Worker

MISHAWAKA--   The best place to avoid the heat and humidity is indoors, in the air conditioning. But that's not an option for people who make their living working outside. Soaring temperatures and the heat index makes it feel like 100 degrees outside. It feels muggy. It's downright uncomfortable, but Rose Kaufman said 'it's dangerous.' Kaufman is a supervisor with Healthy Seniors, part of the South Bend Parks Department. She made the decision to cancel an annual Senior Picnic at Potawatomi Park Wednesday.

NILES - Workers from a Cass County company that suddenly shut its doors last week now have more money in their bank accounts. Hess Industries employees are getting their paychecks.  That's according to a phone recording for employees, which has been set up. Employees were picking checks up Tuesday. If you worked there and used direct deposit, the money should have been deposited by now. The recording also says employees are eligible for unemployment but are not considered terminated and their health insurance is good through the end of June.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Workers who don't trust the boss to keep track of their wages can now do it themselves with a new smartphone application from the Department of Labor. But employers worry that the timesheet app, along with other new initiatives, could encourage even more wage and hour lawsuits. The app lets workers calculate regular work hours, break time and overtime pay to create their own wage records. Department officials say the information could prove valuable in a dispute over pay or during a government investigation when an employer has failed to keep accurate records.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Gov. Mitch Daniels is dipping into the state's $1.2 billion surplus to give bonuses to most state workers. Daniels said Friday that most state workers will get bonuses of $500, $750 or $1,000 based on their performance over the last year. The bonuses will amount to between $15 million and $20 million. State Auditor Tim Berry reported Thursday that the state ended the year with $1.2 billion in cash reserves. Berry called state workers "heroic" for their efforts to save money.

Steelworkers at Cequent Towing Products in Goshen say they have had trouble getting vacation time so far this year. So United Steelworkers Local 9550 staged an informational picket at the company Wednesday afternoon, and they’re scheduled to meet with company officials today to discuss the issue. An unscheduled meeting Wednesday afternoon resulted in preliminary discussions on the dispute with nothing being resolved. The company did not return several calls seeking comment. The three-hour picket took place at the factory, located at 2206 College Ave., Goshen.

BENTON HARBOR-- Firefighters were only blocks away, but it took four hours to stop out-of-control flames from destroying a packaging facility in Benton Harbor. It happened around 3:30 Tuesday morning near the 1100 block of South Crystal Avenue. Harbor Packaging has been in business for 23 years. WSBT talked with workers now concerned about  their future. As the fate of 35 workers hangs in the balance, Harbor Packaging's owners say they are working to get portions of the business up and running, soon.

The Monaco RV plant in Wakarusa is ramping up production of its diesel-powered motor homes. That means it expects to hire another 125 workers between now and the end of April. Its parent company, Navistar, recently consolidated a diesel motor home operation from Oregon, moving that production to Wakarusa. In the video attached above, WSBT's Ed Ernstes talks with the president of Navistar.

GOSHEN -- It's hard to vote against a sure thing. United Steelworkers Local 9550, which represents about 350 members at Cequent Performance Products, voted Friday evening to accept the closure agreement offered by the company. The vote was held at the Masonic Temple in Goshen. The company, which makes parts for the automotive industry, announced in November it would close all of its operations in Goshen and move the plant to Reynosa, Mexico . "The majority of the employees voted to take the package and not go to arbitration," Mike O'Brien, United Steelworkers Sub District 4 director for much of northern Indiana, said.

They may lose their jobs, so hundreds of local workers found a way to show how upset they are through a public protest. Employees at Cequent Performance Products in Goshen put "for sale" signs in car windows in the company parking lot. Cequent told its 450 workers it plans to close and move the work to Mexico. A final decision is expected in next month. The union says it will meet with the company next week.

PLYMOUTH - It's been a week since 110 workers lost their jobs due to a plant closing in Marshall County. And now some of them are trying to get back to work. Whitley Products in Plymouth closed last Wednesday after 35 years, saying they didn't have the money to stay in business. "It hurts," said Lorri Prater. "I can't get my unemployment. There's some problem, and I'm the only income. Prater worked at Whitley for 9 years, supervising and leading. "I did so much there," Prater said.