Former shirt-makers blame open trade for Hathaway's demise- Maine

Boston.com ^ | 20 October 2002

[SheLion]

WATERVILLE, Maine (AP) Free-trade agreements and corporate greed were blamed for the closing of the C.F. Hathaway Co. shirt factory during a rally held at the central Maine plant.

The AFL-CIO organized Saturday's rally as part of a tour of dying manufacturing sites in Maine. Production had ceased a day earlier at Hathaway, the nation's last major shirt manufacturing plant.

[SheLion]

They say they need help, but they turn around and endorse Michaud and Pingree! Go figure!

[SheLion]

The Union endorsed Pingree and Michaud. Lot of help there, let me tell you!

[philetus]

Maybe the whole state of Maine is trying to get on welfare.

[Dr Warmoose]

It is hard to have compassion on a bunch of manual labor grunts when they keep voting for people to plunder my wealth. If they voted for folks who would make it attractive to do business in this country (ie. lower taxes, fewer regulations,loser-pays litigation) then companies seeking to make a profit wouldn't be willing to find it easier to make money and products in turd world nations and communists dictatorships.

What's wrong with this picture?

[Seeking the truth]

Hathaway used to have a plant in New Haven, Ct.

Nice shirts but very expensive!

[Weimdog]

Hathaways demise has nothing to do with NAFTA and everything to do with China.

80% of the apparel sold in the US is made in China.

Until the US consumer demands "Made in the USA" and is willing to pay a bit more for it, clothing will be imported from China.

[Grampa Dave]

Of course the union had nothing to do with the demise of Hathaway.

Who was president in 1994 and pushed Nafta down everyone's throat?

Was that president supported by the unions in 1992 and 1996?

Looks like these Union rats got what they voted for in 1992 and 1996 and sent a lot of money to elect and re elect.

[lodwick]

Nothing and bttt

[SheLion]

If they voted for folks who would make it attractive to do business in this country.

I couldn't believe the Union endored those two! They sure don't want much help, IMHO!

[Willie Green]

Maybe the whole state of Maine is trying to get on welfare.

They gotta wait in line behind the Somalis.

Federal conciliator to work in Lewiston (to help with Somali's in Maine)

[Plutarch]

Textiles are inherently a low wage industry. The comparative advantage will always be from countries like China, where 75 cents an hour is standard.

Those looking to keep wages high in the U.S. should be looking to restrict immigration not trade.

[SheLion]

Who was president in 1994 and pushed Nafta down everyone's throat?

That's why I put 1994 in BOLD!

Klintoon and his regiment had their hands at the helm then.

[Drango]

Until the US consumer demands "Made in the USA" and is willing to pay a bit more for it, clothing will be imported from China.

Why the 'ell would I pay more for it? So some union goon can drive a better car than me? No thanks.

[SheLion]

"They" are trying to blame all of our woes on our President. When actually, everything that was signed back in 1995-96 is just now unraveling! Klintoon is responsible for ALL of this mess.

[jackbill]

Of course the union had nothing to do with the demise of Hathaway.

Perhaps we should be told just what the union workers were making (salary and bennies) for making the shirts. Or is it Top Secret?

[The Other Harry]

''Here lies Hathaway, murdered by greed and NAFTA,'' it said.

It seems to me like this should have been made to rhyme.

[Grampa Dave]

You mean like the long shore union thugs on the West Coast who make well over $100,000 per year with incredible benefits and retirement package.

My oldest son has chided me for not buying ChiCom products and often buying an America product that is Union made. He feels that Union Thugs are more dangerous to us everyday than the ChiComs are.

[alloysteel]

So what's it going to be - America makes the shirts and socks, becoming self-reliant in textiles, or the high-tech stuff, trading in information and exchanges of knowledge? The decision was made some years ago, to export the dirty grunge jobs overseas, for some Chinese coolie to work at for maybe a quarter per hour (and plenty glad for the opportunity), safely out of sight of the reformers and practitioners of "fairness". No union problems, relatively cheap prices, and an international interdependency that makes wars "obsolete". The warfare was only changed from the battleground, and exchange of weapons fire, to international piracy and economic reprisals. Relatively bloodless, mostly the real estate is not too badly torn up, at least not in the more luxurious venues, and the leisure class has opportunity to blossom. Imperialism taken to a level never imagined in the 19th Century.

Demonstrating displeasure with the present situation, at the gates of the mansions of the Masters of the Universe, is largely pointless. The displeasure is better manifested out in the distant mines and factories, at the ports and at the retail establishments. But the tactics used there are also swiftly crushed, if the flow of commerce is even briefly interrupted. Taking adversarial positions mostly does not work, especially when alternatives can be quickly developed. Shoemakers in Brazil are resisting demands from retailers in Chicago? Fine, shift the production to Singapore. Or Italy. Or China. Shoemakers in Brazil soon comply. But then they are on the same level as the shoemakers from China. All very far from Seattle and Starbucks.

[Grampa Dave]

I saw that you put 1994 in bold. I just wanted to ask my questions incase anyone forgot who was president in 1994 and jammed NAFTA down the unions throats after they voted for him.

A similiar thing is happening now re the NKoreans and their nuclear presence. The left wing fishwraps are trying to present it as the fault of our president.

I sent our local fishwrap an email that if they were a legitimate newspaper instead of whore$ for the Rats, they would have documented that in the mid 1990's Jimmy Carter and the Clintoon set the stage which has enabled the NK's to develop their nuclear technology and actually paid for it. So far they have failed to respond to my email.

I have bought Hathaway shirts for years. My wife has noted that the quality of the shirts bought in the last year are not the same quality of previous years!

Thanks for posting this!

[Grampa Dave]

Right like how much per shirt was the labor costs and how much did their new contract want to increase that amount to per shirt.

Quiet now, we are not supposed to ask questions like these.