American Commercial Lines Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLI) announced that its manufacturing division, Jeffboat, and Teamsters Local Union No. 89 have received the 16th annual Labor-Management Award from the University of Louisville Labor-Management Center.
The award, which honors an area workplace in which management and labor have demonstrated cooperative relations, was presented at the Labor-Management Center 2009 Award Banquet held on April 16.
Jeffboat and the Union were praised by the Labor-Management Center for fostering a culture of open dialogue and communication at all levels of the workplace. According to the nomination, Jeffboat and the union engage in a free and uninhibited exchange of questions, suggestions and information, with the goal of improving the company's production, safety, employee performance, efficiency, and cost effectiveness to enable optimal performance.
Actions taken in collaboration by labor and management which have contributed to the company's success include:
• Developing committees, task forces and programs to address safety issues and improve safety performance
• Promoting diversity and employee retention
• Providing training and quality programs for employees, including an in-house welding school and an English-as-a-second-language program
"The Company and Teamsters Local 89 have developed a strong partnership resulting in a safer and more productive shipyard and an increasingly diverse workforce," Jacques Vanier, Vice President Manufacturing, American Commercial Lines Inc., said. "We will continue to build upon our partnership and a long and great ship-building tradition for a bright future for Jeffboat and our community."
In the past 64 years, Jeffboat, which has approximately 1,100 employees, has produced more than 9,000 barges and 120 other vessels. Jeffboat's parent company, American Commercial Lines Inc., headquartered in Jeffersonville, Indiana, is an integrated marine transportation and service company operating in the United States Jones Act trades, with approximately $1.2b in revenues and approximately 3,400 employees as of December 31, 2008.
(www.aclines.com)