BEVERLY, W.Va. — The AHF Products plant in Randolph County will remain open following the decision by union workers to reject a new contract and go on strike.
A new tentative contract was reached between the company and the bargaining unit of Teamsters Local 175 representing workers at the hardwood flooring plant in Beverly, but a “narrow plurality of members had voted against the tentative agreement and voted to strike,” according to AHF Products Chief Operating Officer Jake Loftis.
The “good-faith agreement would result in the largest economic package for workers in the history of the location,” the company said in a news release Sunday night.
“We felt really good about it, as did the bargaining committee,” Loftis said about the proposed deal.
It’s unclear how many members altogether voted on the contract offer, but Loftis said it was a smaller amount of people voting than they thought would show up and that affected the result.
“I understand that we did have a lower than expected turnout,” said Loftis.
About 500 union workers make up the plant which does remain open but not at their full-production scale. Loftis said a small number of workers showed up Monday.
“AHF Products is open for business in Beverly, West Virginia,” he said. “Work is absolutely available for any bargaining unit members who want to work.”
The company said at the moment they have plenty of inventory to service their customers.
Loftis believes there’s a chance at a revote. He said they have not been approached yet about a potential reconsideration, but he’s hopeful.
“AHF is committed to workers coming back to work. We are ready.”