Anyone here from Indiana who works at Whirpool or know someone who does and what are your or their reactions to this?
http://economyincrisis.org/content/whirlpool-moving-jobs-mexico
Whirlpool Moving Jobs to Mexico
by Dustin Ensinger on February 22, 2010 - 12:20pm
Unless labor leaders can produce a miracle, it appears that the failed North American Free Trade Agreement is set to claim another victim. Appliance manufacturing giant Whirlpool plans to relocate an Indiana refrigerator factory to Mexico this summer, costing thousands of American jobs.
“Whirlpool’s decision to shut down and move our work to Mexico is greed-driven and an atrocity,” IUE-CWA President James Clark said in a statement. “We know companies need to make money, but moving jobs out of the country during this economic crisis is shameful.”
The factory in Evansville, Indiana, is set to close by the end of June, according to the company. In all, the closure will cost some 1,100 jobs in the community.
The company plans to move the factory to Mexico where, due to almost nonexistent labor and environmental laws, Whirlpool will be able to produce for a fraction of the cost.
Whirlpool’s decision to uproot and relocate to Mexico is just the latest in a string of American companies that have found supposedly greener pastures since the implementation of NAFTA. Iconic American companies such as Coca Cola, Ford, RCA, General Motors, General Electric and Nokia have all opened up assembly plants in Mexico. In fact, GE employs 30,000 Mexicans in 35 factories in the country.
It is no wonder American companies are so eager to move their production to Mexico. In the U.S. the average factory worker earns roughly $18 per hour. His Mexican counterpart, on the other hand, makes just $3 per hour on average. This has encouraged a “race to the bottom” in which American companies are frequently relocating production facilities across the border.
Since 1993, when NAFTA was signed, manufacturing employment in the U.S. has decreased from 16.8 million to 13.9 million in 2007, as the trade agreement put American workers in direct competition with Mexican workers. According to a 2006 Economic Policy Institute report, between 1993 and 2006 NAFTA resulted in nearly 50,000 jobs lost in Indiana.
But, perhaps the most egregious part of Whirlpool’s decision to outsource manufacturing is the fact that the company took stimulus money through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Roughly $19 million in stimulus money, to be exact, according to the AFL-CIO.
“Too many people have lost their jobs. Too many jobs have been sent overseas. Enough is enough. Whirlpool’s management can’t take our money, shut down our factories and lay off our workers. It’s not acceptable—and together we’re going to deliver a loud and clear message to Whirlpool: Keep It Made in America and Save Our Jobs,” AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said in a statement.
http://economyincrisis.org/content/whirlpool-moving-jobs-mexico
Whirlpool Moving Jobs to Mexico
by Dustin Ensinger on February 22, 2010 - 12:20pm
Unless labor leaders can produce a miracle, it appears that the failed North American Free Trade Agreement is set to claim another victim. Appliance manufacturing giant Whirlpool plans to relocate an Indiana refrigerator factory to Mexico this summer, costing thousands of American jobs.
“Whirlpool’s decision to shut down and move our work to Mexico is greed-driven and an atrocity,” IUE-CWA President James Clark said in a statement. “We know companies need to make money, but moving jobs out of the country during this economic crisis is shameful.”
The factory in Evansville, Indiana, is set to close by the end of June, according to the company. In all, the closure will cost some 1,100 jobs in the community.
The company plans to move the factory to Mexico where, due to almost nonexistent labor and environmental laws, Whirlpool will be able to produce for a fraction of the cost.
Whirlpool’s decision to uproot and relocate to Mexico is just the latest in a string of American companies that have found supposedly greener pastures since the implementation of NAFTA. Iconic American companies such as Coca Cola, Ford, RCA, General Motors, General Electric and Nokia have all opened up assembly plants in Mexico. In fact, GE employs 30,000 Mexicans in 35 factories in the country.
It is no wonder American companies are so eager to move their production to Mexico. In the U.S. the average factory worker earns roughly $18 per hour. His Mexican counterpart, on the other hand, makes just $3 per hour on average. This has encouraged a “race to the bottom” in which American companies are frequently relocating production facilities across the border.
Since 1993, when NAFTA was signed, manufacturing employment in the U.S. has decreased from 16.8 million to 13.9 million in 2007, as the trade agreement put American workers in direct competition with Mexican workers. According to a 2006 Economic Policy Institute report, between 1993 and 2006 NAFTA resulted in nearly 50,000 jobs lost in Indiana.
But, perhaps the most egregious part of Whirlpool’s decision to outsource manufacturing is the fact that the company took stimulus money through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Roughly $19 million in stimulus money, to be exact, according to the AFL-CIO.
“Too many people have lost their jobs. Too many jobs have been sent overseas. Enough is enough. Whirlpool’s management can’t take our money, shut down our factories and lay off our workers. It’s not acceptable—and together we’re going to deliver a loud and clear message to Whirlpool: Keep It Made in America and Save Our Jobs,” AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said in a statement.
I've been to Evansville a few times, but I don't remember seeing the plant. I also don't know anyone that works there. Anything that costs Hoosiers their jobs is worrisome though. That's 1,100 people out of work. I'm really sorry to hear this. I guess I won't be buying any of their products anymore. I understand that it's all about the bottom line, but to just leave them high and dry is definitely "greed-driven and an atrocity."
