CRANE — President Donald Trump’s 90-day hiring freeze for federal employees could affect 130 jobs at Crane Army Ammunition Activity in Martin County.
The facility, which produces and supplies munitions for the military, employs civilians from all of its surrounding counties, including Dubois County.
Tom Peske, public affairs officer for CAAA, said the freeze affects 130 term employees whose contracts, which are for one or more years, end within the 90-day period. Four contracts already expired last week and about 80 will expire next week. While the military is exempt from the hiring freeze, Crane’s employees do not apply because they are civilians.
Peske said the civilian jobs include touch labor jobs, with a large majority of the workers “on the lines producing munition or handling (it) to get it shipped out.”
Peske said that even if employees’ contracts are reviewed and renewed, the employees are still considered “new hires,” so Trump’s federal hiring freeze wouldn’t allow the contracts to be renewed.
The employees whose contracts have come up remain employed, although Peske said CAAA is waiting on the Department of the Army for an exemption to officially extend those contracts.
U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., met with Acting Secretary of the Army Robert Speer on Thursday to discuss exempting CAAA from the federal hiring freeze.
“I am hopeful that we will resolve this situation working with the Army and Crane leadership before any other Hoosier employee is impacted,” Donnelly said in a news release. “I will continue working with Army and Navy leaders to ensure that Crane and its workers can keep doing the vital work necessary to support our troops and protect our national security.”
Both Donnelly and Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., sent letters last week to U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis also asking about an exemption.
Earlier this week, the Department of Defense announced new guidance on the implementation of the hiring freeze, including certain exemptions for civilian personnel, although Donnelly has asked that the Army expedite their effort to translate the guidance into clear authorization for CAAA to exempt their employees.
Peske said the 130 jobs at risk are “critical” to CAAA operations.
Roughly 25 percent of the entire U.S. military’s conventional munitions pass through CAAA.
“We’re confident this will be resolved by the Department of the Army,” Peske said.
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