Posted on 05/03/2003 12:30:21 PM PDT by Willie Green
For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use.
LEWISTOWN - For more than 30 years, Scotty's Fashions was a prominent employer in Mifflin County.
Then last year, most employees were laid off due to a lack of work.
Now, the facility is being closed.
A letter sent by certified mail to Lewistown Mayor Craig McCoy states, "Please take note that Scotty's Fashions of Lewistown Inc., 10472 U.S. Highway 522 South, Lewistown, PA 17044, which has not operated since July 19, 2002, is permanently closed and not expected to reopen. All job titles and classifications will be affected."
The letter, dated April 21, 2003, is signed by Neil A. Scott, president of Scotty's Fashions.
When numerous layoffs at the Scotty's plant began last year, the company said it was trying to secure new sewing contracts.
In a telephone interview Thursday, Scott said the decision to close the Lewistown plant was "more a formality than anything else" since production has been stopped for more than nine months. He said Scotty's has also closed facilities in Little Gap and Palmerton. The firm's plant in Lehighton is still operating.
Scott said the 55-year-old family-owned business has suffered from companies taking their business "offshore" for production in foreign locations. As an example, he said the Scotty's plant in Lewistown produced clothing for Russ Togs for about 20 years before the company chose to move offshore. The local facility then produced clothing for Alfred Dunner for about 12 years before the same thing happened.
"I don't know why the government has seen fit to allow all this trade to go offshore," Scott commented. "You're competing on a definitely unequal playing field."
Scott said the decision to close the plants did not come lightly, but because the business is family-owned "we had to make it smaller to survive."
He categorized Lewistown as having a great workforce and said the delay in closing the plant happened because the company was looking for work.
"We waited long enough, and it came down to making a decision, and we decided to close it. It's a sad situation."
Except the one out of a job who can not afford 25 cents for a pair of them Nikes.
Sad
There were a lot of Republican home seamstresses in the past. Democrats, too, no doubt.
Do we have delusions that we are going to be the overseers of the world?
Richard W.
cause he'll never find another job for the rest of his life, right?
It really does not take long to eat into savings. And depending where you live a good job these days can be hard to come by.. been there done that... We need to keep our jobs here... When I lived in MS I seen a lot of people lose their jobs when factories moved out of the US... Jobs they had held for 20 or more years.... It is just not right....
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