The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday, August 14, 2009 · 4 Union VP says jobs going south Continued from page 1 Enjoy your summer! y DO YOU LIKE TO GOLF? If you become a New Pre-Paid Reader you will receive a complimentary round of golf at Hidden Lake or Lowville (It's your choice!) or 2 Tickets to any Toronto Argos Home Game* Call Circulation to become a New Pre-Paid Reader: 905-845-9742 The Oakville Beaver we thought it was time for the provincial and federal governments to sit down with GE and with us and look at how we might use the infrastructure that is there to carry on in the future," said Huget. "I know from our perspective, nobody took us up on that offer and I don't know if there were any discussions with GE or the provincial or federal governments on that issue." Huget remains hopeful the federal and provincial governments will step in to see what needs to happen to keep the GE plant in Oakville. If intervention does not happen the GE plant's closure will go ahead, which would be particularly disappointing for Huget who has no doubt that, as one of the leading lighting manufacturers in the world, GE will soon be manufacturing the next green light bulb that will be embraced by today's governments and consumers. "The unfortunate part is that they will be made somewhere in the U.S. or another country when they could have just as easily been made right here in Oakville," said Huget. "Is closure the only real option here? Are there not other products that can be made here? Is there not an opportunity for this thing to be reconsidered in terms of new age products?" Huget noted many of the jobs from the Oakville plant will be going to a facility in Bucyrus, Ohio while some of the jobs may also be outsourced to companies outside GE. New ! Location Decorating a bedroom can be expensive BUT not at Halton Linen HALTON LINEN OUTLET INVENTORY CLEARANCE 2 WEEKS ONLY AUG 17 - 29TH Extended Hours Thurs., Fri. to 8 pm 1360 Speers Rd., OAKVILLE Brand name bedding up to 70% Off New ! Location (905) 847-2274 Voted Oakville's Best Linen Shop M - T - W. 10 A.M - 5:30 P.M. · Thurs - Fri. 10 A.M. - 8 P.M. · SAT. 10 A.M - 5 P.M. · SUN. Closed European Engineering Combined With Traditional Workmanship "Building on the Brightest Ideas Around Glass" 905.849.0266 He also pointed out that many of the people losing their jobs are Oakville residents whose average annual wage from the plant was around the $55,000 range While GE has stated around 40 per cent of the plant's employees are eligible for retirement, Huget said that really has another meaning. "A lot of people have been there a long time. They are long service employees. They're older workers, which makes it more difficult for them to find employment particularly in today's economy in terms of the manufacturing industry in this part of Ontario," he said. "We are in fact scheduled to sit down with the company to look at some of those details to see how we can transition people with as little pain as possible to the scenario of their plant closing, but it's not going to be easy and it's not going to be seamless. These people have lost a great deal here and I have no doubt they will continue to lose." Warburton noted employees from the plant will be given priority for other GE jobs that become available throughout the province with GE also committing to support the employees through retraining programs, which are intended to qualify them for other jobs. Despite this, Huget said the mood at the plant was one of shock and dismay when the plant's impending closure was announced. "It's a pretty hefty announcement and then to have to go home after putting in a day at the plant and have to tell your family that in, at the most, a year, you are going to be unemployed," said Huget. "That's been the ability of you to feed your family and pay your mortgage, so you can imagine people are shocked and saddened by that." At Town Hall, Mayor Rob Burton is also feeling the impending loss of the GE plant, which he complimented for its environmental initiatives. Burton also noted that the GE plant closure is not a sign of things to come in Oakville. "I regret GE's decision because I am very proud for them of their world-beating energy-saving T-8 bulb's contribution to a greener, more efficient world," he said. "I remain very confident in Oakville's future and I am certain that as the ongoing economic recovery gathers strength, our economic development strategy will succeed." Huget is not so sure. He points out that a very disturbing restructuring is taking place with high-paying jobs being bled out of the Oakville area.