June 14, 2023
ULT Workers Call Upon Mexican Officials
Terminated employees demand back pay and access to retirement funds
When the private equity firm, Atar Capital, abruptly shut down the Universal Lighting Technologies and Douglas Lighting Controls brands in March, much of our focus was on the company’s U.S. and Canada facilities in Tennessee, Alabama, and British Columbia. However, one location, the factory in Mexico, continues to face local conflict in the aftermath. Union workers - some who worked for Componentes Universales de Matamoros for decades - continue to fight for their wages and benefits.
According to a report recently published by Antonio H. Mandujano from Expresso Press, the closure of the Componentes Universales maquiladora in Matamoros has left 600 workers without their jobs or the income they relied on for their families. Some of these workers had dedicated over 30 years of their lives to the company.
The closure caught the workers off guard, as they received no prior notice. According to Expresso Press, the company has yet to provide any solutions or severance pay, leaving the workers in a dire situation. The impact has been so severe that some workers have reportedly experienced significant health problems, with some bedridden due to the shock of losing their livelihoods.
In an attempt to seek assistance, former employee Alicia Garza and some of her colleagues traveled to Ciudad Victoria to meet with Governor Américo Villarreal Anaya. They were hoping for support in receiving their severance pay, which they desperately need to cover their expenses. According to Mandujano, the company has not declared bankruptcy and is still active in the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS), making it impossible for the workers to access their retirement funds.
Garza expressed her frustration, stating that it has been almost three months since the closure, and they still have no answers or clarity about their future. They have not even received a copy of their employment records. She pleaded with the governor to intervene and provide assistance.
According to Mandujano, the workers are also dissatisfied with their union, SJOIIM, led by Juan Villafranca, claiming that it has not taken necessary action to support them. They have been given only delays and have been informed that there is no severance fund from the maquiladora, despite no official statement or confirmation on the matter. The Ministry of Labor has also failed to provide any certainty regarding their situation.
Will the ULT and Douglas Lighting Controls brands be acquired?
As we approach the 90-day mark since the shutdown, we believe that the chances of the ULT and Douglas Lighting Controls brands reemerging as part of another lighting company are waning. In the initial weeks following the March 22 shutdown, we received reports of multiple suitors visiting Universal Douglas and exploring the possibilities of acquiring assets of the company. As liquidation auctions are scheduled at two ULT facilities next week, it seems that it’s becoming more and more likely that those asset sales may be the biggest part of the Universal Douglas estate sale.
Thus, the ULT and Douglas Lighting Controls brands and products may go away for good. The patents will likely be sold and transferred to others. And who knows what will happen to the famed 1-800-BALLAST phone number?
There still may be more chapters of this saga to unfold as the Mexico situation continues to be at a stalemate and fresh wrongful termination lawsuits are underway in British Columbia.
