Goodbye GDX, Felize Navidad

I've been busy. Moving on...

GDX Automotive Sealing Division, formerly of Batesville, Arkansas, has moved on. It turns out that the foreign investors who bought the place in 1999 weren't turning much of a profit anymore (only $13million first quarter), so they didn't bid on any new contracts and defaulted on a few old jobs. They almost stiffed the local school district, but after a month of intense negotiations, they setled their local tax debt for $455 thousand.

Now 745 local factory workers are going back to school. For two years. If they can't find a job with comperable benefits.

Batesville has a population of about 10,000. The surrounding area houses roughly 24,000 more. This means that a little over 2% of our local workforce just went looking for a job.

No big deal, right?

Of course, 16% of the local pop was already unemployed, but we'll get to that.

There are two more factories in town of any size: ConAgra Foods (Banquet), and Townsend's.

Interestingly enough, both have had their average wage decrease by about $3 per hour over the past 3 years. ConAgra pays about $10/hr, and Townsend's pays around $8/hr. ConAgra employs roughly 600 personnel. Townsends has about 400 employees. Both have recently initiated a policy that requires all supervisors to speak Spanish.

WalMart is the next largest employer in town, providing around 125 to 130 jobs.

Home Depot employs roughly 80 people.

Bad Boy Mowers is the next best thing, but I think they only have about 40 employees.

Everything else is Burger King, Blockbuster, or Construction.

Interestingly enough, about three years ago we began to see a growth in the non-English speaking population around here. Crime is up, Employment is down. The drugs are cheap and easy to get. STDs are up (a lot). Real Estate sales are down, reposessions and foreclosures are up.

Is this picture too bleak for the holidays?

I'm sorry.

This Holiday Season, I want you to thank an American factory worker (if you can find one). They stand for long hours and endure extreme temps, and put up with a lot of crap. They live with the constant threat of losing their jobs to Mexico, and now they don't even have to pack up the plant to do so.

Foreign involvement in our economy has taken a serious toll on our way of life. Illegal Immigration has added to the damage.

A lack of action on the part of every American is the root of the problem.

So next time you think that Hometown America is still doing fine, you come on up and see us.

...and Have a Merry Christmas