(S.C.) Textile company announces (500) layoffs

[UpInArms]

http://www.news14charlotte.com/content/local_news/?ArID=80674&SecID=2

FORT MILL, S.C. -- Springs Industries will close two textile plants and lay off more than 500 people.

The company, based in Fort Mill, S.C., said Thursday that foreign competition and increased imports led to the decision.

Plants in Lyman and Anderson will be shut down Feb. 1.

...more...

[Cobalt Violet]

1. Well then they will all have more time to read the bible.

[drhilarius]

2. Maybe Jesus is hiring.

[TaleWgnDg]

3. Hhhhmmmmm . . . I wonder how many . . .

of these 500 laid-off workers voted for GWBush? I'll bet that the majority of them put their so-called "moral values" (i.e., guns, gays, and God) ahead of their own economic needs and that of their families!


*************************
"Our enemies are innovative and
resourceful, and so are we. They
never stop thinking about new ways
to harm our country and our people,
and neither do we."
-GWBush, August 4, 2004
*************************

[theHandpuppet]

6. I tried to find out if Springs Mills is a union shop

... but couldn't google any information. Either way, no American worker can compete with the sweatshops and slave labor wages American retailers like WalMart love so much. Manufacturing in this country is going the way of the Dodo bird. Pretty soon there will be only two classes of folks in this country -- those who own, and those who ARE owned.

[Dzimbowicz]

8. I work in this area

and, yep, they are strong shrub supporters. I think it serves them right. Maybe I'm wrong for wishing such things on others, but...

:evilgrin:

[theHandpuppet]

4. American Textile Industry Going Down

Job losses in SC textile industry:
http://www.ncto.org/ustextiles/SC.html

And from other states, the vast majority in the deep South:
http://www.utexas.edu/centers/nfic/natnews/archives/2002/Oct.2002.nat.htm

[annabanana]

5. I guess "they're in the Army now....."

They're not behind the sewing machine...

[LostinVA]

7. Not a Union Shop

My father has been in textiles in NC for almost 40 years, and this company is definitely NOT a union shop. They are few and far between south of Delaware. NC has lost so many textile and other manufacturing jobs the last four years, but they STILL voted for *! Especially Western NC, home of Eric Rudolph lovers, and the area of the state that has been hit the hardest.

Seriously, these people can't even get Wal Mart greeter jobs. There literally are NO jobs for them. All of this, plus the already-bad Xmas shopping season, makes me almost sure an economic nightmare is headed for this country.

[UpInArms]

9. Welcome to DU, LostinVA!

:hi:

Glad to have you here!

[theHandpuppet]

10. The big lie of "right to work" states

You see, so many southern workers bought into the lie that by rejecting unionization their jobs would be protected because they could work cheaper than those in blue union states. Well surprise, bozos! There's always going to be someone who will work cheaper (not necessarily BETTER) than American workers so as soon as your job can be shipped overseas or trucked to Mexico you'll be standing in the bread line. But unlike union workers whose health benefits may be extended for some time after the layoff, or some severance pay guaranteed, you'll be out on your asses with just the shirt on your back.

It's the plantation mentality all over again in America and some people have forgotten their history. But remember, our Chimp-in-Chief said that outsourcing was good for American business -- just not the American worker!

[Dzimbowicz]

20. "The plantation mentality"

You got that one right! It is not dead in SC.

[TaleWgnDg]

13. Welcome to DU, LostinVA . . .

and, I remember very well, the anti-union work that was done in The South when the textile plants, industry, and jobs went from New England (unions) to The South (non-union, overall). Anti-union was the cry and lies fed at that time . . . and now? Gone are the jobs despite keeping the unions out . . . w/ lesser paying jobs. But not less enough to ward-off the jobs going to even lesser paids in China!

So goes the ignorance. And more ignorance. Sad, really. And, still they vote against themselves via George Walker Bush.



edited to add: and theHandpuppet in DU post (above) #10 "The big lie of 'right to work' states" has hit the nail directly on the head!!



.

[VLC98]

11. I wear Riders Jeans...

the only jeans I can find that fit my large butt/small waist combo. The pairs I bought about 3 years ago were made in the US, which amazed and pleased me. I just bought two new pairs and guess what? They're now made in Mexico. Same price of course.

[genieroze]

16. large butt/small waist combo?

You have my condolences.....NOT.
:evilgrin:

[Mari333]

12. Voted for Bush? no pity.

My compassion ran out on Nov 3, 2004.

[genieroze]

14. Now they can be rapture ready.

[durablend]

15. STFU and go to church you losers...

Wasting time working when you should've been praying. :eyes:

[insane_cratic_gal]

17. Here is how they voted

Anderson

Bush 43,313 67%
Kerry 20,670 32%

Spartanburg (Lyman)
Bush 61,892 64%
Kerry 33,545 35%

there is how those two counties voted.

[hatrack]

18. But as long as those "faggots" can't get married, that's all that matters.

Merry Christmas, moral issues voters. Maybe the food bank is hiring . . .

[DemoTex]

19. WYFF-TV (Greenville, SC) interviewed a couple affected by the closings.

While it is unfair for me to assume they voted for Bu$h and DeMint, their words and mannerisms sure led me to believe that they were probable GOP supporters. WYFF-TV probably pre-screened them too. When WYFF covers the combat deaths of upstate military personnel, they always say "he/she died fighting terrorism in Iraq." It makes me want to pull my hair out! They are often worse than Faux News.

[LostinVA]

21. NC/Sc

Thanks for the welcome!

I know that area of NC/SC very well, and it's literally crawlin' with God-fearing, queer-hating freepers. Plus, they tend to be rather hair-raisingly racist, too.

Now, before every Dem in the Gastonia/Shelby/Gaffney/etc. area jumps on me... I know there are good people there. I also know I was fired from a job in 1991 because I'm a female that likes girls, not boys. Needless to say, there was nothing I could do about it.

The NC textile workers rejected the unions again and again, and this is what it got them: 6-year-olds with no HS diploma kicked out on the street. It's very hard to have pity or empathy for them. I'm with Mari33 on this one....

[scbluevoter]

22. Springs Industries

I am from Greenville, SC and if I'm not mistaken, I believe the owners of this company are Dems. Elliot Close, whose family owns the company (unless they've sold out), actually ran for Senate against Strom Thurmond in the '90s. Correct me if I'm wrong Sandlappers. This is my first post but I read the forum daily. This prompted my registration.

[jdj]

29. Erskine Bowles' wife runs Springs.

"In ads and in news releases, the Dole camp is attacking Bowles because of job layoffs made by Springs Industries, a bedding and drapery manufacturer run by Bowles' wife, Crandall.

"The simple fact is that Erskine Bowles can't expect to use his family company when it works to his advantage, then distance himself when it doesn't," Dole spokeswoman Mary Brown Brewer said Wednesday. "The key to it is that he is claiming to be for North Carolina workers when his family company is exporting jobs to Mexico and China."

Bowles said Dole is engaging in a "vicious attack" that is unfairly smearing his wife and her company.

"This is a political campaign and I expected that Elizabeth Dole would distort my record, but she has no business whatsoever attacking my wife and her life's work," Bowles said. "My wife and Springs Industries employ 16,000 workers in this country. That's the story."

http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/local/4247082.htm

[llmart]

23. While I hate to laugh at others' misfortune........

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!!!

I used to live in the South and can tell you that these stupid people more than likely voted for Bush, so they can look elsewhere for pity and compassion. They were anti-union when I was there, so let them cry all the way to the food bank. I won't be donating anything to the food bank either, so maybe they'll starve and deplete the surplus population (of Repugs that is).

[Stuckinthebush]

24. Having inlaws from this area

and a father in law that works in the textile business, I know that a majority of mill workers voted for Bush.

[scbluevoter]

25. I totally agree with Stuckinthebush. . .

as it relates to voters. My point was regarding the owners. Living here, trust me, I'm excited to find another Democrat. Which brings me to another point, there was a much larger openly Democratic presence in my area pre-election. I'm still not certain about the margins of victory for Bush and the repubs in SC.

[Stuckinthebush]

26. I spent a few years in SC

in Clinton at school, and my wife is from the Lancaster area.

NAFTA has taken a huge toll on the textile industry, and I have often wondered why the SC voter doesn't make the connection. It was interesting that the former governor, a Democrat, made some very positive changes (he was from the Lancaster area, if I remember correctly), yet he was voted from office. Why are the SC voters so attracted to a party that does not represent their best interests? Religious conservatism?

[dad]

27. STEP OFF

What the fuck is wrong with you people? Has electoral voting brainwashed you into thinking 100% of us voted Bush? Jesus Christ, you are sounding as arrogant and smug as GWB.
Plenty of Dems live and work in the Carolinas. Even in your blue states, 40-some percent voted for Dubya. I should not have to remind anyone of this.

[Stuckinthebush]

28. True....but...

in York County, SC - the county in which Fort Mill resides - 34.5% of presidential votes cast were for Kerry. In Lancaster County, SC - the county in which Springs Mills has a large presence - 36.6% of presidential votes cast were for Kerry.

The voters in these counties are mostly middle to working class, and had a great deal to lose by voting for Bush, yet almost 2/3s of the votes did not go to Kerry.

Certainly those that did vote for Kerry are to be applauded, but the vast majority voted against their best interests.

[jdj]

30. SC has a huge black population

and because of vote fraud we will never know the real percentages.

NC vote was crooked as hell, and SC probably was too.