W. Va. — Mylan and United Steel Workers Local 8-957 reached an agreement Thursday on details stemming from last week’s layoff announcement.
Mylan spokeswoman Christine Waller described the agreement in a Friday phone conversation with The Dominion Post and provided further details in an email late Friday afternoon.
As previously reported, the layoff affected about 15 percent of Mylan’s Morgantown workforce, primarily in operations — reducing the total employed here from about 3,500 to about 3,000. The union said the layoff affected 400 bargaining unit members.
Waller said Friday that the agreement measures — proposed by Mylan — go beyond anything in the collective bargaining agreement. Laid-off union employees will receive all wages and benefits through the end of the month.
Additionally, Mylan will provide one or two months’ wages and fully subsidized COBRA benefits (group health benefits provided for a certain time by the insurer following job separation), depending on employee tenure.
“Those employees will still have certain recall rights, but we wanted to assist them in the interim,” Waller said.
Also for union members, Mylan proposed a voluntary separation program open to those with 15 or more years of service. “We believe it’s a generous voluntary separation package for eligible employees who may wish to retire early or voluntarily resign for personal interests.”
The recall rights mentioned above will allow laid-off members first dibs on positions that re-open as senior colleagues accept separation packages.
Salaried employees who were laid off were provided a package that includes severance pay, health care continuation and outplacement assistance, Waller said.
“We continue to discuss workforce redeployment solutions with the union, and we appreciate the strong support from businesses in and around Morgantown,” she said. “We also have been in contact with local groups organizing job fairs and other events to support this transition.”
The union could not be reached for comment after business hours.
