Ford workers at the St. Paul Ranger plant may soon be out of a job, but they were clearly in demand on Thursday as scores of recruiters from 3M, Fed Ex, Oshkosh Trucks, temp agencies and other firms took turns shaking hands and talking jobs.
Ford and state officials received so many calls from companies looking to interview the soon to be laid off workers, that they set up the first job fair in six years at the Ford/UAW training center that sits next door to the factory in Highland Park. A second job fair is set for the week of Dec. 5.
About 600 of the plant's 800 workers showed up at the fair Thursday, said Ford trainer Mitchell Frazier. "This is going very well and turned out better than I thought. Several companies ran out of promotional materials" before noon, he said.
Recruiters from Eaton Hydraulics, AeroTek staffing, Kelly Services, the AFL-CIO, the U.S. Navy, National Guard and United Way stood at tables all day fielding questions and talking jobs.
Bob Bretwisch, the regional director at the global staffing firm Manpower Inc., said his clients want Ford workers because they have understand machinery, automation and other types of technology that manufacturers need. "These are transferable skills. And there are manufacturers out there who are looking for this type of skilled worker. Hopefully we can match the two of them together," he said.
The attention is a big relief. Of the 800 workers at the plant, only about 170 will be allowed to transfer to another Ford plant after this one closes, said Paul Shropa, president of UAW Local 879.
After five years of reprieves and extensions, Ford announced last month that it will shut the Ford Ranger truck plant for good on Dec. 22nd. The last Ford Ranger truck may roll off the production line as early as Dec. 16th.
While not totally unexpected, many workers who received the news last month were still traumatized, said Anthony Alongi, who heads the Dislocated Workers Program for the state of Minnesota. He said he understands. "I've been laid off too. It sucks."
