Below are the Chinese-made imports that were recalled this past week.
About 47,000 wooden coloring cases sold at Toys " R " Us stores were recalled due to vilolation of the lead paint standard.
About 43,000 emergency tool kits distributed by B&F Systems, Inc were recalled due to fire and shock hazzards.
About 281,000 electric heaters distributed by Aloha Housewares, Inc were recalled due to fire hazzard.
About 154,000 Gerber pocket knives were recalled due to a saftey hazzard.
About 66,000 weather radios were recalled due to failure to receive weather alerts.
About 9500 logger boots were recalled due to mislabeling that could pose an electrical shock hazzard.
About 6,000 children's watering cans were recalled due to vilation of the lead paint standard.
Also, about 500 toddler and youth nylon bucket hats were recalled due to a strangulation hazzard.
If you believe that you may have purchased any of these items, please go to www.recalls.gov for more information.
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BOYCOTT PRODUCTS MADE IN CHINA AND THE STORES THAT CARRY THEM!!
Carol, Nancy, Sparky and Nan..thanks for your comments.
Seems "always low prices" translates into "always low quality and even lower wages" - sad but true.
UGH!! The one thing we got as a gift is that weather alert moniter. It works fine but if that's the right picture, that's ours.
Now here's a surprise. We were out shopping at HD, Lowes, and Menard's this weekend. My husband can't find any of his utility knives. So we looked at Menard's. Well, guess what, Stanley is made in China. There are several others that appear to be made in the US but the fine print says China or Mexico. We thought we found one, it even displayed the MADE IN THE USA tag on it. Closer inspection, the blades were made here not the handle. There aren't any out there.
Lots of reasons, but a couple are so that they can sell their products to the Chinese people themselves, and also because $100 to $150 a month is a pretty decent wage in China.
But even though a lot of people think American companies are all closing down their factories in the US and opening up new ones in low-wage countries like China, it turns out that isn't true. In fact, most foreign investment by US companies is happening in high-wage countries like Canada, and in the European Union. Only 3% of US manufacturers FDI (foreign direct investment) is in China.
I know it might not seem like that when you're seeing "Made in China" on so many products sold by a lot of retailers, but it's true.
Bent and Garden Witch..thanks.
How so, Tim?
When a manufacturing company makes a direct foreign investment, that generally involves building a factory in another country. Sometimes it means buying a foreign company, or entering a joint venture or some other kind of alliance or partnership, but in manufacturing, it basically means US companies getting involved one way or another with making stuff in factories outside the US. That's why it's considered direct investment, instead of indirect or portfolio investment.
And while it might seem like US manufacturers are getting Chinese workers to make everything, it really isn't true. Sure, US companies are building factories outside the US, but as I said, they're spending most (69%) of their FDI money in the EU and Canada.
Good work on keeping everybody up-to-date on the recalls, Tim. Hopefully more people are starting to check sites like recalls.gov to see all the products that have been recalled lately.
I wonder what ' Made in China ' on the backs of packages means? Does it mean ' Made in Canada' ? ....does it mean ' Made in the EU ?
But you're right when you say that an American company doesn't have to own a factory overseas to import products into the US. But even though it may seem like everything these days says "Made in China" on the package, it's simply not true.
A lot of low-cost, high-volume consumer goods are made in China, but overall, 65% of all manufactured products sold in the United States are made in the United States.
I read in a recent Gallup poll that 64% of people surveyed said they were willing to pay up to twice as much for an American-made product instead of a similar Chinese-made product. Is the store you work for trying to get more American-made products on the shelves, Tim? If so, you might not lose out on that quarterly bonus after all. :)
I can't wait for this one! This oughta be good!
My advice: any food product that remotely may have part of its contents manufactured in China should be stayed away from completely, and that includes soy sauces and beer, where the water used in the brewing is likely the most highly suspect in the world.
It really is time to disempower the multinational corporations in the same way it is unhealthy to have religious movements involved with politics. It just leads to that age old adage, absolute power corrupts absolutely, and that is because of greed. The greed of large corporations that export to the developing world American worker insistence for fair wages and benefits, and the greed of American consumers who flock to Wall-Mart for cheap computers with well-known western names. Names that once were synonymous with Made in America... or even Made in Japan, no longer can be taken for granted. Look at Mattel. One now needs to look at all the small print, for where any part in a product may have been assembled or manufactured, and it is not just China, though it is the worst in world-wide distribution.
When an American multinational gets to build a factory in the middle of a relatively poor neighborhood, in a distant community lacking the oversight and checks and balances taken for granted in America, or even in places just south of the border, it often so destabilizes very old and healthy cultural patterns in a New York minute that they will not recover. In China it is slightly different than simply the exportation to China of multinational corporations. The Chinese government is actually very aware of what it is doing with bringing as much of the world's wealth as possible behind the Great Wall.
I had a long and good conversation two weeks ago with the CEO of Denmark's largest supermarket chain, regarding a new product that came on the market: a pasta that was 50% richer in protein than any other similar product. According to Danish law, all food products must inform the consumer where it has been grown or produced, and this one did not have that information. If you remember earlier this Spring, the big issue that brought this Chinese syndrome to the public attention was pet food adulterated by a poisonous byproduct additive that can give a false protein content reading. It killed a bunch of cats and dogs in America. And pasta, though often associated with Italy, has a debatable Chinese connection, often debunked, with Marco Polo. Anyways, long story short, the CEO apologized for the lack of labeling on the protein-rich pasta product, promised the chain would rectify it, but assured me that it was an entirely European soy additive, which actually has serious health issues (can cause mineral deficiencies over a time, among others), but I didn't go int that with him.
I have no problem with a globalized world... that's actually a very good evolutionary possibility for the world population. The thing is, we as consumers have actually got a responsibility in all this with the plastic in our pockets, and it really is a good idea to not blindly buy what is cheapest. Globalization has to be a two way street. As we export manufacturing to the developing world, we also need to export the oversight, environmental protection attitudes, and fairness in wages & benefits, etc. at the same time, otherwise we get issues such as Tim's article so well describes.
Food, beverage and tobacco products
Computer and electronic products
Motor vehicles, bodies, trailers and parts
Fabricated metal products
Chemicals
Machinery
Pharmaceutical and medicines
Plastics and rubber products
Paper products
Don't take my word for it, check with the US Dept of Commerce yourself.
While a lot of that stuff is made in America and then exported, about $600 or $700 billion of it is sold in the US. That's a lot of stuff.
Also, even though it might seem like everything on the store shelves is made in China, it turns out that China only accounts for around 15% of US imports. Again, the reason it seems like so much stuff is from China is because a lot of the stuff they export to the US is low-cost, high-volume consumer goods.
Anyway, I just heard on the radio that there's been another batch of recalls. Barbie toys and some other stuff, again because of lead paint. They haven't put on the recalls website here in Australia yet, but it's up on the recalls.gov website. Looks like you might want to put out another alert, Tim.
I agree. Although it seems that on one hand there's constant bickering over whose standards should be used, and the minute somebody mentions global standards, people start on the "new world order/one world government" thing.
But I agree that if this whole globalization thing is going to work, there's going to have to be a lot more focus on fair trade, not just free trade.
Food, beverage and tobacco poducts. Yep..spot on.
Computer and electronic products. Utter bullshit. Have you tried to find a stereo or DVD player sold in the U.S. that was actually manufactured here? Guess not since you supposedly live in Australia.
Motor Vehicles, bodies and trailer parts. Yep..and I suppose that adds up in dollars..which I will get back to later in this comment. But then again..how many of automotive electrical parts sold in the U.S. are imported? I used to work in auto parts..so I just can't wait for your expert reply on that issue.
Fabricated metal products. Yep..no doubt.
Chemicals. Yep..but again I'll get back to that later in this comment.
Machinery. Yep..but again dollars? Indeed!
Pharmaceutical and medicines. Yep..but again a lot of dollars.
Plastic and rubber products. Yep..but again to be addressed later in this comment.
Paper products. Refer to my above statement.
Actually....this is the exact response that I was expecting from you.
" It turns out that China only accounts for around 15% of U.S. imports "
Are you talking dollars there Wil..or units?
" Again, the reason it seems like so much stuff is from China is because a lot of the stuff they export to the U.S. is low cost, high volume consumer goods"
Are they exporting food, beverage and tobacco goods..all of which you named as being mostly made in the U.S...and all of which are low cost..high volume goods? Also what about paper goods and chemicals? What about plastic and rubber products ? Low cost high volume goods..right? Mostly made in the U.S. ..right? So since you stated that most of the named low cost..high volume consumer goods are made in the U.S. ..and most of the Chinese imports are low cost..high volume consumer goods....just what are you saying? Looks like you're talking out of both sides of your mouth to me as well as using your own argument against yourself.
" While a lot of stuff is made in America and then exported, about $600 or $700 million of it is sold in the U.S. "
When I first read your comment quoted above, as usual it looked like one of your usual twisted and spun around comments, and it was in a way. however once I observed the dollar amounts that you quoted and went back up to your " Biggest sectors of American manufacturing " comment..I couldn't help but notice that you mentioned motor vehicles and machinery as two of the biggest sectors of U.S. manufatcuring. Really, if one was to look at this closely, it wouldn't take very long for motor vehicles and machinery to take up a large percentage of the $600 or $700 million dollars of stuff that is manufactured and sold in America.
Yes I'm living in Australia, and the situation is the same here as it was when I lived in the US. Lots of consumer electronics imported from China. Also Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, and Japan. But consumer electronics is just one part of the "computer and electronics" manufacturing sector.
"Are you talking dollars there Wil..or units?"
Dollars.
Oh, and I made a typo when I said "600 or 700 million. I meant billion. Sorry.
Another idiot on another thread tried to use the same anology in a lame attempt to prove that the U.S. is exporting more goods than it's importing. His point? The U.S. is selling airplanes to foreign countries. Yeah..no shit! Airplanes = dollars! What a fucking joke!
You and your compadres need to get your shit together..really.
iI know the US doesn't export more goods than it imports. The manufactured goods trade deficit was more than $500 billion in 2005. I don't think opening toaster factories in the US is going to do much to fix that, do you?
Oh, by the way, I still haven't found an American-made toaster, but for anybody looking for a high-quality product made somewhere besides China, you might want to try the UK-made Dualit.
Sure couldn't hurt. That would also create more American jobs.
Wil..have you seen any of the communities in the U.S. that have been devestated by factory closings? I have....and there is where the reality is.
The problem with building toaster factories to create more American jobs is that toasters have become cheap commodity products. Which means that getting a job making toasters would be a lot like getting a job flipping burgers. There's just not a lot of money in it. How many American workers really want to try to compete with Chinese workers who make $150 a month?
Are you a citizen of the US or Australia Wil? Just curious.
I've read and spoken with a lot of sources that say Chinese factory wages of around $150 a month (that's US dollars) is fairly common. This article says that wages in factory jobs are moving up to $200 to $250 a month.
But I think it's also important to keep in mind that, just like in other countries, not everybody plays by the rules or follows the law. You can read about the problems faced by Chinese workers at ChinaLaborWatch.
But you're right about the numbers not really meaning much without taking into account the cost of living. Here's some info that might give you an idea of what those wage figures mean. I'm converting everything to US dollars, so hopefully that will help.
The official, legal minimum wage in China varies between about $46 and $90 a month, depending on location. Just like in the US, it costs more to live in some places than others, so they adjust the minimum wage appropriately (sometimes even in parts of a big city). But like in most places, minimum wage isn't necessarily a living wage. I read where one woman said her rent and utilities (for her and her child) were about $40 a month. Another guy said it cost him $13 a month to rent a room.
A lot of factory workers live in dormitories, with 8 to 16 people per room, and the company charges them around $6.62 a month. Meals provided by the factory means another $20 a month is taken out of their pay, whether they eat the food or not.
So I guess you could say that working in a factory (one that operates within the law, anyway) is probably better than flipping burgers in the US, but it's still low-skill work and the money doesn't even come close to the money required to be "middle class." In China, "middle class" earnings start around $8000 and go up from there.
Oh cool, I found something that might help. It's a Chinese supermarket catalog with prices for all sorts of items. I don't think a lot of "assembly-line" factory workers would do much shopping in this sort of store, but it probably gives us an idea of the Chinese equivalent to Wal Mart prices.
Here are some examples of prices I've converted to US dollars:
case of beer = $6.50
16 oz bottle of coke = $0.30
pair of sandals = $1.75
electric fan = $4.25 - $14.45
laundry detergent = $1.56
Some other prices I've picked up elsewhere include:
bus in Shanghai = $0.26 (1/2 price if it's not air-conditioned)
can of Coke = $0.16
12 oz. bottled water = $0.20
noodle meal from a street stall = $0.66
DSL internet = $13.25/month
Happy Meal = $2.00
Medium-sized Moccha at Starbucks = $2.90
Groceries (meat, fruit, and veggies for 2 adults for 3 or 4 days) = $6.00
Oh, and the same guy who listed these prices also said that the average earnings for a college grad's first job is around $400 a month.
" Oops, I don't know Chinese money. I think yen is Japanese. So, forgive me for that but you get the idea, don't you?"
Yep, I get the idea. Yen is Japanese, Yuan is Chinese. They're easy to get confused.
"Are you a citizen of the US or Australia Wil? Just curious."
Both.
I hope that helps give you more of an idea of some of the differences between the cost of living in China and the cost of living in the US.
And I disagree with you on your ' Toaster Factory ' theory. Companies such as Hamilton Beach are importing their toasters from China in order to exploit cheap labor..plain and simple. They would much rather contribute to the $150 per month salary of Chinese workers than pay at least minimum wage to American workers. It's not that they can't stay competetive by paying American workers..it's the fact that they can increase their greedy bottom lines by importing their appliances from China..plain and simple..no matter how you spin it all around..twist it all up and swallow it and then spit it all back up.
Actually, my feeling about that has changed since my early college days of discussing Orwell ad nausea. Most of the sociological models that I have seen that answer the dilemma that most of those scientific models also show, as being a point of no return for society if we are to survive beyond the middle of this century, both from the geophysical systems on the planet as well as the cultural, describes a world without borders, with a one-person-one-vote system of world government entirely devoid of the unilateral or multilateral influences of axis vs allies type United Nations. It sounds a bit utopic (sic), but hey, even the brightest of scientists state that the imagination of fantasy writers are generally those who point the way to the future, even in terms of hard technology, to wit, Einstein. It doesn't take an Einstein to suggest we are headed, if not already there, towards a hell of a horror show unless the world gets its act together.
What many of us forget is how vast and incredibly deep the US debt is, where even China owns a large portion of it.
By by, miss American pie,
drove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry...
Ages ago, while driving just north of New York City, I picked up a hitchhiker with a guitar on the freeway. He was a good friend of Don McClean's it turns out, and he said that a State University of New York professor had made a course out of this Don McClean song.
This singer I had picked up said that though the song may have been slightly about the death of Buddy Holly and that sort of music, none of the professors got the true interpretation of McClean's song right. Seems no one ever will, not even Madonna, since McClean refuses to divulge.
What's that got to do with all this? I've found that unless I very clearly state what I mean, people from all sides attack it, even if what's being said is exactly what they themselves might agree with.
No toys for the chitlins!
(Thought I'd start the conversation over since this comment sorta blew it off track: if you prefer to measure value in units, you go right ahead. I prefer to measure it in dollars. And measured in dollars, imports only account for about 35% of domestic sales in the US. Sorry for not being clearer in my earlier comment. )
Sandy..ugh..what?
Damn it girls I'm too tired to play games tonight! LOL ..I think..
I'm sure in some cases it is horrible, Tim. And in other cases it's not horrible at all. A lot of people sleeping in the same dormitory room isn't necessarily horrible. Military barracks with 20 or 30 bunks in a room aren't uncommon. But you're right, some of the conditions people are working in, whether it's in China or India or the US or Australia, are just appalling!
"And I disagree with you on your ' Toaster Factory ' theory.
Fair enough. Obviously we don't see things the same way. You say they import cheap toasters from China in order to exploit cheap labor, plain and simple. The way I look at it, that's part of the story, but not the whole story.
The thing is, Hamilton Beach isn't in the toaster-making business any more. They research and design and market and all that sort of stuff, but they leave the actually production to their Chinese suppliers. So yeah, they benefit from cheap labor, but they benefit from a lot of other things, too.
It's not just labor that's cheaper in China, it's a lot of other things, too. The cost of building and maintaining the factories. Energy. Raw materials. Regulatory costs. Health care costs. Taxes. And it all adds up.
"It's not that they can't stay competetive by paying American workers..it's the fact that they can increase their greedy bottom lines by importing their appliances from China..plain and simple."
Maybe so. I guess it depends on who you want them to compete with. Add up all those extra costs to build the toasters in the US instead of China, and how much do you think the toaster would cost? Especially if you've got actual people putting them together instead of machines? In that Gallup Poll, 64% of people said they'd pay up to twice as much to get an American made product. Do you believe that's true? Or do you think that while they might say that, when they get in the store, a lot of them are going to grab the cheaper Chinese-made product?
And then there's the fact that companies like Hamilton Beach aren't just competing in the US. They're competing in other countries too, and they're trying to expand their business in still more countries, including countries where people won't pay twice as much just because a product is made in the US.
If I can pick up a cheap, Chinese-made Hamilton Beach toaster down at WalMart for $15 or $20, how much do you think that toaster would have to cost to sell in China? Based on the prices I posted earlier, I'd say maybe around $5. I honestly don't think an American company could make money setting up a factory in the US to make toasters that sell in China for $5.
And I think the best evidence that nobody thinks there's money to be made selling American-made toasters is the simple fact that nobody's doing it.
Yeah, the writing's been on the wall since Eisenhower, at the height of McCarthyism, stated: "Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed." And this came from the supreme commander of the allied forces in Europe.
And then I am reminded of the American, Ronald Reagan, who most empowered the multinational corporations to behave as though they are a rule-less government unto themselves, helping enable the current China syndrome. Reagan reflected his honest global philosophy in 1965 when he stated: "We should declare war on North Vietnam. . . .We could pave the whole country and put parking strips on it, and still be home by Christmas."
So Wil....in one of your earlier comments on this thread, you listed paper products as one of the biggest sectors of American manufacturing. Now let's see here..I can buy a 4 roll package of toilet tissue for 89 cents, or a 2 roll package of paper towells for $1.
Don't go away yet Wil. Using your analogy that American companies could never make money by setting up a factory in the U.S. to make toasters that sell in China for $5....and considering that you listed paper products as one of the biggest sectors of American manufacturing..I'm kind of left scratching my head as to why American companies who are selling 4 roll packages of toilet paper for 89 cents and 2 roll packages of paper towells for $1 are actually making money when you claim that you don't think an American company can make money by setting up a toaster factory in the U.S. to make toasters that sell in China for $5 ????
Suck on that for a while Wil.
I have to get some sleep now guys. Catch ya'll later !
Jesus.
My guess would be because there's not a lot of international competition for selling toilet paper. High-value paper products, maybe. But not low-value (yet amazing essential, LOL!) stuff like TP.
When you look at the paper industry, you tend to see that paper in manufactured fairly close to the source of the raw materials -- trees. Yet toasters made from aluminum, plastic and nickel-chromium aren't necessarily built near petrochemical plants and mines.
I guess another difference is the sheer size of the industries. I don't know how many toasters are sold every year, or what the dollar value is, but I know that the whole US kitchen appliance market was $2.8 billion in 2005. When you compare that with $22 billion in sales for just one paper company (Internetnational Paper), I guess paper is a pretty big business.
How much of their profits comes from toilet paper and paper towels? I have no idea. But I'm thinking that the profits aren't so great that companies are itching to fill shipping containers with TP from China and sell it in the US. Yet they seem more than happy to do it with toasters.
So I guess that brings me back to my earlier thought -- if somebody thought they could make money selling American-made toasters, they'd be doing it. As far as I can tell (and I've been looking for a while now), nobody's doing it.
Not only did they put American workers out of work, the recent recalls of their Chinese-made imports is starting to bite them, as well as retailers that sell the cheaply made crap, in the arse. I couldn't give away a Barbie doll, or any Mattel product for that matter, if my life depended on it, nor would I.
You get what you pay for Wil
And don't think that the paper companies won't start importing toilet tissue from China if they decide that they can get it made cheaper over there.
Will the decision to move all their factories to other countries come back and bite them? Obviously in the sort term it will, but in the long term, I doubt it. They'll make some changes, so will the Chinese, and everything will be back in full swing by next Xmas.
I hear what you're saying about greed, Tim. It's a real worry. We really haven't done ourselves any favors creating societies that are so obsessed with money and wealth.
"And don't think that the paper companies won't start importing toilet tissue from China if they decide that they can get it made cheaper over there."
I have no doubt they would if they could make more money doing it. I don't know that they can with toilet paper, but I do know that US paper manufacturers' margins are getting squeezed by growing competition from emerging market producers. But I think that competition is much more likely to involve products other than toilet paper and paper towels.
Out of curiosity, is the retailer you work for talking about trying to stock more American-made products? Or if not American-made, at least more products made somewhere besides China?
The stuff isn't selling. Once customers see ' Made in China ' on the back of the packages, they just put the items back on the shelves and walk away.
Wil..they were making enough money as I stated above, but I guess that I'm going to have to invite some of the ex Mattel employees, both hourly employees as well as management personell, over to Gather so that they can tell the story from the inside.
That's a shame, but I guess in some ways it's understandable. Rather than actually becoming more informed consumers, a lot of people will just see "Made in China" and decide it's not worth the risk, or see "Made in USA" and assume it's safe even if it's not.
In the case of toys, maybe putting them back on the shelves and walking away is the best move anyway. Most of the time when I walk down the toy aisle, most of what I see looks like crap anyway. And I don't need to find out where it's made to decide that I don't want it.
Actually Wil, you're no doing a very good job. If I knew who your boss was, I'd report you in a New York minute!
BTW Wil..what do you do for a living ? just askin'
Tim, that would be great. It's always good to hear things from more than one perspective. Especially from people who were there.
But at the end of the day, those guys weren't the ones who got to decide whether the plant was making enough profit or not, were they? Mattel was having a lot of problems back then. Sales and profits were down.
They made the decision to move production outside the US -- to Mexico, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and especially China. They couldn't have been alone, since from what I hear, 80% of all toys are now manufactured in China.
Did it suck for the 1000 people who worked at the factory in Murray? Undoubtedly. It pretty much always sucks when businesses close down, doesn't it? I don't know if there's a solution for that.
Maybe you and your buddies can tell us more about the impact of the Mattel closure, on the people who worked there and on the community in general. And about what you think Mattel could've done differently.
I'd also like to hear what you guys think about the companies that closed factories in the northern part of the US and opened new ones in the south. I don't know if that was the case with the Mattel factory, but it was with the Briggs & Stratton plant there in Murray, wasn't it? Didn't B&S open that plant because it could operate cheaper than the one in Wisconsin?
The reason I ask is because I've been thinking that a lot of the complaints I'm hearing about jobs going overseas remind me a lot of complaints I heard in the 70s and 80s about jobs going to other states. And guys losing their jobs to machines. And America being "betrayed" by non-union workers. And people complaining about the flood of cheap Japanese imports. I guess this stuff has been going on for a long time, hasn't it?
Now we have a different situation....U.S. factories closing and moving operations overseas or closing period. In each case, I've never heard any evidence where the employees of the former factories were offered a transfer anywhere. And if the former employees of the factories were to move to where the manufacturing jobs are, then where are those jobs?
You're not comparing apples to apples Wil. And also you're not doing a very good job of trying to make me look like the bad guy for posting about this issue.
I am comparing apples to apples, Tim. I'm talking about companies closing down a factory in one place and opening up another one somewhere else. I don't know anything about the Mattel factory there in Murray, but I do know a bit about the Briggs & Stratton factory. B & S was having a hard time competing against the Japanese, so one way they reduced costs was to move part of their operation in Wisconsin to a new plant in Kentucky. The new plant was more modern, and had a lot more automation, so they didn't need as many workers. Plus it was a non-union plant. I'm sure B & S thought that was great, since they'd just gone through a 3-month strike.
Are you telling me that a thousand families happily packed up and moved from Wisconsin to Kentucky so Briggs & Stratton could pay them less for doing their job? I don't think so.
I'm sure people in Wauwatosa were just as pissed off that their jobs were heading south to Kentucky as the people of Murray were when they found out their jobs were heading south to Mexico.
I agree that at least when a company closes a factory in one state and opens up in another, people usually have more opportunity to follow their job, get a transfer, or whatever. Obviously moving to Mexico or China to follow a job isn't something most people are willing to do, and in many cases they couldn't if they wanted to.
"In each case, I've never heard any evidence where the employees of the former factories were offered a transfer anywhere."
That really bites. I think it's better when they try. And when they try to help workers who are going to lose their jobs find other work, whether it's still within the company or not.
When I was reading about Hershey's Chocolate closing it's factory in Canada, one of the things the article mentioned was that up there, when a major employer announces a shutdown that could have a major impact on the community, the government sends in "rapid re-employment and training service" teams to help people find new jobs. I don't know how well it works, but maybe it's something more places ought to look into.
"And if the former employees of the factories were to move to where the manufacturing jobs are, then where are those jobs?"
The manufacturing jobs are everywhere, Tim. You're surrounded by them, aren't you? 262,000 manufacturing jobs in Kentucky, accounting for 20% of its GDP. Another 300,000 in Virginia, 400,000 in Tennessee, 550,000 in North Carolina. I don't know how much hiring those companies are doing, but it sure looks like there's plenty of manufacturing going on in your part of the world.
"And also you're not doing a very good job of trying to make me look like the bad guy for posting about this issue."
Tim, I'm really starting to think that you're a bit paranoid. Not only am I not trying to make you look like a bad guy for posting about this issue, I don't think you are a bad guy for posting about this issue. I think you're doing a good thing by alerting people to the recalls. And whether I agree with you or not, I'm glad you're posting your thoughts, opinions, and experiences here to share with everybody. Especially since you can give us the "inside scoop" on how all this stuff is affecting the discount retail business.
I rest my case.
Nobody is guaranteed a job for life. Nor should they be.
BTW Wil..what do you do for a living?
I might answer that question if you can convince me it's relevant to this discussion. Otherwise, it looks to me like you're trying once again to derail the discussion and make it about me.
I've told you and others what I do for a living..why can't you do the same ?
What I do for a living is about my personal life, Tim. Why do you have a problem with addresing the other points I've raised and questions I've asked while I think about whether I want to answer your very personal question or not?