Maytag workers say goodbyes (200 Jobs Gone)

[OhioChick]

December 23, 2006

Newton, Ia. - The final day on the job for 200 Maytag factory workers ended with punch and cookies, tears and hugs - and goodbyes.

"It's like saying goodbye to a heritage. Maytag was a heritage," said Dorothy Ball, 54, of Chariton, one of the workers who lost their jobs at Maytag on Friday.

Workers began filing out of the big factory about 2:30 p.m., some for the last time, others to return after a holiday shutdown.

"It was just a bad day. We're going to miss each other a lot," said Paula Smith, 51, of Newton, one of the workers who won't be back.

The final hour of work included an in-plant reception in honor of the workers whose jobs are being cut, employees said.
http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061223/BUSINESS/612230362/-1/SPORTS07


<snip> The job cuts leave about 660 workers in the washer-dryer factory, where the work force was about 2,600 four years ago.

Whirlpool, the nation's biggest appliance maker, bought Newton-based Maytag in March. Whirlpool announced in May that all of Maytag's Newton operations - the factory and the Maytag headquarters - would be closed by late 2007, eliminating 1,800 jobs.

[Mend]

1. the last Maytag washer we bought a few years ago stinks...

the one before that ran beautifully for over 15 years. Someone ran that company into the ground. It used to be the best but I wouldn't have bought another one. Sorry for the workers that some dumb ass, high paid ceo ruined a good company and cost all those jobs.

[kysrsoze]

12. Yeah, Maytag really went downhill. They used to be made like tanks

My fiance's new appliances are Maytag and they've already had problems.

[rurallib]

13. Consultants advising a new leader how to make more profit

raising the price of stock. Thank goodness we got one of the good ones before they went to shit.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

25. My new Maytag washer is also not half as good as my old one

The washer blew a seal twice due to a defective barrel. I've now removed it from the utility room and installed it in the garage. Maytag didn't mind fixing the washer but refused to pay for the damage done to my home, which forced me to pay the deductible on my insurance and then let them fight it out with Maytag.

They new dryer is great, but I've had problems with my new refrigerator and my range/oven. They really did let themselves go in the quality department.

[Mend]

26. wow, sorry about your mess. Our washer doesn't even fill,

the warm water option doesn't work, it is either boiling hot or ice cold, and it is generally a piece of thin tin. The dryer is okay, but I have had better. I know it isn't the American worker, it is the American designers and corporate elite that chintz the product down. I once had a Pontiac, now Mercedes for the last 30 years...the Pontiac was junk.

[Demit]

2. Still using my Maytag washer & dryer from 1980.

I loved Maytags. Sigh.

[harpboy_ak]

28. I inherited my mid-70s Maytag washer & dryer

with the house. The Maytags my grandmother purchased in the mid 70s are still running like champs.

Tip if you own an older Maytag and can fix stuff like belts yourself: http://www.repairclinic.com is a great source for appliance parts at reasonable prices.

[CoffeeCat]

3. I'm wondering why...

...Maytag would have hosted this sorrow-filled reception--so close to Christmas?

Why not wait until after the holidays?

I live within a half hour of this plant, and this has impacted the entire state. It's just
so sad. The entire Newton community is built around Maytag. These people are loyal, hardworking
folks. They're not just losing their jobs, many will have to move their families to new
communities.

It's such a loss, and losses like these are happening everywhere.

Courage and peace to these Maytag workers.

[SoCalDem]

16. They operate on the wall street quarterly calendar

4th quarter closing.. they can start the new year minus those pesky hindrances..employees.

Employees are no longer an asset.

[snappyturtle]

4. I'm "certain" that if we listen intently we'll hear.....

news of this job loss on MSM! :sarcasm: I'm also certain that Whirlpool has figured out a way to milk more profits by cutting the work force and cracking the whip on remaining employees or out-sourcing! Right before Christmas too. Sad.

[rfranklin]

5. Not an accountant but I suspect it was done for tax purposes...

to get the write-offs attached to 2006 rather than 2007. There is a great tradition of firing people just before Christmas.

[bluerum]

6. That humming sound you hear, is the economy.

:sarcasm: :sarcasm:

[Red Zelda]

7. MSM airheads are too busy

...reporting from every fucking airport in the country about planes that are 10 minutes late.
The media have killed America.

[rurallib]

14. don't forget sending jobs to China.

[badgerpup]

27. But..but...Bush says outsourcing jobs is a GOOD thing for the economy!

He said so!
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04041/271362.stm
And we should all go shopping, too!
:sarcasm:

Maybe he hasn't made the connection that people need their JOBS so they can have MONEY in order to GO SHOPPING...and outsourcing their jobs interferes with that cycle.
:banghead::argh:

[tabasco]

8. I feel sorry for all the people losing their jobs

but I wonder how many of them voted for Bush.

On edit: That's a rotten thing to think but I always do.

[aggiesal]

11. I think the same way.

Those that did, will still justify their vote.

[jarab]

19. Freeper kids gotta eat, too. nt

...O...

[liberal N proud]

9. They always do this at the Holiday season

Again, I must ask the question, What the hell do they expect all of us to do when all our jobs have been outsourced?

[area51]

22. "What the hell do they expect all of us to do when all our jobs have been outsourced?"

I think they expect us to die. The pro-offshoring/inshoring crowd probably hope to kill off at least 1/4 to 1/2 of the U.S. population.

[roody]

10. Let's all do the right thing for Dear Leader

and all go shopping.

[blues90]

15. This sort of thing seems to happen almost everyday , man

I really wonder what will become of the american worker when they keep closing plants . This seems like the end of what we once knew of the american work force and long term workers of the good old USA .

It looks like soon most will be working min wage slave jobs with no hope of surviving retirement .

I really hate what has happened to this country and it seems to happen to those who are over 50 now lost souls in todays weak , hopeless society .

[OhioChick]

17. I too wonder

what becomes of all the workers. Too many plants closing. Work being shipped to the cheapest bidder. Such a sad situation for the American worker.

[blues90]

18. And they all talk about bringing jobs back

I can't see any way of ever bringing these jobs back , I yet to see one return .

With the cheaper labor and no environmental protection laws and tax breaks beside the ease of moving internet and phone based jobs any where they desire we have no chance of returning people back to a job they have done for years and know how to do , especially when they have done this for most of their lives .

Here they have removed most all the small hardware shops , the last one I saw was 2 years ago and all the workers were there for 40 odd years and when I walked in not noticing all the closure sale signs but saw the baren shelves and all the long term employees watching their job go away all I could think was were will they go now , home depot for min wage and suffer for the rest of their lives .

No one cares about these people but others who find themselves close to the same end . The owner just goes on with their buyout profit and lives just fine . These were the people like in most companies who made it all possible for the success from their life long work and dedication to do a good job and look what they get for it . Nothing !

[davsand]

20. Just like the Maytag plant in Galesburg, Illinois.

That town has been horribly impacted by that plant closure. Make no mistake, NAFTA (along with the other "Free Trade" agreements) and other Anti-Union actions by our Federal and State governments have contributed directly to these plant losses. Similarly, corporate greed is playing a role in hurting our workers and our nation.

Those workers and our entire country have been screwed by the corporations AND by the politicians they have elected for the last 20 years--from BOTH parties. You can't lay blame for this on the last few years under the current regime, and you can't lay this off on just the corporate Presidents.

You better look to the people in either party who vote based on some emotional issue rather than something tangible--like attitudes about protecting workers and American jobs.

When you voted last, do you have any idea how your candidate was rated by the unions?

You also better look to the people lined up to hand Walmart their money for crap made overseas along with the folks driving foreign made cars. You better look to the people not hiring union, and you better look at yourself and ask WHAT have YOU done lately to make an effort to buy American made products?

I feel sorry as hell for these workers, I really do. They, and the entire community, will suffer for a LONG time because of this plant closure. I have to wonder, however, if anyone but a few are worried yet about our national loss of ability to produce goods domestically.


Regards and Solidarity,

Laura

[LeftyMom]

21. I used to sell appliances

We sold a lot of Maytag because it was still made in the US, while the not-significantly-cheaper Whirlpool stuff mostly gets put together in Mexico. Since then, Haier and other Chinese-manufactured appliances have joined the Mexico-made stuff in driving prices down through a combination of cheap labor and incredibly shitty quality.

Something's horribly wrong when it's cheaper to make a refrigerator half a world away and ship it here than it is to make it here and sell it here. Worse still, all these damned "free trade" agreements mean we can't enact any laws to protect ourselves and our economy.

[Ezlivin]

24. "Something's horribly wrong when it's cheaper to make a refrigerator half a world away..."

You hit the nail on the head.

I'm in agreement (and wonderment) with your statement: "Something's horribly wrong when it's cheaper to make a refrigerator half a world away than it is to make it here and sell it here."

Manufacturing in America is dead.

Unless you're manufacturing bombs or weapons.

[TexasLawyer]

23. Letting go the older folks

Judging from the pictures and that ages mentioned in the article, it looks as if the older folks were let go.

"It's like saying goodbye to a heritage. Maytag was a heritage," said Dorothy Ball, 54,

<snip>

"It was just a bad day. We're going to miss each other a lot," said Paula Smith, 51,