Laid off Art Van Furniture workers: What happened to us can't happen again | Opinion
When private-equity firm Thomas H. Lee Partners (THL) bankrupted and liquidated Art Van Furniture early last year, it shut down all 97 locations in Michigan and abruptly destroyed thousands of family-sustaining jobs — leaving workers like me without pay or health insurance at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.
As we commemorate a second Labor Day darkened by COVID, one thing is clear: Michigan needs laws that protect good jobs from Wall Street private equity firms like (THL), whose executives created a nightmare for me and my colleagues:
John, a family man and sole household provider, had to file for unemployment to support his wife who contracted coronavirus.
Sara, a mother of two with a mortgage, lost her health insurance and racked up medical bills after a severe case of the life-threatening coronavirus.
And fed up with being lied to about their furniture purchase during liquidation, a customer confronted Laurie and put a gun to her head demanding answers.*
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That’s why my former coworkers and I support the guaranteed severance pay bill, House Bill 5251, introduced on June 30 by Michigan Rep. Abdullah Hammoud (D-Dearborn). The bill now awaits a hearing in the House Workforce, Trades, and Talent Committee, which is chaired by state Rep. Beth Griffin (R-Mattawan). Chairwoman Beth Griffin, what are you waiting for?
A safety net during transition
This legislation would be a big win for workers whose employers are facing imminent closure, and would ensures protections John, Sara, Laurie and countless more of my coworkers did not receive. It will provide a financial cushion through guaranteed severance pay that we never had, one that would have allowed us to pay our bills and support our families in transition.
What happened at Art Van must never happen again. Boston-based THL played puppet master, pitting customers against associates, and walked away with their profits while we were all left with unanswered questions, unresolved finances, and fighting to survive amid a global health crisis.
I’ll never forget the dreadful day I had to notify my team that our company was closing. The silver lining, I thought, was that my store of 70 employees was covered by the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, a federal regulation that requires businesses to provide at least 60 days’ notice if they are planning a mass layoff. But I was wrong.
THL was able to disregard the provisions of the federal WARN Act under the cover of the COVID-19 pandemic because there are currently no laws in place to hold them accountable.
My 58-year-old colleague Jane was planning to retire soon. Laura, 56, had her retirement account frozen pending the outcome of bankruptcy proceedings. And 60-year-old Ken had to rely on unemployment to survive. Actually, many of us turned to public assistance to make ends meet -- myself included.*
After organizing with some of my coworkers and United for Respect, I learned the liquidation of Art Van — just three years after THL acquired ownership, leading to the termination of 3,100 people across the Midwest — wasn’t new. Wall Street private equity firms’ gamble on retail has led to more than 1.3 million job losses, caused far-ranging economic impacts on states and local communities, and they use tax loopholes and bankruptcy code to their advantage.
Unsurprisingly, the Art Van to bankruptcy had a notable fiscal impact on Michigan, with former employees joining the ranks of the state’s unemployed and uninsured in the middle of an economically crippling global pandemic.
The best way to honor workers this Labor Day is for Michigan’s elected leaders to commit to passing Rep. Hammoud’s bill into law, so that workers have a financial cushion to support themselves and their families after a private equity firm closes their company. And, we need additional laws in place to hold Wall Street executives accountable when they disregard the rules in the WARN Act.
The first step: Rep. Griffin should prioritize a committee hearing for the guaranteed severance pay bill immediately.
Retail workers like me are fed up, and Michigan workers are fighting for systemic protections against Wall Street. Michigan legislators, this Labor Day, how will you show that you are fighting with us?
Sheena Whalley is a former Art Van worker and member ofUnited For Respect, a worker advocacy organization.