It was just two months ago on March 1 that rumblings madeheadlines suggesting the Brookhaven’s Delphi plant might shutterits doors after contract negotiations faltered with union officialsrepresenting employees at the local plant. Thoughts of the closureof the Clinton plant a year earlier sent chills down the backs oflocal civic and business leaders.

Those rumors were set aside as contract negotiations seemed to getback on track. As recently as a week ago, reports were thatdifferences had been resolved and even talk of an expansion of thefacility might be in the future.

Something apparently has gone wrong in the past few days.

It was late Friday afternoon that we received word from severallocal employees that something was amiss. Suggestions were madethat the future of the Brookhaven plant was again in question andthat severance plans were being prepared.

Neither side will go on the record, but it has become obvious fromour staff’s digging since Friday afternoon that a line has beendrawn in the sand by both local labor and management.

While no official notification has been made of intentions to closethe plant, thoughts of the closure of the Clinton plant in December2009 – after the Delphi emerged from bankruptcy a few monthsearlier – should indeed send shivers down the spine of everyone inthis area.

The Brookhaven plant and its workers dodged a bullet in 2009 -something for which we all should be thankful. It too should beremembered that General Motors, which once owned the Brookhavenplant, itself just recently emerged from bankruptcy.

We will not pretend to know the details behind the current dispute,but one issue is clear: the loss of 250 jobs paying above averagewages will have a detrimental effect on the local economy. Thoseare jobs that will not be replaced anytime soon and the economicimpact on the rest of the area will be dramatic.

We are scratching our head on this one. Good-paying manufacturingjobs are hard to come by these days and plants like Delphi are fewand far between.

Clinton lost its plant when labor and management could not come toterms. Is that in the future for Brookhaven?

Let’s hope cooler heads and calmer minds will prevail.