Help is available for NEMF employees affected by bankruptcy filing, closure

Help is available for employees of New England Motor Freight, who will find themselves unemployed at the close of work today.

Garry Wentz, PA CareerLink Carbon County site administrator, spoke at the county commissioners meeting Thursday about the New England Motor Freight Rapid Response that has been formed to provide some information on where the approximately 225 people who worked at the trucking company’s Lehighton terminal can find help until they get back on their feet. NEMF, based in Elizabeth, New Jersey, filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy Monday, leaving many of its employees blindsided by the unexpected closure.

Wentz said that some affected employees have already reached out to CareerLink with questions and ways to file for unemployment.

He announced that an information session will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. on Wednesday at the Orioles Community Center, 475 Orioles Drive, Lehighton, to help those start the process of working on a transition and urged all NEMF employees affected by the closure to attend.

During the meeting, CareerLink staff will be providing information on unemployment compensation, as well as ways the organization and other community partners can help those find new employment.

He said that CareerLink offices are closed on Monday for the Presidents Day holiday, but said that employees can file for unemployment as early as Sunday online at www.uc.pa.gov.

For those wishing to file for unemployment via phone, business hours for the Unemployment Compensation service centers are from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays, except this Monday, Tuesdays and Thursdays; noon to 6 p.m. on Wednesdays; and 8 a.m. to noon on Fridays. The phone number for the service center is 888-313-7284.

In addition, employees can visit the CareerLink office at 69 Broadway in Jim Thorpe and file an unemployment claim via courtesy phones there. The hours of operation for this service are 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Joseph Sebelin, of the Pocono Counties WIA, in a letter regarding the closure, said that Rapid Response Services will assist the county in helping those affected by NEMF’s closure.

Both Sebelin and Wentz said they are waiting for more information from the company.

“The short notice of the closing really complicates our efforts to provide information and assistance,” Sebelin wrote, adding that companies typically give 60 days notice before closing.

The response from the bankruptcy filing and closure came as a shock to many.

Following the announcement, Kathy Henderson, director of economic development for the Carbon Chamber and Economic Development, said, “I’m saddened and shocked to hear this news. This will be a big hit to our local economy.”

Commissioners’ Chairman Wayne E. Nothstein offered similar sentiments, saying, “This is another serious setback for approximately 200 hardworking employees and the job market in Carbon County.”

NEMF’s President and CEO Thomas W. Connery wrote to employees that the operational costs have soared over the years, with labor and benefits consuming much of the revenue.

“After much discussion as well as consultation with outside financial advisers, it was concluded that it does not make sense to continue operations to support a business in which our margins continue to shrink, thereby resulting in significant financial losses,” Connery wrote.

The company has been a fixture in Lehighton since 1986 after it bought the former Interstate Dress Carriers facility.

According to a 2017 Times News article, an average of 80 trucks a day came in and out of the local NEMF hub on Mahoning Drive East.

Last year, NEMF ranked as the 17th-largest “less-than-truckload” carrier in the country with revenue over $400 million. According to the state Department of Labor and Industry, it was in the top 25 largest employers in Carbon County for 2018.

In a message to the Times News on Wednesday, Laura Anthony said employees who haven’t been with NEMF longer than five years were told the pension they paid into no longer exists to them because they were not employed there long enough.

“I know companies can’t always stay afloat, however the company had to know this was coming for a while now, and to give no notice to all the employees who put their all into a job is just down right wrong,” Anthony said.

For more information on PA CareerLink Carbon County and the services it offers, stop by the office between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, or visit www.carboncareerlink.org.