Early in the morning factory whistle blows,
Man rises from bed and puts on his clothes,
Man takes his lunch, walks out in the morning light,
It’s the working, the working, just the working life.— Bruce Springsteen
“Factory”
New Jersey once was a manufacturing mecca. Led by the urban northeast, in particular, Paterson, and the cities along the Delaware River, the state made everything from bandages and bologna to wallboard and water pipes.
Those days are over, with a handful of manufacturing plants with large workforces giving way to lightly staffed distribution centers or closing altogether
Among the most recent to go — closing date Feb. 12 — is the Griffin Pipe Products Co. in Florence. The plant, which opened in 1959, manufactured piping used in housing construction.
A report on NJ.com said that the “Illinois-based Griffin Pipe Products Co. announced it would extend a previously announced two-month layoff period permanently, leaving scores of workers without jobs at the Florence plant on West Front Street come Feb. 12.”
Management would not confirm the number of layoffs but a union representative said more than 170 workers were affected.
“This was an extremely painful decision and action to take,” a company statement read, citing the failing housing market and decreased demand for the ductile iron pipe used in construction as reasons for the downsizing. “Our Florence employees are our top priority at this point.”
A small number of workers, fewer than 20, will be kept on to help run the distribution center that will replace the iron pipe manufacturing operation, but even the promise of full-time employment is of little comfort to those losing their original, often well-paying jobs.
Of course, all decisions like this are painful — but far less so for the people making them. The people feeling the pain are the ones who will be forced to look for work next week — some of whom have been at the Florence factory for decades.
“I’ve worked here for 37 years, but now I’m being downgraded and displaced to a lower-paying job,” said John Richardson, a maintenance engineer from Trenton. Due in part to his seniority, Richardson will not lose his job next Thursday like so many, but will take a major salary cut when he moves to the new shipping department.
There is fear among workers, according to the story, though some are hoping that “President Obama’s proposed economic stimulus plan will reignite the country and state’s demand for iron pipes.”
But Mr. Richardson isn’t so sure.
He expresses bitterness toward the company he believes is turning its back on hardworking, longtime employees.
“This company made profits this year, but they’re still closing down. I’ll be here, but some of these guys are not going to make it,” he said. “What would happen if I did get laid off? I’m 59 years old. Who would hire a guy who’s 59 years old?”
And yet, we still don’t have a stimulus plan, because Senate Republicans — and make no mistake, it has been held up by Republicans pushing the false promise of a tax-cut led recovery — refuse to budget. Some cracks may be forming — the two Maine senators, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, arguably the most moderate of the remaining GOP members, are working with Democrat Ben Nelson to pare things back, though though it is too early to know what that will mean in practice.
A series of procedural votes Wednesday may offer some hints, but it is difficult to say.
In a series of votes on amendments to the bill on Wednesday evening, Senate Democrats easily beat back a number of efforts by Republicans to vastly change the stimulus measure by stripping out spending programs and broadening the tax cuts.
In a number of those votes, the Democrats were joined by Ms. Collins and Ms. Snowe, as well as Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania and George V. Voinovich of Ohio.
The president is still pushing his plan and is considering a Monday night address should the stimulus remain stalled. He contiues to express a “willingness to compromise,” but he has “warned critics of the stimulus bill that they were standing in the way of his agenda, and he urged Congress to act fast.”
“I’ve heard criticisms of this plan that echo the very same failed theories that helped lead us into this crisis, the notion that tax cuts alone will solve all our problems, that we can ignore the fundamental challenges like energy independence and the high cost of health care and still expect our economy and our country to thrive,” he said.
“I reject that theory,” Mr. Obama continued, “and so did the American people when they went to the polls in November and voted resoundingly for change. So I urge members of Congress to act without delay.”
But, as Big Tent Democrat writes on Talk Left, writes
Fred Hiatt and the WaPo Editorial Board and the typical Beltway “bipartisan” BSers not only feel no sense of urgency — they simply have no grasp of the magnitude of the problem
which really should not be a surprise.
Rome is burning and the Neros of the Beltway insist on fiddling to no effect. Today’s jobs report is expected to show another half million jobs lost in January. But the Beltway wants “hearings.” Disgraceful.
Yes. Disgraceful.
This cartoon from Mr. Fish on Truthdig sums up where we are and where we may be going:
In the House vote, by the way, Congressmen representing the towns covered by Princeton Packet Group papers split, with Democrats Rush Holt and John Adler voting yes and Republicans Leonard Lance and Chris Smith voting no.
Hank Kalet 