Tyson employees eye opportunities at job fair

By George Copeland Jr.

GRTC drives starting pay by 43 percent

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

GRTC boosted starting pay for bus drivers by a whopping 43 percent, effective immediately, with double-digit increases for most current drivers as well. Seeking to end a persistent driver shortage, the transit company’s board endorsed CEO Sheryl Adams’ proposal to immediately jump starting pay from $17.43 an hour to

Please turn to A4 also too young to retire, so I gotta work,” Mr. Brown said.

A mechanic at the Tyson Foods chicken processing plant in Glen Allen, Mr. Brown was blindsided along with the plant’s nearly 700 other employees when the company announced in mid-March that the plant would close on May 12. Despite this sudden setback, however, Mr. Brown and other Tyson employees are determined to find a new path forward. “I think I’ll be able to find a job,” said Mr. Brown, who recently had colon surgery and is currently on short-term disability leave. “I’m hoping.”

Mr. Brown was just one of many Tyson employees and other workers seeking opportunities, assistance and guidance during a jobs fair hosted by the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 400 union at Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church last Saturday.

The LEGO Group broke ground April 13 on its new carbon-neutral run factory in Chesterfield County near Richmond. “This is a U.S. $1 billion investment in the company’s long-term growth globally and will help delight millions of children in the Americas with LEGO® play,” company officials said about the facility located in Chesterfield’s Meadowville Technology Park at the junction of Interstate 295 and the James River.

Once completed in 2025, the 340 acres site, the size of 260 American football fields, is expected to employ 1,760 people over 10 years. Recruitment is ongoing for 500 jobs a new packing facility, the company announced, pointing at interested people to its website, LEGO.com.

The upbeat groundbreaking, with comedian and corporate speaker Micah “Bam-Bamm” White as master of ceremonies, was attended by numerous local and state officials, includ- ing Gov. Glenn A.Youngkin and First Lady Suzanne S. Youngkin, U.S. Rep. Jennifer McClellan and Chesterfield Board of Supervisors member James “Jim” Holland, who represents the county’s Dale District. Based in Billund, Denmark LEGO® has five main hubs, 37 sales offices, five manufacturing sites and more than 500 retail stores around the world.

Carsten Rasmussen, chief operations officer of the LEGO Group said: “We are absolutely delighted to mark the beginning of construction here in Virginia. We are grateful for the fruitful collaboration we have had with all partners across the Commonwealth of Virginia who share and support our ambition to build this factory.

“Our new site will allow us to inspire millions of children across the Americas through play and we can’t wait to get started.”