Regional group set to tackle Carrier closing
A group of representatives from several surrounding counties, as well as state legislators, came together at the Warren County Administration Offices last week to form what amounts to a super committee to address concerns about the closing of Warren County’s Carrier plant and the loss of some 1,300 direct jobs, and an estimated 700 support jobs, in Middle Tennessee.
Though everyone involved agreed the loss of Warren County’s largest employer represents a true crisis, many pointed out it could also bring about a spirit of intergovernmental cooperation and an aggressive regional program of industrial and economic development that could have a beneficial effect for years to come.
“There’s one thing about a crisis,” said local Industrial Development Board chairman Joe Hamby. “It tends to bring people together.”
Local Director of Economic Development Don Rigsby was chosen to spearhead the committee. On taking the podium, Rigsby was quick to commend the state on its speedy reaction to Carrier’s announcement.
“It’s encouraging,” he said. “It makes me feel a lot better.”
Rigsby pointed out the group would eventually include members from nine counties, including Warren, Van Buren, Cannon, Coffee, Grundy, Franklin, DeKalb, White and Sequatchie.
Most committee members agreed the recruitment of new jobs to replace those lost was paramount, but also noted the more immediate problems of the soon-to-be displaced workers would have to be dealt with in the interim, something that was addressed by Gary Morgan of Workforce Solutions, a division of the state’s Department of Labor and Workforce Development.
“I think one of the main purposes,” Morgan said, “is to make sure that these 2,000 employees get every service that’s available to them.”
Those services include state grants for training and job placement and federal money through the NAFTA Transitional Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program which will provide income support for employees who have been laid off due to their employer shifting production to Mexico or Canada. Because a substantial portion of Carrier’s production will be moved to Monterrey, Mexico, Morgan felt Carrier employees will be eligible for trade readjustment allowances under TAA.
“They can get, under those circumstances, up to 104 weeks of full unemployment,” Morgan said. “They can get assistance with health insurance if it’s a trade-related plant.”
Comments after the meeting were universally positive and the regional concept seemed to be a hit.
“I think that not only can we help to make a bad situation better with Carrier,” said Rep. Judd Matheny, “but we’re laying the groundwork for a lot of long-term progress here, which is another huge plus of all this. To me, this is something that needed to have been done for quite a while.”
“I feel real positive about what this group’s trying to do,” said White County Executive Herd Sullivan. “We’re going to have to all embrace the regional concept. You can’t isolate yourself in one county anymore. We’re going to have to go regional. What impacts one county will impact the other one to a large extent. We’re just really all in the same boat.”