A Second Chance for Former NUMMI Employees

Bianca Rodriguez still thinks about the day the New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc. (NUMMI) plant closed in Fremont.

“It was emotional," she said. "I still get teary-eyed."

The San Leandro resident spent eight years working for the car manufacturing company that shut down in April, 2010.

San Jose resident Jesse Cruz worked for the company for 25 years and had hoped to stay employed there until retiring.

"They promised me the same thing Ford told me: 'A job for life.' ...That was not the full truth," Cruz said.

So when the plant closed, hardships followed. Rodriguez, a mother of 13-year-old twins, lost her home to foreclosure. Cruz, who is in his early 50s, has struggled finding a company that will hire him at an age so close to his retirement years.

But on Wednesday things were beginning to look up for many former NUMMI employees — thanks in part to the NUMMI Reemployment Center.

Rodriguez and Cruz were among hundreds of former NUMMI employees who attended a job fair on Wednesday that was made possible by the center and Kaiser Permanente.

The reemployment center provides employees who were impacted by the plant’s closure with various services, including support in enhancing their skill sets, job placement and funds to get training for different career fields.

Ralph Caccamo, the center's site manager, said assisting the thousands of laid-off NUMMI employees by redeveloping their skills continues to be a priority for the center.

“It’s like starting from scratch,” said Caccamo of the employees who were forced to seek new jobs. “They didn’t lose their job because they didn’t come into work every day… or because their quality was not up to standards. …This wasn’t their plan.”

Approximately 4,600 people were laid off from the Fremont plant alone, and a total of 50,000 people were impacted by the closure. Many of them were employees of suppliers to NUMMI.

Before the plant's closure, the reemployment center was created through a $19 million federal grant from the Department of Labor with the objective of proviinge reemployment and retraining services, said Honorata Lindsay, coordinator for management information systems for the center.

Each person registered with the reemployment center is paired with a case manager who is charged with assessing the type of job the person would fit into well, Caccamo said.

“We’re here to provide a great transition…make that connection. We like to develop that relationship with the employee,” Cammaco said.

To date, 229 former employees have been placed in new jobs with hourly wages up to $21.25, and more than 1,000 individuals have pursued programs to train them for different careers, Lindsay said. An individual can receive up to $15,000 to go back to school for two years, she added. 

Most individuals who chose to use the reemployment center’s retraining services are seeking a career in the medical field, Cammaco said. Many others sought programs focused on electrical and construction work.

Wednesday’s event was the first time the reemployment center has teamed up with Kaiser in effort to provide more information about available positions to former NUMMI employees. 

NUMMI and Kaiser had a long-standing relationship, which is one reason why the health care organization was willing to come to the reemployment center’s Fremont site, Kaiser officials said.

Kaiser had previously talked with former employees about job placement before NUMMI closed, but at the time, it was difficult to match the qualifications of Kaiser positions with the skill sets of NUMMI employees, said Chris Irving, director of area recruitment for Kaiser Permanente.

With the reemployment center's push for retraining of former employees, Irving said Kaiser is more likely to find jobs for individuals who were laid off after NUMMI's closure.

“I think we’re finding much better matches [now],” Irving said.

About 30 recruiters from areas stretching from the South Bay to the North Bay and east toward Central Valley came to discuss Kaiser’s objectives and the array of positions in which job seekers could be placed. The positions stem from roles in which medical certifications are necessary to administrative and custodial jobs.

The outreach effort was appreciated by many, including Rodriguez, who enrolled in Unitek College after she was laid off.

She said the reemployment center’s focus has not only focused on getting people training but that the center’s staff are dedicated to aiding graduates of programs in finding a new job.

“I’m thankful for all the help we’ve been getting. I’m more motivated, more confident in myself. I’m appreciative of everything they’ve done,” Rodriguez said.

The NUMMI reemployment center plans to host another job fair for displaced NUMMI employees on Sept. 14, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at its headquarters at 45201 Fremont Blvd.

To learn more about the event or the NUMMI Reemployment Center, click here or call 510-257-1093. To learn more about jobs available at Kaiser Permanente, click here.