Cherry Growers in Grawn going under

[TC Man]

Just talked to a truck driver for Cherry Growers (drives shuttles between Grawn and a warehouse downstate). They just laid off most staff (just over 200), and told the drivers they have about 3 weeks left before they are out of money. Most vendors have already stopped serving them because they were not paying the bills for service.

The Go Go Juice facility on the property (owner separately by a French company) will continue for now, but they get their apples from Cherry Growers and are not equipped to process the apples- they'd have to buy the whole plant or buy apples/processing from another facility (which defeats the purpose of remaining on the Cherry Growers property).

[railohio]

And this affects which railroad?

[J T]

GLC.

[wyrickj]

Always hate news like this . While I know the grawn branch has not seen any movements In years how will the closure of cherry growers affect the grawn branch in terms of if the line will stay in place or not? Is it at risk for abandonment?

[TC Man]

Always hate news like this . While I know the grawn branch has not seen any movements In years how will the closure of cherry growers affect the grawn branch in terms of if the line will stay in place or not? Is it at risk for abandonment?

One could hope that someone else buys it (another processor, perhaps) and has a need for rail service. Though it's OLD and has been added on so many times that it would be a candidate for urban renewal. In which case there would no NO reason to keep the Grawn branch in place. At least all the way to Grawn.

[AARR]

Always hate news like this . While I know the grawn branch has not seen any movements In years how will the closure of cherry growers affect the grawn branch in terms of if the line will stay in place or not? Is it at risk for abandonment?

One could hope that someone else buys it (another processor, perhaps) and has a need for rail service. Though it's OLD and has been added on so many times that it would be a candidate for urban renewal. In which case there would no NO reason to keep the Grawn branch in place. At least all the way to Grawn.

They may keep the track to the Grawn passing siding. Beyond that is anyone's guess although since this is state owned track maybe they'll leave it in forever.

Edit - I'm not sure if the line from Grawn to Williamsburg is state owned. I'm thinking MIGN bought that segment from Chessie outright. Maybe someone can confirm.

[TC Man]

The line is MDOT-owned (signs along say "no trespassing- MDOT").

[MIGN-Todd]

Not good news losing them but, they did not like Rail shipping. With any luck, another pro-rail company could pile in there you never know. The former SaraLee is talking about rail- The hot tub place guy told me he wants to use it also (doubtful that will pull many loads though...) Just when things look their darkest, a miracle could happen....... don't give up the ship just yet.

[J T]

Not good news losing them but, they did not like Rail shipping. With any luck, another pro-rail company could pile in there you never know. The hot tub place guy told me he wants to use it also (doubtful that will pull many loads though...) Just when things look their darkest, a miracle could happen....... don't give up the ship just yet.

How about some hot-tubs-on-flat-cars excursions? Now THAT would be a miracle (and an awesome one at that).

[DLM]

Long story and the driver has it wrong. They are exiting the applesauce can and cup business. Those lines have been sold. CG will continue to run them until the machinery can be physically moved in about one year. They will remain in the cherry business. Doubtful they will ever load a railcar again.

[TC Man]

Long story and the driver has it wrong. They are exiting the applesauce can and cup business. Those lines have been sold. CG will continue to run them until the machinery can be physically moved in about one year. They will remain in the cherry business. Doubtful they will ever load a railcar again.

Interesting- the driver told me his boss advised they have enough money to pay abotu 3 weeks wages to those still employed. And that most vendors have either cut them off of gone to cash-upfront basis (such as the forklift repair contractor).

[Standard Railfan]

Truck drivers know everything. Just ask one.

I find the story hard to believe since layoffs of that size require notice to be provided to the employees. I doubt 200 people would get layoff notices and not one of them would inform the local media. (of course, the TC area media are not always on their toes either).

[AARR]

Truck drivers know everything. Just ask one.

I find the story hard to believe since layoffs of that size require notice to be provided to the employees. I doubt 200 people would get layoff notices and not one of them would inform the local media. (of course, the TC area media are not always on their toes either).

In 2006 the employees at Georgia Pacific in Gaylord arrived at work to find their buildings closed and locked. Approximately 200 employees out of work without notice. Not the first time I've heard of this being done.

[chapmaja]

IIRC the law states that the employers must give 30 days notice of closure when the company employees over 50 employees. The sticking point is the penalty. IIRC the penalty is wages must be paid to the employees 30 days from the date of notice. If a company announces a closure or layoffs more than 30 days in advance, the pay due is for services rendered between the notice and layoff date. If less than 30 days notice is given, the employees are still entitled to 30 days notice.

The real rub on all of this is bankruptcy. If a company goes bankrupt, the pay due employees is put into the long list of creditors owed money, and employees tend to be among the last creditors paid out of a bankruptcy settlement.

[chapmaja]

I do recall a big issue in the TC area earlier this year about the tart cherry crop. Growers are basically limited on the amount of tart cherries they can grow per year. If crops exceed this quota, they are either left to drop and rot from the trees, or are destroyed. Growers hate this because it costs them money. Supposedly it is to limit the flow of cherries and thus keep the price stable.

[Standard Railfan]

IIRC the law states that the employers must give 30 days notice of closure when the company employees over 50 employees. The sticking point is the penalty. IIRC the penalty is wages must be paid to the employees 30 days from the date of notice. If a company announces a closure or layoffs more than 30 days in advance, the pay due is for services rendered between the notice and layoff date. If less than 30 days notice is given, the employees are still entitled to 30 days notice.

The real rub on all of this is bankruptcy. If a company goes bankrupt, the pay due employees is put into the long list of creditors owed money, and employees tend to be among the last creditors paid out of a bankruptcy settlement.

Employee wages are second in priority only to taxes in bankruptcy.

[chapmaja]

IIRC the law states that the employers must give 30 days notice of closure when the company employees over 50 employees. The sticking point is the penalty. IIRC the penalty is wages must be paid to the employees 30 days from the date of notice. If a company announces a closure or layoffs more than 30 days in advance, the pay due is for services rendered between the notice and layoff date. If less than 30 days notice is given, the employees are still entitled to 30 days notice.

The real rub on all of this is bankruptcy. If a company goes bankrupt, the pay due employees is put into the long list of creditors owed money, and employees tend to be among the last creditors paid out of a bankruptcy settlement.

Employee wages are second in priority only to taxes in bankruptcy.

Not with my uncle's company when it went under. The employees were among the last to be paid when his employer went under.

The key might be what pay the employees are due. If it was wages for hours worked, then yes it might be at the top of the list. The wages my uncles company did not pay out were wages not paid as a result of not following the law regarding the 30 day notice period. Those may be treated differently than actual wages for hours actually worked.

[Bob1]

I have herd cherry growers in grawn going under for years, but it hasn't happen. I don't think it will ever happen, but i also herd hillshire farms using the tracks to?

[redside20]

The moral of the story is, somewhere in the Traverse City area another shipper could be interested in shipping by rail....as for Cherry Growers, people losing their jobs sucks, but we can now put the idea of Grawn using rail behind us and move on.

[Bob1]

Maybe they can use the track in grawn as part of a seasonal commuter rail