By Scott Harvey
Commerce – A number of initiatives aimed at helping outgoing Zurn Pex employees gets underway Tuesday in Commerce.
Texas Workforce Solutions out of Greenville will visit the plant, where they'll hold five sessions instructing individuals on a number of items such as how to accurately apply for unemployment, how to go online to apply for jobs, and access other online sources as well. The classes are being held during normal business hours so they can guarantee 100% participation.
Account Manager with Texas Workforce solutions in Greenville George Kronke says the same classes were offered for employees of Goody's Family Clothing store in Greenville after they announced they would be closing their store in January. The classes were sparsely attended, however, possibly because they were held after hours.
A job fair has also been planned for next month. It'll be held on the campus of Texas A&M University-Commerce on May 14.
Workforce Solutions' Rapid Response team will later be working with Zurn employees during a resume writing class. A date has not yet been set.
Also in the near future, Dean of the College of Business and Technology at A&M-Commerce Dr. Hal Langford will speak to outgoing employees to discuss the different emotions and experiences felt during times such as these, and how to cope with them.
The Commerce Economic Development Corporation had originally planned a severance package seminar. Zurn, in lieu of giving a lump sum to individuals following employment, will instead continue to issue paychecks for a duration based on a person's tenure with the company. According to CDC Director Jeanette Burnette, employees, for every year they've worked there, will be paid for one week's salary. They'll receive their paychecks every two weeks until that time runs out.
"You always fear if they get a lump sum they [will] spend it too fast and put themselves in a hole and they won't be able to recover from it," says Burnette.
Zurn announced last month they would begin in May the first of two rounds of layoffs. The job cuts are blamed on the decline in the home building industry.