiations on a new collective bargaining contract.

UMWA International President Cecil Roberts had this to say:

“This letter of agreement was a long time in the making,” said UMWA International President Cecil E. Roberts. “It is the first step toward re-establishing a normal relationship between the union and the operators of that plant, one that will allow the professional craftspeople who have built firearms in Ilion to return to doing what they do better than anyone.”
He added: “There is more to do here. The company needs product to sell, and we fully understand and support that. We are pleased that UMWA members will soon be going back to work at the plant, if the company holds to its expected timetable. The next step is to negotiate a full collective bargaining agreement that the members can ratify and then get operations fully back to normal.”

As I reported earlier, the initial product coming from the plant will be the 870 line of shotguns.

The negotiations with the union delayed reopening by approximately a month. The initial restart was to have begun in early March and actually didn’t begin until April.

Remington Arms Set To Reopen March 1st

The Roundhill Group which bought Remington Arms in the bankruptcy auction tentatively plans to restart production at the Ilion plant March 1st. According to WKTV Channel 2 Utica (NY), maintenance will begin on the plant in mid-February in preparation for the March 1 restart.

Roundhill Group partner, Richmond Italia, said the company plans to bring back 200 employees by the first day of production.
Italia says the company is working with the state to increase jobs at the Ilion facility.
“We’re deep in negotations with the state, trying to come up with some sort of compromise to build a new facility,” said Italia. “If we are able to come to terms and we do build a new facility, we will consolidate everything in New York, which will bring the company back to 800 to 1,000 employees, eventually.”

Roundhill Group obtained their Federal Firearms License in early January.

A story in the Utica Times-Telegram indicates that they may have some negotiating to do with United Mine Workers of America Local 717 which represents the workers at the Ilion plant.

Remington workers are represented by United Mine Workers of America Local 717, and union members expressed confusion about the offers they received in December to begin work at the plant again in February.
The offers said they would receive the same salaries they had been making, but there would be some changes to the health plan and workers would be employed “at will,” which could deny them due process if they were terminated for any reason.
Phil Smith, UMWA director of communications and governmental affairs, said at the time that there had been no talks with Roundhill and that companies could not legally ask union members at a facility where there is a union contract to work without that contract as a condition of employment.
Italia said Friday that the owners are in talks with the union and “hope to come to a mutual beneficial agreement for all parties involved.”
He said the offer to the employees was not conditioned on waiting for these negotiations to be complete.
“I understand people need jobs to survive,” he said. “I’ve been there, and I sympathize. We are willing to risk reopening the plant, even while in negotiations.”

As to which firearm they will start producing first, Shooting Illustrated reports that it will be the 870 shotgun.

In an aside, there is a report that the lawsuit in Connecticut against Remington, Soto v. Remington, is still scheduled to go to trial in September. I don’t see how it can as it appears that none of the pre-bankruptcy legal liabilities were assumed by any of the bidders in the bankruptcy auction.