Viatris Morgantown plant union frustrated as severance talks bog down

May 16—MORGANTOWN — The United Steelworkers local representing about 850 workers at the Morgantown Viatris plant remain frustrated by the lack of progress in negotiations at the July 31 plant closure draws ever near.

Local 8-957 President Joseph Gouzd said Friday that they submitted a counter-proposal last week to Viatris' severance package proposal but have yet to hear back. As they wait, they're trying to spread their message around the state.

"I think it's important to let people know where we stand and what was taking place. I think it was also important to let people know that our offerings from Viatris have been less than fair, in our opinion, based on our years of service, our years of expertise, things of that nature. ... We're not going to develop any dialog if we're not going to the table."

While talk around the nation focuses who people who won't return to work because they can collect more on unemployment, Gouzd said the Morgantown plant will have turned out 3-4 billion doses between January and July and no one has refused to show up for work.

"If that doesn't tell somebody something about the integrity of our workforce, I don't know what does, " he said. "We have 800 members, 855 members who are answering the bell knowing that they're going to the guillotine July 31 and they're still working like hell."

And while West Virginia is exploring ways to keep jobs here, plant workers are ready to collect their severance and go to the Carolinas for work or to Pennsylvania and get back into the steel mills.

The union is also frustrated by the continued lack of response from public officials, he said.

Gouzd did single out Delegate Danielle Walker, D-Monongalia, for praise for her consistent help, and state Sens. Mike Caputo and Bob Beach, who introduced the Senate resolution calling on the governor for form a task force to find a way to keep the plant open.

He said again that U.S. Sens. Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito have been unresponsive to his calls.

As previously reported, The Dominion Post asked Manchin during a press conference this week if he's discussed the fate of the Morgantown plant with President Biden and his West Virginia colleagues.

Manchin had to be admittedly vague and say "Yes, yes and heavy yes." He's had discussions he can't disclose at this point but he hopes to have some direction for the plant well before it's set to close July 31.

Regarding Capito, people familiar with the situation told The Dominion Post that the union reached out to her office requesting a meeting with her. The dates didn't work out but members of Capito's staff spoke with the union and with local leaders. The sources noted meetings with the union in January and March.

The Dominion Post also contacted Viatris to verify some factual information and seek comment on the process. Viatris agreed that the union represents about 850 employees. The rest — the total plant workforce has been estimated at 1, 500 — support the manufacturing operations.

Viatris's two other Morgantown facilities — the Global Center of Excellence for Research and Development on Collins Ferry Road, and the business support functions site at Mountaineer Mall — will remain in operation.

Regarding the pending closure, Viatris supplied this statement: "The phasing out of manufacturing operations in Morgantown as part of a previously-disclosed global restructuring initiative was a decision Viatris did not take lightly. We remain dedicated to treating those impacted fairly and with respect as we continue to work through this process.

"We have, and we will continue to, work with organizations like Workforce West Virginia, while also offering career readiness programs to impacted employees, " Viatris said. "We have also continued to work to try and identify viable alternatives for the site outside of the Viatris network."

As previously reported, Viatris expects to close, downsize or divest up to 15 manufacturing facilities globally "that are deemed to be no longer viable either due to surplus capacity, challenging market dynamics or a shift in its product portfolio toward more complex products."

Viatris expects that up to 20 % of its global workforce of 45, 000 people may be impacted upon completion of the restructuring initiative ; that's about 9, 000 people. The company estimates cash costs of $750 million to $950 million primarily related to severance and employee benefits expense, as well as other costs, including those related to contract terminations and decommissioning costs.

Viatris notes in its financial reports that it is on track to achieve $500 million in synergies — cost savings resulting from the restructuring — in 2021.

Gouzd said a major chunk of that will come from the Morgantown plant closure, which costs about $300 million per year to operate.

"Our people are resilient, " he said, "Our people, they want to work. Our people, we want to stay here. We want to create success for them [Viatris ] too.

"Just imagine, " he said, "what you would get out of a good honeybee if you fed them good nectar and told them that you're going to put them out of commission in maybe six months to a year ... but you're going to give them good nectar and you want them to make good honey and you're going to make sure that when they're retired and the place is closed down ... that their severance would take care of them long enough to springboard them into something else.

"Imagine how much of an enthusiastic society or workforce you would have then, " he said.

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