Guy Chaddock Founder Passes Away (12/2/2007)

Mr. Chaddock founded Guy Chaddock & Co. in Los Angeles in the mid-1950s, and moved to Bakersfield in 1996 after the Company outgrew its Southern California Plant. Guy Chaddock & Co. operated in Bakersfield for eight years, until the plant closed in 2004 following contentious labor disputes. "I recall him having a very high reputation, a commitment to quality and a commitment to craftsmanship in his field," said David Lyman, principal planner with the city's economic and community development department. Lyman was involved in the Company's move to Bakersfield when the company outgrew its Los Angeles plant.  Bakersfield offered the Company a number of economic incentives, most of which centered on Guy Chaddock & Co. hiring locally for skilled jobs.  In the early years after the move to Bakersfield, the Company met its hiring goals, and continued to expand and provide local jobs.  When the UFW organized the workers, the Company stayed neutral and the union won the right to represent the employees. The Company signed a UFW contract in 2001, but eventually unhappy workers threatened to vote the union out.  Finally, the union gave up the right to represent the workers and walked away after the Company refused to recognize the UFW as the workers' representative.   Later, UFW attorneys helped five workers file a class action wage and hour lawsuit that prompted the plant's closure according to company lawyers. The company's staff had shrunk to 175 employees by the time it closed after the business suffered under the UFW contract.  After the closure, a second lawsuit was filed accusing the Company of not providing sufficient advance notice of the closure.

The hands-on Chaddock designed furniture for his company until the 1990s, according to Chaddock's friend and accountant, Ed Wenzel.  He described Chaddock as a fun-loving storytellers. "He had a grin ear to ear," Wenzel said. And he said.  The Guy Chaddock & Co. name and furniture designs survived. Ferguson Copeland Ltd. bought the company assets and opened a plant in Morganton, N.C.., and the company continues to be operated by Chaddock's nephew, Dave Edwards. The country English, French and antique reproduction furniture are still custom-made to client orders, Edwards said.