PROVIDENCE – Northeast Transportation Services LLC has filed notice with the state that it plans to lay off 75 workers and close its Pawtucket location.
South-Carolina-based Northeast Transportation Services, a third-party contractor that employs drivers for DHL Express, filed the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification with the R.I. Department of Labor and Training on Jan. 23, notifying of the layoffs effective March 25.
Ron Lydick, owner of Northeast Transportation, confirmed the company sent out the notice for the closure and layoffs but did not offer further comment. All 75 affected employees reside in Rhode Island and are part of Teamsters Union Local 251, said John Willumsen, a spokesperson for DLT.
The notice comes months after the unionized workers kicked off a strike at the DHL Express location in Pawtucket to protest their expired contracts with Northeast Transportation Services.
About 65 workers went on strike in June 2022 and they returned to work almost seven months later, on Jan. 17, 2023, after receiving notice of Northeast Transportation’s departure, said Matthew Taibi, principal officer of Teamsters Local 251.
“As a union we needed to protect the members and bargaining unit,” Taibi said. “We felt confident that returning meant we could continue to bargain if there is going to be a new contractor.”
Taibi said there have been negotiations in place since the workers’ return and the union is planning to meet with its members soon to determine the next steps.
Claudia Chiappa is a PBN staff writer. You may contact her at Chiappa@PBN.com.
