Poof !!! 6,450 Jobs Gone in a Day. 4,000 in N.C. Bush no Help

[HFishbine]

"In what North Carolina officials are calling the largest mass job loss in state history, Pillowtex Corp. closed its 16 plants in the United States and Canada on Wednesday andterminated 6,450 workers, more than 4,000 of them in North Carolina."

The textile industry has been screaming for help. Bush has turned a deaf ear.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, any dem serious about a "southern strategy" must make manufacturing job losses issue number one. More than geographic origin, good looks, guns, or war experience, southern voters are going to turn to a candidate who offers a plan to put people back to work.

http://www.news-record.com/news/local/rock/pillowtex31.htm

(EDIT: added link. Sorry.)

[DagmarK]

1. Well, fixing the trade deficit with China could help......

but short of rolling back NAFTA.....those jobs are gone forever... I am surprised the jobs lasted this long.

Disgraceful!

[ozymandius]

2. Do you have a link? n/t

[HFishbine]

13. Link (sorry)

Yes, I get so aggitated sometimes I forget the links. Sorry. Here it is:

http://www.news-record.com/news/local/rock/pillowtex31.htm

[wellst0nev0ter]

3. Nice To See That Recovery Is Just Around The Corner

And to think the cons used to bitch when the GDP rose at a 2.5 percent rate under Clinton's watch in 1994. Now it's 1.4 and things couldn't be better :eyes:

[MaineDem]

4. Link?

Is the company going out of business? Moving overseas??

In any case, I'm glad the economy is improving. *sigh*

[DarkPhenyx]

7. W/o a link it isn't LBN.

The topic was duplicated here in GD.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=107118&mesg_id=107118

[demnan]

5. Well those tax cuts will really help these folks!

[tsipple]

6. Hmmm... Democratic Nominee Will Visit Pillowtex...

Time to play hard ball, and visiting a (former) Pillowtex factory in North Carolina is just the ticket.

[MiddleRiverRefugee]

8. Why stop just there?

The Dem nominee should visit one closed factory a WEEK until Election Day. Give the voters a chance to see Bush-ocracy In Action.

[MaineDem]

9. Here's a link

http://www.freep.com/money/business/pillow31_20030731.htm

Wow, that URL scared me for a second. :-)

[revcarol]

10. The ONE candidate that wants to undo NAFTA is Kucinich.

For bi-lateral negotiated trade agreements instead, beneficial for both countries.

But, OOPS, he's "unelectable." ---NOT

[Atlant]

11. And 3,000 of those 4,000 NC folks probably voted for Bush.

Do you think they've learned anything from this experience, or will
they vote for him again in '04?

Atlant

[HFishbine]

14. Yep

They went for Bush alright. Damn near the whole state did. That's the point. These people are not voting in their best interests. They are not unwilling to vote Dem (went for Clinton in '92), they just need to be hit over the head with a good reason to do so.


(Blue is Bush on this map.)

[Ilsa]

12. Last two weeks of work go unpaid,

health insurance is lost immediately.

How chickenshit of the company, allowing the workers to stay on for two weeks instead of letting them go when they knew it was over. They've already two weeks behind in living expenses now.