| Stories 1 to 10 of 3791 |
|
2/4/2012
AM980 News
While hundreds of workers in London are feeling upset and disappointed, a community in Indiana is hopeful new manufacturing jobs could be on the way.
Electro-Motive's parent company, Caterpillar, held a job fair in Muncie, Indiana today.
The corporation wants to recruit about 250 workers for its Progress Rail plant in the town.
The job fair was announced several weeks ago, but now has an extra sting after London's Electro-Motive facility was closed yesterday.
According to reports in Muncie's newspaper, The Star Press, Progress Rail ended the job fair at 11:30 a.m. today even though it was scheduled to run until 3 p.m.
The paper says the reason for shutting down early was an "overwhelming turnout."
One person estimated there could be about 4,000 people there, all hoping to get a position.
The company has reportedly said it will hold another job fair so those who didn't get a chance to speak with company representatives today will have another shot.
Mayor of Muncie, Indiana Dennis Tyler was a firefighter for 40 years and is described as a union man who's in favour of the bargaining process.
He spoke with CTV London and says he feels for the 465 Electro-Motive workers ...
Read more...
|
2/4/2012
AM980 News
The wounds are still fresh for many Electro-Motive plant workers this weekend, still taking in the news of the plant's closure announced on yesterday.
As workers think about what may come next, a local business association is stepping-up to the plate to help them during this tough time.
The Argyle Business Improvement Association held an emergency meeting yesterday to talk about ways the organization might be able to help. The association has decided to set up a page on its website for participating merchants to offer special discounts or programs for services and products to the affected Electro-Motive employees, as well as a directory of community services available.
Nancy McSloy is the executive director of the BIA and says the news of the closure was a devastating blow to the community they wanted to make sure they helped out during this hard time
"We really want to do this. We want them to realize that we're not just about business, we're about community and at a time like this it's so important to help," she says.
McSloy adds they hope to have the page up and running by the end of the weekend, if not early next week.
Read more...
|
2/4/2012
AM980 News
It might not look like a day for skiing and snowboarding, but that isn't stopping Boler Mountain as they open a new hill.
The $4 million West Hill expansion has a 67 metre slope. The hill was originally set to open on December 31st but was pushed back because of poor weather conditions.
"Even today as we look out and see green grass the hills are covered here and we're ready to go," said Greg Strauss, a member of the management team at Boler.
"Hopefully we can get some good weather to help out and get people back in the mood for skiing because winters not over yet."
The new run has been in the works for 20 years with Strauss saying much of the final push came over the last 12 months.
The celebration will continue tonight with a fireworks display around 9 p.m.
Read more...
|
2/4/2012
AM980 News
London Police are searching for two suspects this morning after a pharmacy was robbed.
It happened just before 5:30 p.m. yesterday evening at Commissioners Road West and Viscount Road.
Officers allege a man entered the pharmacy, demanded cash along with narcotics and left the scene with an undisclosed amount of both.
Police say the suspect took off in a vehicle described as grey or silver in colour, with a second suspect in the driver's seat.
The male suspect in the robbery is described as white, in his 20's, 5'8", slim build, wearing a navy blue hooded sweater, dark baseball cap, blue jeans and athletic styled sunglasses.
There is no description at this time for the second suspect.
If anyone has any information that may help this investigation they are asked to call the London Police Service at 519-661-5670 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
Read more...
|
2/4/2012
AM980 News
A woman was sent to hospital after a crash in London's south end last night.
London Police say it happened around 10:40 p.m. on Jalna Boulevard, north of Bradley Avenue near White Oaks Mall. Officers say a 63-year-old woman was crossing the road north of the intersection when she was struck by a southbound vehicle.
They say she was transported to hospital with serious injuries, but her current condition isn't known.
The stretch of roadway was closed for several hours as police investigated, but has since been re-opened.
Constable Ricardo Juliao says it's too soon to say if charges will be laid in the case.
Read more...
|
2/3/2012
AM980 News
It is a dark Friday in London.Caterpillar Inc. has confirmed plans to close the Electro-Motive plant on Oxford St East, a decision that will throw more than 550 people out of work. The Canadian Auto Workers union represents about 450 employees at the plant and was notified of the closure around 9:20 a.m.
About 10 minutes later the company issued a media release online that read as follows:
"Progress Rail Services Corporation, the parent company of Electro-Motive Canada(EMC), today announced its decision to close EMC's locomotive production operations at its London, Ontario plant. The company is notifying all affected employees of the decision."
"The Company stated it is regrettable that it has become necessary to close production operations at the London facility. The cost structure of the operation was not sustainable and efforts to negotiate a new, competitive collective agreement were not successful."
"Progress Rail's global manufacturing network assures its customers that delivery schedules will not be impacted by this decision."
The short amount of time between the CAW being notified and the public announcement meant members of the media were already showing up to the EMD grounds before locked out workers were told about the closure order.
The mood out on the picket-line ...
Read more...
|
2/3/2012
AM980 News
London Mayor Joe Fontana spoke with reporters outside the Electro-Motive facility on Oxford St. E on Friday afternoon, only a few hours after Caterpillar announced its decision to close the facility.Below is Fontana's unedited news conference:
Read more...
|
2/3/2012
AM980
It was an emotional scene on the Electro-Motive picket line as workers came to grips with news the plant would soon be shut down.This woman, an employee at Electro-Motive, was in near hysterics but wanted the media to share her story:
Read more...
|
2/3/2012
AM980 News
London-Fanshawe New Democrat MP Irene Mathyssen spoke with reporters outside the Electro-Motive facility on Oxford St. E on Friday afternoon, only a few hours after Caterpillar announced its decision to close the facility.
Read more...
|
2/3/2012
AM980 News
There's still a long way to go, but the first month of 2012 produced some encouraging signs where the local economy is concerned.
For the second straight month, the London-St.Thomas jobless rate has decreased. It fell from 9.6% in December to 9% in January, according to figures released Friday by Statistics Canada. The unemployment rate has fallen almost a full percentage point since last November.
The jobless rate declined partially because 600 fewer people were looking for work in January but also because 1,000 jobs were created.
Peter White, the President and CEO of the London Economic Development Corporation, says there are a number of sectors on the rise in the city.
"The financial services sector is growing, we're seeing growth happening on the wholesale trade side. In our region specifically we've had the impact of the Ford plant closing and that actually brought our manufacturing numbers down a little bit but the remaining manufacturers are actually seeing real strength. They're either seeing strong orders and, in a lot of cases, a lot of those manufacturers are starting to re-hire."
While London's unemployment rate declined in January many other cities saw increases. Windsor jumped from 10.5% to 10.9% and still has ...
Read more...
|