You can imagine the scenario. Remington exec talks to the union guy. Company will dissolve completely in NY. Company will end union episode...but offer a friendly deal of moving up 500-odd employees to Alabama as part of the new plant. Union will argue that it must move lock, stock and barrel with the company. Company will say that this deal dissolves in NY state and exists no more. How many guys would want to move to Huntsville? That would be an interesting question. And I’m guessing that a ten-percent wage cut is somewhere in the mix because there’s lesser taxes and less cost involved. This will disturb most guys if offered the deal.
As for more future employment for a former Remington guy in NY state? Well...I doubt if there’s anything, and the state won’t do much to attract new companies....because their tax revenue deal is so bad. Basically...you sit on federal unemployment pay for a long while, then flip burgers or serve people at some bar.
Finally, this ought to be a reality series on the History Channel....as these New Yorker guys arrive and assimilate in Huntsville. It will be a definite culture shock. Would be worth watching weekly on TV.
Oh the state is trying to attract new companies. While channel surfing the other day I came across on a Buffalo tv station an ad touting New York as a place to come to to open new businesses. It was offering a tax free enterprise zone or a tax free period of a number of years or something. They know they are hemorrhaging and want the bleeding to stop. It actually shocked me for a moment. Never seen anything like it in years gone by.
“Finally, this ought to be a reality series on the History Channel....as these New Yorker guys arrive and assimilate in Huntsville. It will be a definite culture shock. Would be worth watching weekly on TV.”
I hate to break it to you but a huge number of NY’ers are moving to the Carolinas, GA, FLA and have been for a decade or more. A lot of the people I went to school with here on LI are down there now. I’d bet that they’ll vote like NY’ers as well...
Upstate to Huntsville is not THAT much of a culture shock. Upstate can be very rural. Huntsville has more rockets and better weather.
Having been born in the Bronx lived there for 10 years, then spent 11 years in NJ, then spent 11 years in Texas and then 25 years in Florida,
I have always said I became a human being after I moved away from the Northeast
I can tell you it would be a very boring show...
Pretty much it would go like this:
New Yorker (know it all): "In NY we did it this way"
Floridian: "STFU asshole and take the first bus back to your state if you don't like it"...
Been there done that ...many times ...
Huntsville is no hick town. It is a very beautiful and vibrant city, and long ago it became populated with real rocket scientists.
That part of the country is beautiful.
I don't think it would be as much of a shock as you might think. Most upstate New Yorkers are a lot more like southerners in attitude and opinion than the City folk who are like from another planet. I know I easily and happily adjusted to the South and I was raised only a county over.
If they can make the unions stay behind, most who move will be just fine and fit in. The unions have killed New York industry and jobs by the hundreds of thousands and a lot of the people know it but can't do anything about it because of who runs the State (the Liberals and unions).
“How many guys would want to move to Huntsville? That would be an interesting question. “
Keep in mind that these are people who make guns for a living. NY state probably sucks for them. I wouldn’t be surprised if quite a few followed the company to Alabama.
Alabama is a conservative and very religious state. I reckon the gun folks from NY might be conservatives, but they better be ready for the question: “What church y’all go to?” or “Have y’all found a church yet?”
The people hare are not going to force you to go to any church, but as good Christians will be wanting to share the Good News, that’s all. I’m a Catholic, and heck, I don’t mind it at all. My little parish is ultra-conservative, probably because of the Baptist influence! We even have Wednesday night bible classes. We fit right in!
.......absolutely right you are! These socialist unionist New Yorkers have had things real good for a long time. But, forget about wages or anything else. The culture shock between Ilion and Huntsville will be devastating.
Think of growing up in say upscale neighborhoods of, pick a town..........hmmmm, lets say Boston, and then being forced to move to Odessa, Texas home of REAL roughnecks, rednecks, chicken fried steaks, and Friday night high school football with a view out the window wherever you are of the apparatuses of the oil industry and tumble weeds rolling down the street! That’s REAL culture shock substantially analogous to Ilion/Huntsville.
And, the union boss would be strung up to a light pole the first week! He just couldn’t come at all.