It’s Not A Happy Time For Many Jobless Manufacturing Workers In America @ Robert E. Swift (NAPSA)—From a front-page article in industry trade newspaper Women’s Wear Daily (WWD): “The U.S. textile industry just keeps on unraveling. Burlington Industries Inc. filed for bank- ruptcy court protection on Thurs- day. The news camea day after VF Corp. announced plans to cut 13,000 jobs.” “Cone Mills and Dan River recently recorded losses for the nine months ending in September.” Noted the executive director of the Textile Distributors Association, “It (Burlington’s announcement) has a ripple effect that is far beyond the textile industry. In towns where they’re located, if they shut plants, they can effectively shut down the whole town.” The September 11 terrorist attacks rightly rallied the government in support of the airline industry and other businesses so dramatically affected by the tragic event. New York City alone lost 79,000 jobs so far. So in the interest of supporting a sagging econ- omy, the Administration should consider other segments which are also in critical condition. The textile and apparel industry lost more than 600,000 jobs— approximately six times the number of jobs projected to be lost from the airlines—since the advent of the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1994. These jobs are lost forever because the mills are closed. Without government intervention that alters policies which make imports more attractive, or which encourage companies to move manufacturing jobs offshore, the manufacturing sector, not only in textiles and apparel but throughout industries, will be deeply weakened. America continues to lose jobs here in direct proportion to increases in manufacturing as- signmentsshifted outside the U.S. China is a dramatic case in point. According to a Cornell University study, investments in China by American firms have increased from $200 million in 1989 to $7.8 billion in 2000, and the country once described as a “sleeping giant” is now our fourth largest trading partner. This dramatic growth in trade and investment with China has had a significant negative impact on employment and wages for workers in the United States, according to another study funded by the federal government. Its findings strongly indicate that trade is leading to a massive shift of jobs around the world, with a growing mass oflosers, including the U.S. More than 80 U.S.-based corporations announced their intention to shift production to China between October 2000 and August 2001, an estimate that mayreflect only half of all shifts. The projected numberof jobs lost as a result was as high as 34,900, compared to 26,267 jobs lost to Mexico and 9,061 lost to other Asian countries. No wonder consumer confidence is down. In the corporate quest for lower production costs andhigherprofits, shifts to China and other countries, stagnating wages and massive layoffs, the promise of rising standardsofliving as a consequenceof globalization has turned to disaster for many American wage earners while their foreign counterparts take their jobs. The Made in U.S.A. label is more important than ever. This statement points to an American worker’s labor, which is drawing pay and contributing to our economy. Until our government acts to reverse the perilous position they’ve placed our manufacturing sector in, it’s our most effective means to keep jobs here. Look for it when you shop this holiday season and beyond. Robert E. Swift is executive director of the Crafted with Pride in U.S.A. Council, headquartered in New York City.
