April 6th / 8th, 2007
"Wait 'til We Get Our Hanes On You"
Last September when Hanesbrands spun off from Sara Lee Corp. and went
independent, CEO Richard Noll told the Winston-Salem Journal, “...we will always be
a major employer in Forsyth County”. Less than a year later Noll is
dodging the Journal. That’s because he just announced the closing of Hanesbrands’
historic Stratford Road plant, throwing an additional 610 people out of
work. Their jobs will now go to Central America. Last time I checked, the
Caribbean is not part of Forsyth County, so Noll either lied last year, or he
just didn’t understand how to manage pay roll.
This kind of contrived plant closing is not a new phenomina. Ross Perot
warned us back in 1992 that NAFTA would suck jobs out of America, and he was
proven right. Now, CAFTA has had an even greater negative impact on our
workforce. That’s why back in 2005, a few courageous Congresspersons like Maine’
s Michael Michaud, and our own Virginia Foxx voted against CAFTA. They knew
CAFTA was nothing but a shell game designed to benefit greedy corporations
who wanted to exploit cheap labor in other countries, then ship their products
back home, duty free. CAFTA was never about protecting American exports and
American workers. It was about protecting corporate profits by exporting
American jobs.
The result for North Carolina has been devastating. According to the N.C.
Employment Security Commission, the apparel industry has declined by more than
50% over the past ten years, and employment in that industry is down 70%
during the same period. Ten years ago we had over 800 apparel plants in our
State. Today, there are less than 400.
The Stratford Road site is the fifth facility Hanesbrands has closed in less
than a year, causing over 3,000 people to lose their jobs. And that brings
us back to Richard Noll’s promise last Fall. If he was incompetent we could
simply forgive his premature, optimistic bravado. But by all accounts Noll
is a skilled executive, therefore, it seems that he has deceived his workers
and the community. Unfortunately, deception of that caliber is not a crime.
Otherwise, the jails would be full of CEOs who orchestrated the exodus of
an entire industry. In fact, if you want a lesson in how widespread the
problem is, then visit a local department store and take an inventory of how many
garments are made in the U.S.A.
The other day I accompanied my wife to Kohl’s, and while she shopped, I
searched through every rack in the entire Women’s section. I recognized lots of
brand name manufacturers. But the labels read like a roll call vote at the
U.N.: China, Puerto Rico, Indonesia, and so forth. I searched for nearly
forty minutes and couldn’t find a single garment that was made in America.
I am a relatively informed broadcaster and columnist. I knew that CAFTA had
wreaked havoc on the apparel industry, but I had no idea that entire stores
were devoid of American made products. It was unsettling. It was as if
America and American brands had been bought and sold, not by local consumers,
but by foreign rebels. Lee jeans made in Asia? I felt betrayed. What
could I do about this travesty? What can any of us do? The answer is
simple. Boycott. I know it sounds like a radical solution, but these are
desperate times. Thousands of families have been ruined by the broken promises of
greedy manufacturers, and we must all take a hand. That’s why I urge
everyone to join me in checking labels before you buy. If the garment is not made
in America, don’t purchase it. As naïve as this sounds, if we all pull
together and mount even a regional boycott of foreign-made clothing, we will
put a serious hurt on the greedy companies who have abandoned their commitments
and communities.
Anyone who profits from laying off American workers is a terrorist, and, in
my mind, a traitor as well. Clearly, we are in a war with these corporate
terrorists, and it’s time to start fighting back. Join me in the boycott of
foreign made garments. Wear America proudly. |
