Workers needed in local lumber industry

Mill loses 30 workers in Homeland Security audit

Posted: Friday, January 16, 2015 3:09 pm
Deborah Buckhalter / Jackson County Floridan

A Homeland Security audit of employee records at a local lumber mill revealed that about 30 workers could not produce proof that they are authorized to work in this country. That led to the dismissal of the employees this week, and opened the jobs to new takers.

Spanish Trail Lumber General Manager Ross Jackson said Thursday that the audit was an agency initiative that the company did not specifically ask for. He said that other lumber companies around the nation, as well as other industries, have been similarly audited recently and have faced similar dilemmas of a suddenly smaller workforce.

The audit was conducted over the course of several months, he said, with employees in question given a two-week period to provide the proper documentation. Those who were unable to do so were dismissed a few days ago. The company was prohibited by certain laws from vetting the work-authorized status of existing employees who came on board before the mill implemented E-verify for all hires, Jackson said. All new hires can be and are scrutinized for work authorization via the on-line program, he said. Homeland Security, though, with its authority, could also look at the existing crew, he said. Their findings over the course of several months resulted in this week’s dismissals.

The company is inviting job-seekers to pick up applications at the mill, located at 6112 Old Spanish Trail, situated east of Marianna and west of Grand Ridge in the Cypress area. The applications can be filled out on-site during the regular business days Monday-Friday from 7 a.m. until 4 p.m., and turned in immediately, or picked up and brought back at a later time during those hours. Pay starts at $12 an hour, with profit-sharing and a full benefits package available for full-time workers.

The dismissals coincidentally came on the eve of a brief production-side shut-down at the mill that will temporarily idle about 50 more workers.

About a week from now, Spanish Trail will suspend its production side for a few days so that some new equipment can be installed to help streamline a key process. About 50 members of the remaining workforce will be out of work for the 10-day installation period, but a few others will stay on to do some maintenance that is best done in shut-down mode or to carry out other tasks associated with the installation project.

Jackson said the production side employees will actually only be sidelined for five of the 10 days, since production is not an every-day occurrence at the plant.

When they return to work, they’ll be coming back to an improved process, he said. A flare reducer will be installed on the log deck where the trees are debarked in preparation for the lumber-creating process. The flare at the bottom of trees causes some trees not to line up properly on the de-barker.

When that happens, jams can occur, slowing production. It also can negatively affect some of the lumber. The mill must sell the affected lumber as a low-grade product which turns a lower profit for the company.

The company is also adding a stem feeder to the log deck.

All those improvements should smooth and speed production, Jackson said, improving the business outlook for the company.

Jackson reiterated that the 50 workers being temporarily laid off will be able to return to work about 10 days after the shut-down.

He said that, in the case of those who were terminated because work-authorization issues, the company went the extra mile to help them obtain their documentation if they believed it existed at some agency, and hired an interpreter to help anyone who was not fluent in English to understand the events that occurred as the Homeland Security investigation progressed.

Jackson said the company is “thumbing through” existing applications to find some potential replacement workers but that others are encouraged to apply as well.

The production side will shut down on or around Jan. 23 should start back up on or around Feb. 2, he said.

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