PORT ANGELES — The 132 workers of KPly Inc.’s plywood mill need to have at least one backup plan in case the owners of the mill don’t reopen it, workers were told Friday.
Owners of the mill at 429 Marine Drive in Port Angeles began a countdown to permanent layoffs on Feb. 29 by issuing a 60-day closure notice.
The mill, which has been on hiatus since November, is due to shut down for good in 51 days if it can’t find the financing to resume.
Employees were told that they should prepare for the worst during a re-employment orientation session hosted by Clallam County WorkSource at Peninsula College’s Little Theater on Friday.
“The mill is still trying to reopen. But should you wait?” said Bill Messenger, Workforce Investment Act labor liaison to the s Labor Council.
“Plan on it not starting up,” he said.
“You should have a Plan A, Plan B and Plan C.”
The workers also talked with recruiters from Port Townsend Paper, Angeles Composite Technologies Inc., Clallam Bay Corrections Center, Armstrong Marine, Olympic Blacktop Inc., Westport Shipyard and Platypus Marine.
Several people asked how they were going to get hired if a prospective employer thought they would return to their old jobs if the sawmill reopened.
“This really is a lousy answer, but you are going to have to convince the employer you don’t want to go back to Kply,” Messenger said.
“You must sell yourself.”
