Dana Corp. operations to end Nov. 30

The end is coming sooner than first projected for the Dana Corp. plant on Corporate Circle.

On July 19, employees at the plant approved a plant closing agreement between the company and United Auto Workers Local 282 that will pay each worker approximately one week's pay for each year they have been employed by Dana. The agreement sets Nov. 30 as the day when operations will cease at the plant. When the plans to close the plant were announced, the company projected that the local plant would close in June 2008.

About 140 of the 200 workers who were employed at the plant when the plans to close were announced in December 2006 remain, said Max Dunlap, plant manager. A round of layoffs will reduce that number by 30 near the end of August and another 30 or so will be let go in mid-October with the final group leaving when plant operations cease, he said. Those job cuts are in addition to the 10 to 12 employees leaving for other work each month, he said.

Employees who take other jobs before being laid off will not receive the separation pay, Dunlap said.

Auto parts production at the Cape Girardeau plant is being moved to Mexico. Workers at the plant are eligible to apply for jobs at other Dana Corp. plants in the United States, but Dunlap, an 11-year veteran of the plant, said he will stay in the area.

"I intend to see this transition through to the end and do what I can to get Dana people other jobs," he said. "Then I will see what is available for myself."

Dana Corp. is reorganizing under bankruptcy court protection and the local agreement is part of a larger contract with the United Auto Workers that will transform the company's retiree health and long-term disability plans into voluntary benefit associations run by the company's two largest unions. The company agreed to contribute $700 million cash and $80 million in common stock to the finance the associations.

Employees who are laid off will have their health insurance premiums for six months withheld from the severance checks; afterward, they will be allowed to continue participating in the health insurance plan for up to an additional 12 months but must pay the full premium themselves.

To assist employees find work, the company has been working with other area employers to place workers. A job fair held at Dana in July attracted 25 local companies and 95 percent of the employees took part, Dunlap said.

Cape Girardeau Dana employees will also receive preference in hiring at other company plants, but "there haven't been many takers," Dunlap said.

Dunlap took over as plant manager in March. He will be one of a handful of employees who will remain on staff at the plant after it closes until a buyer is found.

"Since assuming the role of plant manager, I have emphasized openness," Dunlap said. "It has been a tough time for Dana people and communication is critical. The more information that is out there, the better."

• Library looking for local contractors: The Cape Girardeau Public Library will be advertising soon for bids to help move the furniture out of its building on Clark Avenue as it prepares for a major renovation project, library director Betty Martin said.

The library has also set a timeline for hiring a general contractor for the $9 million construction project that will double the library's size from 19,000 to 39,000 square feet, Martin said.

The library will be moving to the former Carrington House furniture store at 301 S. Broadview St. and has hired an Ohio firm, Carney-McNicholas, to move the library's books and other materials. Carney-McNicholas specializes in moving libraries, Martin said. The furniture-moving contract will be awarded after library staff decide which furniture will be kept and which will be sold, she said.

Bids for the construction contract will be opened Oct. 2. Martin said the project will be advertised locally and in St. Louis. "We'd love for a local firm to get that contract," she said. "We'd love to keep that business in Cape Girardeau."

• Drury receives more accolades: I reported here last week that Drury Inn and Suites, the locally grown hotel chain that has expanded across the country, was rated tops in its class by Consumer Reports in its July editions. Consumer Reports is the monthly publication of the Consumers Union of U.S. Inc. that accepts no advertisements and is widely recognized for the integrity of its product and service reviews.

Drury Hotels received a reader score of 84 out of a possible 100 points for the moderate-priced category, with a top rating for value and a strong rating on upkeep. As part of the article on the overall ratings, Consumer Reports sent a reporter to a Drury Inn in Marietta, Ga., where the only significant problem was a delay in check-in due to the desk clerk writing down the wrong room number.

"Everything passes my white glove test, and the room is well lit," the magazine reported. "The bathroom is immaculate."

The reporter also noted that the hotel was packed at the time.

• Winery wins awards: Alto Vineyards in Alto Pass, Ill., received two gold, two silver and three bronze medals at the Mid-America Wine Competition at the Des Moines, Iowa, Area Community College. More than 560 wines from 88 wineries were entered, with 41 gold medals awarded. The panel of 12 judges were selected by chief judge Doug Frost of Kansas City, Mo., one of only three people in the world who have earned both the Master of Wine degree and the Master Sommelier title.

Rudi Keller is the business editor of the Southeast Missourian. Contact him at 335-6611, extension 126