Taking A Stand: Industrial jobs not only option
We criticize countries like China and Mexico for working their people for pennies on the dollar while at the same time lamenting the loss of industries here which basically enslaved our parents for decades.
For years the garment industry took advantage of cheap labor here, working people long days for $3.35 an hour. It seemed McMinnville was as close as they could get to taking the jobs south of the border, that is, before NAFTA was passed. Then, when the door was opened, they ran as fast as they could for even cheaper labor, showing no loyalty to 30-year employees as they pulled up stakes, many robbing their employees of their retirement benefits. The garment industry was the 20th Century version of carpetbaggers who came here to take advantage of our resources, only to leave us high and dry, while making no significant contribution to our community aside from leaving behind crumbling buildings.
When they did leave, folks were crying like they’d lost their best friend, when, in fact, they lost heartless firms who had used their employees as slaves for years. I say good riddance to the garment industry as it forced these slaves to go out and find new employment. And, many today will tell you the departure of the garment industries here was the best thing that ever happened to them because it made them get out find other employment, most finding jobs paying significantly more than their former firms.
Today, much of Warren County’s economy still relies on manufacturing, but the jobs are, on average, much better paying than the slave firms of the 1970s and 1980s. However, we all know the departures of Carrier and A.O. Smith are going to hurt us economically, and I mean each and every Warren countian, as those losses will hurt our tax base. And, not to send you into a panic, but the same thing will likely happen, in the future, to our other plants. The problem of having a manufacturing base as a major part of an economy this size is the eventual closing of such plants. Face it, plants just don’t stay more than 30 years. You can pretty well set your watch by it seeing that equipment becomes old and costly to replace so most companies just look for new places to go at the end of these cycles.
It is for this reason we really need to diversify our economy in Warren County. We just aren’t going to get big plants with lots of good paying jobs in here during the good times. We generally have to wait until we’re having employment problems since companies are looking for a worker’s base. There’s no reason to come in unless they have enough people who can work at their plants.
As I’ve said before, the best thing that could happen in Warren County is the arrival of a four-year university which would bring in much needed economic stability, and, would also likely bring us more high tech jobs. With or without an interstate, the invigoration of such an institution would increase us economically and culturally by leaps and bounds.
Simply looking for one plant to replace the next is like living from hand to mouth. There will always be a place for plants here but, as it stands now, we rely too much on them, making our economy very fragile. The Motlow enlargement is a great first step toward perhaps someday getting a four-year school here. Until then we must remember that if you continue doing the same old thing, you’ll continue to get the same old results. Look no further than the 18-percent unemployment here of the 1980s when the garment slave drivers pulled out. We don’t want that result again.
Duane Sherrill is a reporter for the Standard. He can be reached at 473-2191 or by e-mail at [email protected].